Trent Vale family fined £690 over school term time holiday
Mrs Lambert told the court they arranged meal times for when it was quieter and were around the pool in a quieter area.They had disability assistance on the plane and getting through the airport, she said, where Riley wore ear defenders and a weighted blanket."One of the reasons for going then was we were going with a family that understands the struggles we have," she said.She added: "We put our hands up, we did do it the wrong way."The children have good attendance – Riley's is 97% at the moment and the only time they are off is due to illness."
'Law is clear'
The Lamberts admitted that their four children failed to attend school between 25 April and 3 May 2024.They were fined a total of £407 and ordered to pay a combined £163 victim surcharge and £120 costs.The court granted a request for the Lamberts and their son to be named."It's important that children attend school, not only for their education but for their social skills," the couple were told by magistrates."If they are not in school they are being deprived of essential skills, not withstanding the difficulties a disabled child will have."While we have every sympathy and acknowledge the difficulties, from what you have told us, the difficulties of having a disabled child, the law is very clear."They said parents were not permitted to take a child out of school without the prior authority of the headmaster, and that they were in court due to not paying the fixed-penalty notice.
This news has been gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
GCSE pupils open time capsule Year 7 letters to self
Four years ago, with the UK beginning to emerge from its latest Covid-19 lockdown, teacher Damaris Bateson asked her new intake of Year 7 students to write letters to their future the letters which they opened ahead of sitting their exams, they pondered what the world would look like by the time they sat their face masks still be needed? Would they achieve their hopes and dreams?For then 11-year-old Charlie, there was one question at the forefront of his mind. "A childish question, but do you have a girlfriend yet?" Now 16, Charlie blushes as he reads his letter Thursday, he will be among of hundreds of thousands of students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to receive their GCSE marks a significant milestone in their education after years of disruption from the the challenges she faced at the time she began secondary school, Vanessa wrote about her hopes of studying at Columbia University in New York."Don't let nobody [sic] distract you from your studies, but also don't forget to have fun." Vanessa sheepishly admits she used to argue with her teachers when she started at secondary school "because I didn't get my own way"."But I respect everyone now," she says as she breaks out into a beaming smile."I realise I'm not the only person in this world."Classmate Eve told her future self to "tell your grandma and grandad you love them every day"."Remember you are loved and continue doing great," she wrote. "Don't be negative, think positive and become successful."Eve's letter ends with two questions, each with a tick box for yes or no."Are you still happy?" and "Do you still want to be successful?"Four years on, her unwavering positivity remains."Absolutely", she says, confidently tapping her fingertip against the boxes marked 'Y'.The letters were written on 12 March 2021, the second day back in school after the latest lengthy of Year Miss Bateson asked her pupils to write the time capsule letters after realising her pupils' transition from primary school to secondary school had been "really disrupted". "A lot of them had been out of school for months at that point," she says."It was quite an isolating experience."Charlie's letter described how he was "scared I'll test positive out of nowhere", while classmate Fisayomi wrote how "it was tough not seeing friends and family"."Right now the world is not so good," Fisayomi said in 2021."By the time I am in in Year 11 I hope it [Covid] is gone."He is now back doing what he loves, playing football with his friends Gabriel and Daniel, who he's known since he was three years the entire secondary school education of this year's GCSE cohort was shaped by the impact of the they spent months learning from they returned to school in 'bubbles', with restrictions on which parts of the school building they could enter and who they could socialise with. Fisayomi says they would spend entire days "just sitting in the same room"."You'd have the same classroom for every subject. You wouldn't move for the whole day."In some classrooms, windows were left open to reduce the risk of infection."Everyone was wearing their coats because it was freezing," says Charlie."It was just strange."They weren't alone. Schools across the UK had to adapt to ever-changing Covid restrictions throughout 2020 and now, Fisayomi says his year group showed "perseverance" to adjust to life at secondary school in the midst of a pandemic."It was hard to keep going and going," he month, the Covid-19 Inquiry will explore the impact of the pandemic on children and young people. When Damaris asked her students to write their letters in 2021, she wanted to instil "confidence, motivation and self-belief" during a difficult she says revisiting the letters shortly before they sat their GCSE exams this year was a reminder of the ambitions they had for themselves."For some of them, it was: 'My younger self believed I could do this.'"I loved seeing their reactions and I'm phenomenally proud of them."Vanessa still wants to study architecture at Columbia University and Fisayomi hopes to become a doesn't quite know what she'll do after GCSEs, but is "100% adamant" she will be successful in whatever she for Charlie, he plans to study A-levels in History, English Literature, French and Latin - but he's still looking for a girlfriend.
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Plan for school to support excluded pupils in Nottingham approved
Plans for an alternative provision centre that supports excluded pupils have been given the City Council has approved a planning application from Safe Haven Alternative Provision of Excellence to convert an office building in Clumber Avenue into an alternative provision to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) the new centre would be able to accommodate 50 pupils from 11 to 16 years of documents said the students had experienced "significant adverse childhood experiences and trauma" and the majority of them had been permanently excluded from school. The document added: "The students in our provision are at risk of anti-social behaviour and criminalisation. "A significant part of our work with them is around supporting and enabling them to be able to break that cycle."The facility first started out in February 2024 and grew from three students to almost 50 in its first 15 months of operation at its first location on Alfreton Road, the LDRS added.
The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
Warning over ‘chronic' under-performance of boys at GCSEs
Professor Alan Smithers has labelled the under- performance of boys at GCSE as "chronic" and a "major issue", warning it could hinder the nation's economic competitiveness. He highlighted that girls consistently achieve higher grades, with 24.7 per cent of female entries receiving top marks last year compared to 19.0 per cent of male entries. Smithers called for an urgent review of "soul-destroying" compulsory GCSE resits and suggested scrapping the English Baccalaureate due to low language take-up. Ahead of GCSE results day, he predicted that top grades this year would remain high compared to pre-pandemic levels, despite grading standards returning to normal. The Department for Education stated its commitment to ensuring all young people succeed, noting ongoing reviews and reforms to the education system.
