The survey says: school absence

Victor Besa for The National

A recent judgment by the highest court in England, Wales and Northern Ireland on pupil absence from school during term-time has potential consequences far beyond the borders of the United Kingdom. At the very least, it has stirred up a fierce debate about the rights of parents, pupils and schools.

The Supreme Court found that a local council in England was entitled to fine a parent for taking his son out of school during term-time. The parent had taken his child to Disney World in the US and was fined around Dh500 for doing so, before the ruling was challenged.

We asked 3,513 users of the TaskSpotting app for their opinions on absences from school in this country.

TaskSpotting describes itself as the region’s only advocate marketing platform and pitches our questions to its app community who typically engage with brands to create content, spread awareness and share feedback.

Four out of ten respondents said they would take a child out of school during term-time. Around the same number said parents should be fined if their child was absent without good reason. Overall, the results paint a picture of respondents being conflicted on this thorniest of educational issues.