Hi everyone

I received a fine today of 725.00 to which I had no clue why

After numerous phone calls I found out that this relates to a school fine from last year8 -15th September 2017.

Now the reason I had no knowledge of this is all correspondence have been sent to my previous address even though I moved 3 years and school have all my news details

Can I appeal this as I had no knowledge?

And would of sorted it long before it got to court being fined and then not paying it.

There are circumstances as to why I took children out of school and notified school

In advance but I heard nothing back so presumed this was authorised.

Quite surprised that no teachers have mentioned this to me as I attend meetings often due to my child having special needs.

The fine is for bad attendance which is partly down to suspensions and school sanctioning a week off when I ran out of his medication.

There’s only 5 days that’s actually down to me.

And it’s the 1st time I’ve gone against school policy but the time we booked the holiday my children were home educated

I took the opportunity to have a little break been a very stressful year with issues with school and my own health

We went away in September as I was scheduled to have heart surgery in the november all was explained in a letter to School when asked permission to remove them for 5 days heard nothing back presumed all ok and authorised

I have rang the court but get no option to talk to anyone only option to pay

I don’t deny the fine and will willingly pay it but rather annoyed it came to this through school Sending correspondence to old address

Any advice much appreciated my stress levels are through the roof.

Thanks

So it was a prosecution in the Magistrates court for failing to make sure your child attended school in the week 8 - 15 September 2017? ie the school did not authorise the absence for you to take your child on holiday. (The suspension [fixed term exclusion] and the week the school agreed to when he ran out of medication would not be reasons for the fine because they were authorised absences. You can't be prosecuted if the school authorised the absence.)

You should have received a Fixed Penalty Notice for it first, and then if you didn't pay the FPN the local council could take you to court. Sounds like that is what has happened. It's the local council who decides to prosecute you in the Magistrates court, not the school. The school may not have known about the prosecution. In any case FPNs and prosecutions are something only the head would be involved in. The class teachers wouldn't usually be told so I'm not surprised they didn't say anything to you about it.

Seems as if all the correspondence has gone to wrong address. That could be the council's fault for not checking with the school. Or the school's fault for not updating their records. Or both.

Have you received letters from the school in the last 12 months sent to your current address? If so that would evidence they knew your current address. [Letters sent by Royal Mail that is, lots of stuff gets sent by pupil post]

So for a criminal prosecution can you get the conviction set aside if you never received the summons? Hopefully someone here will know the answer to that.

Thanks for reply

I have no correspondence for new address. Apparently been sent to the old one. The LA also have my new address as they have attended when I Home educated and also had to forms to fill in with name address contacts etc when they went back into school school sends me most things via emails. I’m not at home at the moment but I will copies of letters I’ve sent into school when I detegistered then which will have current address on

Suspensions and exclusions are classed as unauthorised I was told when I myself queried his attendance percentage as was the week due to his medication in fact the teacher denied all knowledge of it . Just a nightmare all this I have the the name of the court I will telephone and see what they say. I admit the fine and accept I have it to pay just this enforcement letter has got me in tizz just hope they give me some time to get it together.

The school is definitely wrong to say exclusion is an unauthorised absence but I don't think it matters in this case as the only absence you have been prosecuted for is the 5 days you took your child on holiday.

The email I received today after sending them enquiry stated the children failed to attend regularly she'd had no time off since returning to school until the holiday

My son had 1 day to attend clinic

rest of time off down to exclusions and having no medication

he was especially hardwork at this time and school wanted to put him on a part time timetable

but after telephone conversation the week away from school was agreed to this

must of been unauthorised to take his Attendance to the percentage it was at

I ve no issue in paying the fine.

Just the opportunity to defend myself and prove this is not a regular thing

it was a one off holiday booked at the time the children were home educated.

I have the copy of letter I sent into school asking them to email or phone if the time off was an issue

I didn’t even get a phone call or text to say they were absent from school like you usually do

so I just presumed the head had sanctioned it

….so I just presumed the head had sanctioned it

….and that was where you went wrong.

Anyway, what's happened has happened and you have been convicted by Magistrates and fined. The question is, can you get the conviction quashed and the case reheard on the grounds that you knew nothing about it and the prosecuting authority had failed to take proper steps to find your address? Sorry, I don't know the answer to that. Hopefully someone else here will.

But I'm not clear what you want to achieve. You've twice said that you admit the offence and know you have to pay the fine. So why not just pay it?

If original fine was posted to correct address which they have. It would of been paid within stated time

Now it’s 725.00 which I’m in no postition to pay not within 7 days

Thanks for your replies

Then you should go to the court and ask to do a statutory declaration on the basis that the correspondence was sent to the wrong address and you knew nothing about it

That should then allow you to pay the original fine

Thank you I will phone the relevant court in the morning