A father who refused to pay a fine for taking his daughter out of school for a family holiday has won a landmark High Court ruling which looks set to force education chiefs to consider changing the law.
Jon Platt was fined by Isle of Wight Council after he took his family on a trip to Florida without permission from his six-year-old child's school in April last year.
He was originally fined £60, a fine which doubled because of his refusal to pay.
The dispute went before Isle of Wight Magistrates' Court last October when Mr Platt won the case.
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But the local authority appealed against the decision at the High Court in London.
Lord Justice Lloyd Jones and Mrs Justice Thirlwall dismissed the council's challenge and ruled in favour of the local magistrates' view that Mr Platt's daughter had regularly attended school.
The magistrates decided Mr Platt had "no case to answer" because no evidence had been produced to prove that his daughter - who is now aged seven and can only be referred to as 'M' for legal reasons - had failed to attend school regularly.
Department of Education will "look to change the law"
After the ruling, Mr Platt said outside court: "I am obviously hugely relieved. I know that there was an awful lot riding on this - not just for me, but for hundreds of other parents."
But a Department for Education (DfE) source said after the ruling: "We will look at the judgment in detail, but we are clear that children's attendance at school is non-negotiable and we shall now look to change the law.
"We will plan to strengthen the statutory guidance to schools and local authorities."
The ruling comes as a survey revealed families face paying more than double the price for a package holiday as soon as school holidays begin.
Have you been fined for taking your child out of school for a holiday? Do you get frustrated at paying higher prices for trips during school holidays? Tell us in the comments below .
