Family fined £240 for taking kids on holiday during term-time vow to fight it in court – claiming they had ‘no other option’
A MUM and dad have vowed to fight fines in court after they were punished for taking their kids on holiday during the school term.
The Wheeler family from Grimsby, Lincs., were slapped with a £240 penalty for jetting off to Turkey for a week with their two eight-year-old boys Joshua and Leo.
They say that they had "absolutely no choice" as it was the only time they were able to get off work.
But the parents were fined £60 each per child for taking the boys away from Grimsby's Woodlands Academy.
Dad Kirk said: "I just recently started a new job on the Immingham Docks, and work in a system where we are in six man gangs, and only one person can be off at any one time.
"Because of this, when I started the job I just was not able to get the time off work for the original time that we booked the holiday in October."
They went to the school before the holiday and submitted a holiday request form which was rejected.
They now feel that they are being "punished for working" as Kirk had "no other options" but to take the family on holiday when he did.
Mum Samantha said: "Our boys have never missed school regularly before, and we always make sure that their attendance is good.
"But in this unique circumstance we felt that we had no choice but to take them out of school, as the holiday had been paid for over a year ago.
"If I am honest, I think the boys learned more on holiday than they would have done in school, Leo had never been abroad before and now he has even learned how to swim."
The family have said that they will go to court in order to fight against the "unfair fines".
The Department of Education says that a child can only miss school if they are either too ill to attend or they have received advanced permission from the school.
Headteachers give permission for term-time absences, but only if an application is made in advance and only in exceptional circumstances - such as a parent's wedding, a religious festival, or if a parent is to be deployed in the Armed Forces.
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Woodlands Academy head teacher Rachel Green said: "I do not wish to comment on individual cases.
“However, what I would say is the law states children must attend school on a regular basis and head teachers must only grant leave of absence in exceptional circumstances.
“Holidays are not classed as exceptional circumstances and this has been proven in law."
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