An appeal has been granted into the successful challenge of a conviction of a British father who took his daughter on a family holiday during term.

 

You may remember the case of Jon Platt who was fined £120 after he took his daughter to Florida without her school permission.

 

Magistrates immediately ruled that there was no case based on his daughter’s excellent attendance record and made their decision before it was even called to trial.

 

 

Well the story didn’t end there as a council submitted papers to the Supreme Court in hopes of launching a challenge into that decision and they won.

 

Saying that the case raised important issues for schools and families up and down the country, a panel of three justices said a hearing should go ahead early next year.

 

 

A Department for Education spokeswoman said they were happy with the latest decision.

 

“Our position remains that children should not be taken out of school without good reason.

 

“That is why we have tightened the rules and are supporting schools and local authorities to use their powers to tackle unauthorised absence.

 

“The evidence shows that every extra day of school missed can affect a pupil’s chances of achieving good GCSEs, which has a lasting effect on their life chances - vindicating our strong stance on attendance.”

 

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