A MUM has claimed to have found a loophole in the education system which has allowed her to take her kids away on holiday during term time.
For the last five years, Jenny has confidently jetted across seas with her children and claims to have never got in trouble for it.
Taking kids out of school for cheap holidays is frowned upon as can disrupt their education.
Earlier this year, Labour’s Bridget Phillipson slammed “disrespectful” parents who do so.
The MP highlighted how some schools have suffered from persistent absence rates of more than 50 per cent.
She said: “‘Cheaper holidays, birthday treats, not fancying it today, these are no excuses for missing school.
“Penalties must be part of the system, but they cannot be the answer alone.
“Allowing your child to skip school without good reason shouldn’t just be cause for a fine. It’s deeper. It’s a mark of disrespect. For the children, the teachers, the school.”
But cash strapped parents are increasingly turning to term time holidays as the average price of a term time holiday is ranging between £289pp to £1,610pp.
This is much cheaper than school holiday prices as they range between £398pp to £1,932pp, according to Go Compare.
And Jenny, a mum of three, is one of them.
She took to her TikTok page @justjennybenny to share her “simple” trick with other parents on her platform.
The video has since gone viral with over 666.7K views, and over 1,100 people rushing to the comments section to share their thoughts.
Speaking to camera, Jenny revealed that manages to get around the system by going through the school calendar dates with a “fine tooth comb”.
She’ll then look at how many days fall on a bank holiday, have insets days, or are closed for random occasions.
The mum-of-three will then book a week away around those dates because the kids “have to be absent for five days to get a fine.”
She will often go away in May, because there is a particular week that her children’s school is shut for two days.
This means her children will only miss three days off school during that week.
Although she agrees that it is “unauthorised,” Jenny is confident that she “won’t get a fine” because of those days off that school has given.
According to the GOV website schools are required to consider a fine when a child has missed 10 or more sessions (5 days) for unauthorised reasons.
From August 2024, the fine for school absences across the country will be £80 if paid within 21 days, or £160 if paid within 28 days.
Currently, it is the responsibility of the local authority when to issue fines to parents, which it is important to check your local council rules as the process varies from council to council.
Jenny also gave another example from 4 July this year.
Her children’s school was closed due to the election and Brits were voting that day, and that meant, if she wanted to, she could have booked a holiday for that week “going Saturday to Saturday or Sunday to Sunday.”
Not scared, just don’t want to pay fines and don’t want thousands of kids to miss out on holidays.. just trying to help
Jenny
It would mean that her kids would only be “absent from school for four days, meaning no fine.”
Jenny revealed that she will “always” book holidays in the weeks where the school is closed for a random day to save money.
She urges other parents to “think smarter” and go through their child’s school calendar for the year, and to have a look at all the week’s days off for one day.
Jenny says: “You are not going to get a fine. Simple as that.
According to the GOV website, it’s the responsibility of the local authority to decide when to issue fines to parents, meaning the process varies from council to council.
The Gov website states: “Under the new national framework, all schools will be required to consider a fine when a child has missed 10 or more sessions (5 days) for unauthorised reasons.
“From August 2024, the fine for school absences across the country will be £80 if paid within 21 days, or £160 if paid within 28 days.
“Fines are a last resort, and parents will be offered support to help improve their child’s attendance first. The vast majority of fines for unauthorised absence (89%) are issued for term time holidays.”
Fines per parent will be capped to two fines within any three-year period.
If that limit is reached, prosecution will be considered. If you’re prosecuted and attend court because your child hasn’t been attending school, you could get a fine of up to £2,500.
Read more on school fines here
“That is all I do and I will continue to do that, if I wish to take them out during term time.”
The mum revealed that she has a child with additional needs who struggles going on holiday during school holidays because of how busy it is.
This is why she will do her best to go away during less busy periods.
One wrote: “We have to stop being scared, this is control ,our children are not property of the state. They are OUR children.”
Jenny replied: “Not scared, just don’t want to pay fines and don’t want thousands of kids to miss out on holidays.. just trying to help.”
Many others have asked if “inset days are included.”
It is important to check the rules with your local school, and council as rules may vary across the country.
Inset training days are still viewed as a school day and can be included in the five or more consecutive days where there was intent to be absent for term time leave.
