EDUCATION bosses in Bradford say a supreme court decision that parents cannot take their children out of school during term-time gives “renewed confidence” they are taking the right approach.

Today, five Supreme Court justices unanimously ruled against father Jon Platt who took his daughter to Disney World during school term-time in a decision which will have a major impact on schools and parents across the country.

Mr Platt had been fined £120.

In a judgment clarifying what “regular” school attendance means, the country’s top judges allowed an appeal by Isle of Wight education chiefs against an earlier court ruling that Mr Platt had not acted unlawfully.

Bradford Council handed out 4,985 Education Penalty Notices in the 2015/16 academic year, the third highest number in the country.

The number has been steadily rising in recent years as the authority toughened its stance.

Judith Kirk, the Council’s deputy director for education, employment and skills, said: “A child’s absence during term time disrupts their teaching and learning and this can impact on their progress, attainment and ultimately their life chances.

“We aim to minimise the amount of time lost to term-time leave through a policy which discourages parents from arranging family holidays and trips abroad and supports schools to only authorise such absences in exceptional circumstances.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus:

“It is for head teachers to determine if the requests for leave of absence are reasonable. Each request should be judged on a case by case basis.

“We’d not changed our approach as a result of earlier court decisions involving Mr Platt and the Isle of Wight Council.

“The outcome of today’s Supreme Court ruling in the council’s favour gives us renewed confidence that the approach we are taking is the right one.”

Councillor Debbie Davies, the Conservative group’s education spokesman, said: “When parents send their children to school they know what the rules are.

“I do have sympathy with families, but having children attend school when they are meant to is best for them, best for families and best for the schools.”

But Councillor Jeanette Sunderland, the Liberal Democrats spokesman, argued that the school holiday system needs change saying: “They’ve come about by some historical quirk, left over from when children needed long holidays to help families with farms.

“Someone has got to shake things up.”