Furious mother sends Theresa May a £60 bill ‘unauthorised absence’ after her daughter’s school is closed for two days to be used as a polling station
- Weston Junior Academy in Stoke-on-Trent has closed twice in the past month
- It was closed to be used as a polling station for elections, local and European
- Kellie Heal, 35, was furious to hear her 10-year-old daughter’s school had shut
- Bill hits back at ‘unauthorised absence’ fines sent to parents who take children out of school without permission
A mother has humorously attempted to bill Theresa May for the ‘unauthorised absence’ of her daughter from school, after the primary closed for two days to be used as a polling station.
Kellie Heal, 35, was furious to hear that her 10-year-old daughter Demii’s school had been closed on yet another election day, pulling children away from their education.
Weston Junior Academy in Weston Coyney, Stoke-on-Trent, has closed twice in the month of May alone, once to be used as a polling station for the local elections and again on Thursday for the European Elections.
The mum-of-four penned a letter to the Prime Minister billing her for £60 for the ‘unauthorised absences’ – the same amount billed to parents who remove their children without permission.
35-year-old Kellie Heal has written an email to Theresa May fining her for closing her daughter’s school for the local elections and EU elections. Her 10-year-old daughter Demii attended Weston Coyney Junior Academy but following the closures for elections she has decided to home school her daughter
Emailing Theresa May Mrs Heal wrote: ‘Dear Theresa May, I am writing regarding the unauthorised absence for my daughter Demii Sophia Elizabeth Heal during term time to use her school as a polling station on 2nd May 2019.
‘It is my policy not to authorise any absence from school unless it is an exceptional circumstance. The use of the school for political purposes does not meet the criteria of exceptional circumstances.
‘I am therefore fining you and your establishment of £60 per MP per child if paid within 21 days, rising to £120 if not paid between 21-28 days.’
The 35-year-old mother penned the email to the outgoing Tory leader after discovering Weston Junior Academy, in Weston Coyney, Stoke-on-Trent was to shut so it could be used as a polling station for the local election
Mrs Heal posted a screen grab of the email on Facebook with the caption ‘I wonder if i’ll get a response. One rule for parents, one rule for the government.
‘There are plenty of other places to hold polling stations, I.e village halls, churches, scout huts or pubs, yet there is still the need to use our schools.’
The frustrated mother was not expecting the post to be shared many times but woke up to find it had already amassed 3,000 shares.
She told the Mirror: ‘It’s nearly 5,000 shares now and people are agreeing with what I’ve said.
‘I was very shocked by the reaction, I didn’t even expect it to leave the Stoke-on-Trent area, but I’ve had people from Scotland share it and my friend who’s a student said they debated the issue at Staffordshire University.’
Weston Junior Academy in Weston Coyney, Stoke-on-Trent, has closed twice in the month of May alone
Without a reply from the Prime Minister and with several other concerns about the school Mrs Heal has decided to remove her child from Weston Junior Academy, instead homeschooling her.
Mrs Heal told The Mirror: My daughter has special needs. She is in year six but working at year two or three level. For her to miss a day of school, it would have a really negative impact.
‘So I made the decision to take her out of mainstream education and home school her – I’ve seen a massive change, she’s always smiling.’
The mother questions why other available buildings in the area aren’t used as a polling station instead.
She said: ‘There’s plenty of buildings around Weston Coyney such as churches and village halls that are used as polling stations, it doesn’t need to be children’s schools.
‘It doesn’t make sense to me at all.’