We got fined £120 for taking our kid out of school but it doesn’t bother me… we saved thousands on a cheap holiday
A FAMILY have revealed that they are not bothered by the £120 fine they received for taking their child out of school during term time, as they were able to save thousands of pounds on a holiday.
Going abroad during the school holidays can be extortionate, as holiday companies ramp up prices, due to increased demand.
Because of this, parents may be tempted to take their children out of school during term time to save some cash, but this is illegal, and can lead to a fine.
One family who is not fazed by this is the Sanderson Family, who shared a video on TikTok of their reaction to being fined by the school.
In the video, the mum, dad and young son can be seen standing up in the living room, each reading a letter, which is presumably informing them of the fine.
“Receiving fines from school for taking kids on holiday”, the caption reads.
The family then proceeded to throw the letters into the air and dance around excitedly to Fireball by Pitbull.
“But wait”, the family said, “we saved thousands of pounds by doing so”.
The trio then each grabbed a suitcase and skipped off out of the house, insinuating that the fine hasn’t bothered them at all.
The family revealed that they are off on a trip to Turkey, whilst their son should be in school.
If you want to take your child out of school for a holiday in term time, you must make an application to the headteacher.
Permission will only be granted in exceptional circumstances, and if it isn’t you could face a fine.
The fines currently stand at £60 per parent, and this increases to £120 per person if the fine is not paid within 21 days.
If you do not pay within 28 days, you could risk prosecution.
As of September 2024, the fines will rise by £20, to £80 per parent.
“Where does all this money go?” the family asked in the video.
When children are fined by the school, the money goes to the local authority to cover the cost of administrating their system and to fund attendance support.
Any extra money is returned to the government.
The family’s TikTok, which was posted under the username @thesandersonfamil, has likely left many open-mouthed, as it has racked up over 400,000 views on the video sharing platform.
TikTok users raced to the video’s comments section to share their thoughts, and opinions were divided.
One person said: “Family time is so important, one week isn’t going to affect your child’s education.
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“Hope you have a great holiday”.
Another person said: “My son had ‘tonsillitis’ for 2 weeks in February in Egypt.
“We saved £2500 and it was 30 degrees”.
A third person said: “The fines should be higher”.
A fourth person added: “It’s not about the money, it’s about your child not being able to pass their GCSE’s.”
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