Parents fined for child’s school absence

A Birmingham couple whose child missed more than two weeks of schooling whilst attending a funeral in Pakistan have been fined.

The man and woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, each pleaded guilty to a charge of being the parent of a child of compulsory school age who failed to attend regularly at that school.

A hearing at Birmingham Magistrates Court was told the girl had missed 22 sessions, or 11 days, of schooling between January 6 and January 21 this year.

Magistrates heard how the girl’s grandfather had died and the funeral had taken place in Pakistan.

But it emerged the girl flew out from Britain during the Christmas holidays and the subsequent absence in the new year had not been authorised by the school.

Prosecutors said that, had the travel arrangements been made during term time, the school would have considered granting five days leave of absence.

Magistrates also heard that the parents had previously received penalty notices for non-school attendance in 2025, which had been paid.

The chair of the bench told the couple: “It is really important that children attend school and it is the law.

“You have pleaded guilty and we do understand the circumstances and that you needed to travel abroad.”

Each parent was fined £40 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £16 and prosecution costs of £85, leaving them with a bill of £141 each.

In a separate case, another parent pleaded not guilty for failing to ensure his child attended school regularly between July 3 and July 18 last year.

The case was adjourned for a trial, which will take place on April 12 2027.

By Gurdip Thandi | Local Democracy Reporting Service