A FATHER who fought for the right to take his child on holiday during term time has said he did it to prevent parents being pushed around by bully-boy local authorities.

Richard Davey and wife Tania both pleaded not guilty to a charge of failing to ensure the regular attendance of their child at school when they took him on a five day term-time holiday last autumn. But despite the child having attendance of more than 95 per cent Swindon Borough Council hauled the parents before court.

After the magistrates ruled there was no case to answer he hopes parents will be left in peace to decide what is best for their children.

“The education act is unclear in the very fact it says children must attend regularly. But it doesn’t say exactly what the marker is,” he said.

For the period of September to April the child’s attendance stood at almost 96 per cent when the couple appeared before magistrates to contest the charges brought against them.

“I do my best to get holidays booked in school holidays but unfortunately we all work and just because the school is off it doesn’t mean the rest of us are going to be off.

“I did think long and hard about this, and what I did do was speak to the school and ask for the time off, I followed their processes. I gave them the application form in June for the holiday in October. They didn’t respond to me. I chased it four times.

“I do feel that schools are being put into a position by the government - by the local authorities - when they should be getting on with teaching. The education act was written in 1996 specifically to target persistent offenders of truancy not to target people going on holiday or their children coming out of school for another reason.

“The local authorities are more-or-less saying to you that you’re committing a criminal offence but if you give us £60 per child, per parent, we will turn a blind eye. That goes against what the government is saying about there being a persistent problem with children being out of school during term time.”

During the week-long holiday to Malta, Mr Davey said the family spent the time exploring local landmarks and taking in the country’s culture, not lazing about on the beach. His son was even set work to do during the week-off by his teacher and had to complete an essay about it upon his return.

“I am strong advocate of education and every child should have the opportunity to succeed at school, however I believe that a family life is more important and unwarranted intrusions by the state or a local authority are not appreciated,” he said.

“To be told by the magistrates that there was no case to answer was a relief obviously. If it had gone the other way I would have had a criminal record. It’s a big gamble to take. If I had paid the penalty fine that’s an admission of guilt and I don’t think I had done anything wrong.”

But despite taking days off work to go to court and countless hours researching the law to defend himself in court the IT project manager said he would not be pursuing the council for costs, which a defence lawyer in the same situation would. “I’m not going to do that because it is the taxpayers’ money. It is not about the money, it is about being pushed around by bully-boy councils and government,” he said.

“I don’t have a problem with the school. I think it’s a fantastic school and I think teachers on the whole are really good, but let’s leave them to teach that’s what their job is.

“I think it is important to let everyone know about this so that if anyone is in the same position as me and it is the only time that they can go on holiday and it is in term time don’t be made to feel that you are a criminal, because you’re not.

“Most parents know what is best for their children. I am not condoning that they should do this, but they need to make their own judgement on whether it is a good idea or not. I have done my best to book holidays during school holiday time and I will continue to do that.”

A spokesman for Swindon Borough Council said: “The government’s intention when the regulations were introduced was to stop parents taking children out of school on holiday without the school’s permission, because it affected their learning and chances of educational success. We have taken cases to court in Swindon for no other reason than the educational interests of the children concerned.

“What is clear in Mr Davey’s case is that the headteacher had not given written permission for the absence, and that is the only authorisation that is valid. The fact that an individual teacher may give a child work to do while they are absent does not constitute permission.”

Mr Davey added: “A 100 per cent attendance at school does not necessarily mean that good grades will follow. To prove this point my eldest daughter who has long since finished school suffered with an ongoing illness that plagued her attendance in years 10 and 11, and she barely managed 75 per cent, but this did not stop her from achieving 12 grade A-C GCSEs, four A levels before finally graduating from University with a 2:1.

“There are good families up and down this country that are being chased by over-zealous councils which must stop. Unfortunately we live in a society that is more interested in ticking boxes and the government, local authorities and to some degree schools should stop their policy of chasing numbers.”