RSS Feed
August 2nd, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda - School denied Brenda Branch permission to keep daughter Serena away during term time, but she sent the girl to Skegness with family anyway
- Says her family cannot afford to go away during school holidays
- Councils have power to fine parents for unauthorised absences
- Parents risk criminal record and court appearance if they do not pay up
By
Helen Lawson
05:40 EST, 2 August 2012
|
06:50 EST, 2 August 2012
Brenda Branch defied her daughter’s school to send her on holiday during term time and is furious with her £50 fine from the council
A college teacher who was hit with a £50 fine for taking her daughter out of school during term time to go on holiday has said she is ‘fuming’ at the punishment.
Brenda Branch asked for permission to keep 12-year-old daughter Serena out of Philips High School in Whitefield, Bury for a family break at Butlins in Skegness.
She had hoped the school would be flexible about the time off because all the exams had been completed.
But when staff rejected the request
Mrs Branch, 43, who teaches psychology at Oldham Sixth Form College, decided to
send Serena on holiday with her grandparents and cousin anyway.
She
said that she and her husband, Garry, 47, who works for Salford
council’s social services department, could not afford to take their
three daughters away during the summer holidays.
It meant the break in Butlins was the only holiday Serena could have this year.
Now her parents have been given a fixed penalty notice by Bury council for the six days unauthorised absence.
Mrs
Branch, of Balmoral Avenue, Whitefield, said: ‘I am a teacher myself
and I know that not a lot of work gets done at the end of the year.
‘They told me it was not school
policy, but they could show a bit of flexibility. All exams were
finished. I didn’t want Serena to be disappointed so I let her go.’
She
said her daughter had a 99 per cent attendance record before the family
made the holiday request and has also received a number of awards for
her academic work.
Serena,
who has just finished her first year at the school, said that she also
thought it was unfair that her mum had got a fine.
Daughter Serena, 12, says her parents’ fine is unfair and that her friends did little school work in the time she was away with her extended family
She said: ‘I spoke to my friends and they said they had just watched movies, and played games and not done much work while I was away.’
Chris Trees, head teacher at the 894-pupil school, said that permission for absence during term time is only granted in ‘exceptional circumstances’ such as family bereavements.
He said: ‘It’s not true that the kids were just sitting around watching the videos. A lot of classes were carrying on with their work.’
Staff at Philips High School in Bury, pictured, rejected the Branch family’s request to take daughter Serena out of school during term time after exams had finished
Serena Branch went to Butlins, Skegness, pictured, with her grandparents and cousin, defying her school who had said she could not take time off during term
The government has looked at plans to clamp down truancy after a figures released in March showed term time holidays made up 9.5 per cent of all school absence in 2010/11, up from 9.3 per cent the previous year.
Councils can fine parents if their child takes an unauthorised holiday from school under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003.
The fine is £50 if paid within 28 days and rises to £100 after that time.
Parents can be taken to court and could end up with a criminal record if they do not cough up.
-
Shocked NBC viewers watch as Olympic water polo player…
-
How China trains its children to win gold – standing on a…
-
Pictured: The moment even the JUDGES’ jaws dropped as U.S….
-
The life expectancy map of America: Graphic reveals alarming…
-
Something borrowed, something a little bit blue… the…
-
Married mega-church pastor, 54, fired for ‘having sex with…
-
OUCH! South Korean weightlifter takes gold for the worst…
-
Ukrainian feminists stage topless protest near Tower Bridge…
-
Junior British diplomat identified as mysterious Westerner…
-
Battle lines drawn at Chick-fil-A: America divided over fast…
-
Revealed, Ryan Lochte’s secret family heartbreak: Swimming…
-
Is Denver the world’s cutest puppy? Loving owner captures…
Share this article:
Here’s what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts,
or debate this issue live on our message boards.
The comments below have been moderated in advance.
-
Newest -
Oldest -
Best rated -
Worst rated
tHIS WILL BE A PROBLEM AS LONG AS MONEY GRUBBING COMPANIES CHARGE MORE DURING SCHOOL HOLIDAY.S aS LONG AS IT’S A FAMILY TRIP, THIS SHOULD BE ALLOWED. oK, PEOPLE NEED TO PROVE IT, BUT WHERE;S THE HARMS. tHIS HAPPENED IN MY DAY, AND WE WERE NONE THE WORSE OR IT
Report abuse
What is wrong with all these parents out there, do they not think that it is important for their children to get an education? If you cannot afford to go on holiday during the school holidays then do not have a holiday or do not have children! When I was a child we never went on holidays abroad because my parents couldn’t afford it, so we went camping or found free things to do at home during the holidays. People need to live within their means and appreciate the free education (read as free childcare for some parents) that children in this country receive.
Report abuse
Mrs C Buckinghamshire: How nice for you, that you can afford to pay the very high price! Many can’t. That’s the point we are making.
Report abuse
I choose to Home school!
It is our legal responsibility to educate our children, that does not mean school is the only choice and at this point in time with the school system in such disarray I think it means people should be considering any alternative to school – including , it would seem, Butlins!
Report abuse
Why go to Butlins, it’s unbelievably expensive, a mid week in a gold chalet without food and drink cost me almost the same as 10 days in Bali last year in a five star hotel, all inclusive, it doesn’t surprise me that people in Britain go abroad when choosing a summer holiday.
Report abuse
i think that if u have circumstances like being a police officer and having no time off during the summer holidays because of the olympics u will not be fined…..as a teacher this woman has the 6 weeks off so has no excuse…..my hubby is self employed and was finishing a contract job and didnt have time until sept to be able to have a holiday and we explained this to the school who let us have a week without a fine, but some friends of ours just took their child and did not inform the school received the fine
Report abuse
It really is astonishing how people can put their holiays before their children’s education. It never happened when I was young because in those days school was considered to be important, and everything had to be fitted in around it. Parents who take their children out of school to save a few pounds on an unnecessary holiday should be ashamed of themselves. But I’ll bet they have no shame and can’t see why they can’t have it all.
Report abuse
I think this is outrageous. At 12 she is not doing SATs or GCSEs so what harm was done? Frankly unless it is exam time I do not think missing a fortnight from school does any harm at all – and I’m a teacher too so I know she will not miss that much – and may well gain from her holiday experience. Just a different kind of education out of the classroom. Many schools take children on ‘field trips’ for a week. What is the difference? And what happened to the 14 days you were allowed once? Just more of our freedom taken away, more control by the government.
Report abuse
Local authority’s uphold the law that all children of compulsory school age have a statutory duty to attend full time education. Children are in school for 190 days a year with 175 left to do things like go on holiday, go shopping, go to appointments etc etc. she’s a teacher and he works for social services, they of all people should hold their daughters education with a little more regard.
Report abuse
I’d tell them to stick the fine where the sun don’t sun. But then i’m not a robot slave … The government work for me .. NOT the other way round ……. You lot have forgotten this …. You now work for them and you do as your told.
Report abuse
The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.
Posted in 
Tags: 
