The Manchester Evening News reported that Hannah Manchester and Neil Hynes, from Manchester took their sons Isaak and Liam out of Manley Park Primary School to go on an end-of-term trip to Spain as it was the only way they could afford the trip.
Upon their return they were hit by a £240 fine local education authority Manchester council, only to have it replaced with a warning after then challenged the order.
Manchester said: “We don’t take the boys out of school for just any old reason, but we’re very confident that the outstanding attendance of both our boys, and the broader educational value of our planned trip meant it was acceptable on this occasion.
She added she and her partnet “agreed that the kids would learn important lessons and gain valuable experiences from this trip which we felt would compensate for a very short absence from school.
“The trip delivered all of that, including a visit to a capital city, important landmarks, art galleries and museums, not to mention of course exposure to Spanish as a language which Isaak studies at school.”
She urged other parents to challenge the fines too, adding: “I am not saying that parents should be encouraged to book holidays in term time.
“Rather, I am trying to advocate that schools take a common sense approach and consider the record and performance of the children in question before issuing fines and reporting parents to the LEA.”
The challenge is just one of many since the government imposed a term-time holiday ban in September 2013.
During the 2014/2015 academic year, 98 Local Education Authorities issued 50,414 fines for children being taken out of school for term-time breaks.
