Parents of boy, 9, are slapped with £120 fine for missing school for his grandmother’s FUNERAL

The furious parents of a nine-year-old boy have been slapped with a £120 fine for taking their son out of school to attend his grandmother’s funeral in South Africa.

Carol Follows said she informed St Matthew’s Church of England Academy in Stoke-on-Trent that she would need to take Logan, 9, out of school for 12 days following her mother’s sudden death.

The grieving 49-year-old says she was told the absence would become unauthorised after five days of missing school.

Now she and her husband David have been stunned to receive a £120 penalty from Stoke-on-Trent City Council for the period between June 27 and July 4.

If she doesn’t pay it, she faces a court fine of up to £1,000.

The fine is halved to £60 if paid by September 6.

Mrs Follows moved to Stoke-on-Trent from South Africa 19 years ago.

Mrs Follows said: ‘We advised the school on June 17 that we may have to leave because my mother was not well. She passed away that afternoon quite unexpectedly. 

‘I told the school we would have to leave on June 20 and we wouldn’t be able to return until July 8 which would give us two weeks to arrange the funeral and sort out her estate.

‘We followed the correct protocol and sent a letter. The school said we could have five days of authorised absence, but the rest would be unauthorised. It was obviously going to take us longer than five days to sort out the estate.’

Logan returned to school on July 5. 

The penalty was issued on August 14 and the Follows can challenge it with  headteacher Jennifer Mountford. 

His mother Carol Follows informed St Matthew’s Church of England Academy in Stoke-on-Trent (pictured) that Logan would be missing school. She can challenge the £120 fine with the headteacher but cannot do this until September 3, when the school is reopened after summer holidays

But the school is shut for the summer holidays and does not return until September 3.

Mrs Follows added: ‘Logan has never exceeded absence levels and is above average on his school reports, so I don’t understand why we are being penalised for my mum dying.

‘This letter has been sent in the school summer holidays. 

‘The school goes back on September 3 which only gives me three days to challenge the fine before it doubles. It’s just not acceptable.

‘If I had just gone on holiday then I would have paid the fine, but I was taking my son to bury his grandmother – I couldn’t just leave him at home. It just doesn’t leave a good taste in my mouth.’

Mrs Fellows’s mother died unexpectedly in June. Logan (right) with his father David

The penalty charge notice states: ‘This notice may be withdrawn by the education welfare team or the headteacher if it is shown that it should not have been issued to you or it has not been issued to you in accordance with the local code of conduct.

‘If you believe the notice was wrongly issued you must contact the school, in the first instance, to ask for it to be withdrawn as soon as possible, stating why you believe the notice has been incorrectly issued.

‘The school will consider your request and will contact you to let you know whether the notice is withdrawn.

‘If the notice is not withdrawn and you do not pay, you will be liable to prosecution for the offence that your child has failed to attend school regularly.’

Stoke-on-Trent City Council have declined to comment.