A father who took his daughter to Disney World during term-time, without the authorisation of her school, has lost his case at England’s Supreme Court.
Jon Platt, a father-of-three, has been fighting a case against the Isle of Wight Council since 2015, when he was fined for taking his seven-year-old daughter out of school for a week, for the holiday.
Mr Platt argued that it is a parent’s right to take their child on holiday during term-time. Today, however, the Supreme Court ruled against him.
The saga began back in April 2015, when Mr Platt organised for 17 members of his extended family to go to Florida together. He applied to his daughter’s school for permission to take her out of classes for a week, during term-time.
While his request was denied, Mr Platt went ahead with the holiday anyway, later explaining that he did so because this was the only time period that suited all 17 family members.
When Mr Platt’s daughter returned to school after her holiday, the school issued a £60 fine for taking her out of school without authorisation. Mr Platt refused to pay the fine.
A short time later, Mr Platt was sent another invoice, with the penalty fine now increased to £120. Again, he refused to pay the fee and brought the Isle of Wight Council to court, in a bid to overturn the fines.
In October, Mr Platt’s case against the council began, and he was successful in having the fines cancelled out. It was at this point that the council retaliated, applying to the High Court to have the decision overturned.
In May 2016, the case was heard before the High Court, and, again, Mr Platt emerged victorious.
Matters took yet another twist in December of last year, however, when the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. This was followed up with a one-day hearing in January of this year, with the ruling announced today.
It has emerged this morning that the Supreme Court has overturned the decisions of the lower courts, and – backed by the Department of Education – Mr Platt’s fines have been upheld.
Under this latest ruling, term-time rules will remain unchanged; so, penalties relating to unauthorised term-time absences will still have to be paid, and any reprieve can only be granted by the head teacher, in ‘exceptional circumstances’.
What are your thoughts on the ruling?
