Parents Fined $1400 for Pulling Grieving Kids Out of School for Family Vacation

A couple have been fined £1,000 (about $1,400) for taking their children on holiday during term time after their grandmother died.

Richard and Kerry Bowering, from Bristol, took daughters Tori, 10, and Maddison, seven, to Spain after the death of the children’s grandmother and their mother’s own cancer scare.

However, their school refused to give permission for the family to go on the trip and fined them £240 (about $340) on their return.

After the couple refused to pay, the case went to court and the fine and costs increased to a total of £950 (about $1350).

Mr Bowering said the holiday was booked as a treat for the two children after a difficult few months at the beginning of last year.

“In January, their gran died of cancer and then at the end of February their mum had a hysterectomy for cervical cancer,” he said.

“They were really badly affected by those things - it was a nightmare time - so we thought we would give them a break and take them on holiday.

“I asked for a bit of compassion to allow us to do that. I asked the headmistress for permission and she refused.

“We got back and then we had these fines.”

The family were fined £60 (about $85) per parent per child by Bristol City Council on the instruction of Little Mead Primary Academy in north Bristol after the week-long holiday to the Costa Brava in October.

The couple didn’t attend a court date to fight the case and were handed fines and costs totalling £950 (about $1350) earlier this month.

A spokesman for the school said headteacher Barbara Daykin had merely followed government guidance.

A spokesman for Bristol City Council said: “The council has a duty to follow the current legislation and national guidelines relating to pupil attendance, as set out in the Department for Education’s guidance.

“This includes fines which are also set out by central government.”

(Picture: SWNS)