Term-Time Holiday Enquiries Rocket After Dad’s Landmark Disneyland Trip Court Victory

Enquiries into term-time holidays have increased after a dad refused to pay a fine for taking his daughter out of school.

Jon Platt made headlines after he had his £120 penalty overturned by the High Court last week.

The father took his seven-year-old daughter on a trip of a lifetime to Disney World, Florida, last April.

Booking the holiday during term-time meant he made huge savings by avoiding the expensive summer months.

However, once they returned, the school attempted to impose a fine on him – but he decided to fight back.

His victory looks set to have a huge impact – and one online travel agent is already reporting “unprecedented demand” for term-time family holidays.

New data shows that parents in the UK are considering taking holidays in the first week of July or the last week of September.

Managing director of sunshine.co.uk Chris Clarkson said: “When the news hit on Friday of Mr Platt’s success in court, we wanted to keep an eye on bookings and searches over the weekend to see what impact it had, especially since the government announced that it would consider making alterations to the law as a result.

"This would have such a positive impact on parents, particularly in the financial sense, but it seems that many parents are already taking this court case as a sign that they too could get out of a fine if they take their children out of school for a holiday; especially those who’ve already booked!

"They should be wary though until the law is changed, unless they are prepared to pay the fine.”

Outside court on Friday, Mr Platt said: “I am obviously hugely relieved.

"I know that there was an awful lot riding on this – not just for me but for hundreds of other parents.”

Judges ruled that because his daughter was only away from school on an eight-day holiday, it could not be said she wasn’t attending ‘regularly’.

However, the law around the issue remains ambiguous.

(Credit: Barbara Ann Spengler/Flickr)