A father who refused to pay a fine for taking his daughter on holiday in term-time has won a legal challenge

Father Jon Platt, from the Isle of Wight, was fined by the Isle of Wight Council after he took his daughter on a term-time holiday to Disney World, without permission from the school.

Mr Platt originally won the court case, as he argued that English Law just states that children must have regular attendance, and his daughter did, despite the holiday.Isle of Wight Council then decided to challenge the decision at the High Court, but today they lost as the Court found in favour of Mr Platt.

This ruling opens the door for similar challenges to school fines on parents who take their children out of school in term time for holidays. It also starts to clarify the law and indicates that parents can indeed take their children out of school in some circumstances.

Speaking after the ruling Mr Platt said that the ruling is ‘a victory for common sense’

What do you think? should parents be able to take their kids out of school for holidays as long as they have otherwise good attendance? Let me know in the comments below or on our Facebook page.