A CREWKERNE mother is objecting to an attempt by Somerset County Council to prosecute her for taking her two children out of school during a term time holiday.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denied two offences of being the parent of her son and daughter, who were both attending schools in Crewkerne, and that she failed to ensure they attended regularly at their schools between June 30 and July 19 last year.
However, she told a court at Yeovil that the holiday had been a family gathering at her grandmother’s house as she was poorly and later died.
District Judge David Taylor was told the defendant was intending to fight the case by using arguments put forward in the Jon Platt case on the Isle of Wight, who successfully challenged his local council’s decision last year in a High Court ruling.
His argument was his daughter was only required to have “regular attendance” at school and was therefore not contravening the law.
Following a review of the matter the judge adjourned the case until May 26 when the defendant must return to the court to stand trial before Somerset Magistrates.
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