Term time holiday victory for dad who took daughter to Disney World

His case hinged on whether or not his daughter had attended school “regularly”.

He was fined £60, which doubled to £120 when he didn’t pay it in time.

The father, from the Isle of Wight, said he refused to pay the school’s fine because he didn’t feel he had done anything wrong.

“I’ve had lots of messages from people, asking me ‘what is the loophole here?'”

The fine was in line with the United Kingdom government crackdown on term-time holidays, but Platt argued that his daughter’s attendance record before the holiday meant that he had met his legal duty to keep her in school “regularly” under the requirements of the Education Act.

“My kids” education is absolutely critically important to me but I’m also responsible for their welfare.

But after Mr Platt’s success in court, councils may now be reluctant to impose fines on parents who remove their children from schools for a short time.

Mr Platt’s case may offer a few hope to parents who wish to take their children on holiday during term time, but the magistrates decision does not bind other courts and experts say parents disputing fines should still seek legal advice.

“Under section 444 of the Education Act, subsection 1 – it’s very clear, it’s not complicated language – it simply says that a parent has committed an offence if a child does not attend school regularly and my daughter had excellent attendance at school”.

He said his case was dismissed because he was able to show that his daughter’s attendance at school was regular, despite the holiday.

He told KentOnline: “Legally a parent is committing an offence if their child does not attend regularly”.

His new guidelines stated that children should only be taken out of school during term time in “exceptional circumstances”. “We acknowledge the decision of the court in this matter and the council is now reviewing this outcome”. However, as his other daughter, 10, attends a private school, there was no fine.

Chairman of campaign group Parents Want a Say, Craig Langman, said the win could see more parents challenging holiday fines. We will be pushing to help more parents to use this clause to get around [the ban].

Magistrates decided Mr Platt had no case to answer shortly before he was due to face trial.

‘This case highlights that it is not as simple as that.

Parliament will this month debate a petition signed by more than 100,000 people arguing for an allowance of up to two weeks’ term-time leave from school for holidays.

He said: “There has been precedent’ set in the High Court that says that unauthorised holiday in term time is not in itself a breach of the legislation if the child has attended school regularly”.