Express & Star comment: Councils will follow Staffordshire's lead in pupil absence crackdown
It says it all – Staffordshire County Council has admitted it has had to move away from its previous ‘common sense’ approach to dealing with parents of children who are consistently late or away for a period of unauthorised absence.
This is clearly a direct result of the Supreme Court in April that set a new legal precedent when it ruled unanimously against Isle of Wight father Jon Platt who faced action for taking his daughter on an unauthorised holiday for seven days in 2015.
Staffordshire will not be alone.
Where Staffordshire leads, other local authorities will not be far behind.
Instead of assessing each case individually, taking all aspects into account, schools will now have to abide by the letter of a new code of conduct.
Now parents face the prospect of being fined if their child turns up late 10 times or more, as well as for any period of unauthorised absence.
The previous, and eminently more sensible, process dealt out penalty notices for anyone taking 10 days off over a period of two half terms and 20 instances of being late for school.
Headteachers will at least have the final say and some discretion, but on the basis of any ‘exceptional circumstances’.
No-one can argue that children should not go to school every day, or that those who fail to maintain school attendance out of lack of effort or simple laziness should not face the consequences. Education is, of course, of prime importance to the future of young lives.
But what of the families who simply cannot afford to take a holiday outside of term time, when the prices soar to astronomical levels? What of the children whose school bus services have been cut or suffer delays? And what of the youngsters who are the carer in their family, looking after sick or disabled parents?
What exactly are ‘exceptional circumstances’? The Supreme Court judges highlighted religious holidays and sickness, but that barely scratches the surface when it comes to genuine reasons for a child to be late or absent.
A system that relies on common sense is the only system that makes sense with dealing with such a complicated subject. Trying to enforce a one-size-fits-all solution is arrant nonsense and is bound to lead to injustice, unfairness and financial penalties that too often will fall on those who can afford them least.
