by A mother fears her career will be ruined by a criminal record for taking her daughter on holiday during a school term – as a ‘mad law’ asks her to prove the fine ‘went missing in the post’ ‘.
Natalie Saunders went with her daughter Ava Martin-Saunders, eight, to Bodrum in Turkey on May 13 for a week in the sun. The 44-year-old knew before she went abroad that her child missing six days of school would be marked as an unauthorized absence, which could lead to a £60 fine.
But after returning for their £900 trip, Natalie claims she never received a penalty fine notice in the post and assumed she had strayed this time.
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The person’s mother, who works in risk and compliance, says she never took her daughter’s accusation to the school or the local authority because she claims she heard there was ‘no guarantee’ she would get one. However, Natalie says she was ‘really surprised’ to receive a letter from West Sussex County Council on August 24 saying she had failed to pay her child’s fine and could now be taken to court.
She has now received a notice of individual justice procedure setting out that she is being charged under Section 444(1) of the Education Act 1996. As a result, Natalie says she now faces a possible criminal conviction and a fine of £1,000 in despite her claim that she never got it. firstly a letter about the fine.
Section 444(1) of the Education Act 1996 states that if a child of compulsory school age who is a registered student at a school fails to attend school regularly, his parent will be guilty of an offence. A person charged with the offense must prove that they had ‘reasonable justification’ for their child’s failure to attend school regularly.
Since receiving the initial investigation letter, Natalie says she has been in constant contact with West Sussex County Council but claims she is pursuing legal proceedings. She criticized the law as ‘crazy’ because she was told the onus was on her to ‘prove she didn’t receive the letter’, rather than the council proving they sent it.
Even when she claims she paid the fine late, the sums were refunded into her account and now she has been given 21 days from November 5 to plead guilty or not guilty to the charge.
Natalie, from Crawley in West Sussex, said: “We went on holiday from May 13 to May 20, which meant she missed six days of school. When I took her out of school, the guidance was anything over five day you are likely to get a fine so I knew I was likely to get a fine.
“I weighed it all up and was happy to pay the £60 fine. It was a lot cheaper [to take her in term time]. She was eight years old and there were no important exams or tests. She had a good attendance record and is exactly where she needs to be in terms of ability. I thought it was only six days.
“I never got the fine because friends and family said you don’t always get a fine. The fine wasn’t guaranteed, it was just that you could get one. Because I hadn’t got one I didn’t think. I was going to get fine so I was not looking for it.
“The first letter I got, that’s the second letter they sent [West Sussex County Council]dated July 18th but I did not receive it until August 24th. In this letter I was told that because I did not accept the fixed penalty notice offer he said it was now up to the local authorities to prepare court papers. for the offence.
“It’s not nice to get letters like this. The local authorities now intend to prepare court papers and said I could get a fine of up to £1,000 and get a criminal record. The idea of a criminal record is terrible. I’m a good person. If I wasn’t, I would have just taken my daughter ‘sick’ for those six days. Even if the truth is bad, it’s better than a lie.
“It’s a criminal record. I don’t want this against my name. I have a good job and I’m working in risk and compliance and I’m studying for a diploma to advance my career and it could this could stop me in my tracks.”
Natalie said it was the first time she had ever taken her daughter on holiday during term time and says she did it because trips were much cheaper. She claims she was never given a ‘fair’ chance to pay the fine and claims the Council had her email address all along and could have contacted her electronically about the fine but never received it .
And despite West Sussex County Council raising ‘mitigating factors’ including the allegedly ‘poor’ postal service in her area, she says they still want to take her to court.
Natalie said: “West Sussex County Council have said the onus is on me to prove I never received the fine letter and in a legal round anything sent by first class post the recipient has to prove I didn’t receive it and without proving that they did not send it, that is madness.
“I haven’t seen any proof from them [the council] that they have posted the letter. They are considering many mitigating circumstances in this regard. West Sussex County Council is using Royal Mail which is not delivering.
“In Crawley my MP told me that Royal Mail is understaffed and Crawley is one of the five worst performing towns in the UK. There are also problems with posties going into the development where I live and parcels and theft happen daily posts on my development.”
After receiving her initial court letter, Natalie claims she asked for a copy of the fixed penalty notice letter which was ‘lost in the post’ and says she was still able to pay the fine late online. But after successfully making a £60 payment and the increased fixed penalty payment of £120 to West Sussex County Council, she claims those amounts were refunded straight back to her account.
Natalie said: “After all this, I would never take my daughter out of school during term time. We were going to book again for next year but we’re not going anymore.
“I’ve now been told that I’m better off pleading guilty because the offense is that I took my daughter out of school. It’s a mess. They said if I pleaded not guilty I’d have to have a court hearing I would have had a court hearing anyway despite all the mitigating factors I raised. I am guilty of taking my daughter out of school but I would pay the fine if I got it but I never did. it.”
West Sussex County Council said the Department for Education has instructed headteachers to take a strong stand against parents taking their children on holiday during the term.
A spokesman for West Sussex County Council said: “The DfE is clear in its position that every school minute counts and has instructed principals to take a strong stand on unauthorized holidays during term time.
“We follow the Department of Education’s National Guidelines for the use and issuance of Fixed Penalty Notices in such cases, which ensures a consistent approach and practice.
“In all cases the Fixed Penalty Notice and the legal services team follow the established legal process and the published code of conduct to ensure consistency and fairness for all cases.”
Crawley Labor MP Peter Lamb told Natalie, with whom she had been corresponding on the matter, that not allowing her to pay the fine late was putting her child’s well-being at risk.
Mr Lamb said: “We can all appreciate the importance of avoiding unauthorized absences, but the county council’s decision to prosecute Mrs Saunders when she indicated she would pay a fine, which would some employment at risk, and it puts future well-being at risk. child while wasting taxpayers’ money in the process.”
After Natalie claimed the fixed penalty notice was never delivered, she says she also contacted Royal Mail to follow this up but claims they could no longer help.
A Royal Mail spokesman said: “We take the delivery of mail very seriously and work to ensure that every item is delivered on time. We have made progress to improve our service in Crawley and nationally. If a customer is concerned about deliveries on their way, we encourage them to contact us directly so we can investigate.”
