Fleetdown Primary School head teacher drops term-time holiday threat

A head teacher who warned pupils could lose their school places if they took family holidays during term time has been ordered to drop the threat.

Angela Konarzewski said places of pupils taking term-time holidays from Fleetdown Primary School could be offered to others on the waiting list.

She said parents might have to "renegotiate" their child's spot at the Dartford school upon their return.

But Kent County Council said it believed such action was unlawful.

Mrs Konarzewski said the school, rated outstanding by Ofsted in 2014, was in high demand, with two children vying for each place.

And in a newsletter, she warned parents who fell foul of term-time holiday rules that they might have to sign a written agreement promising not to repeat the offence.

She said even a small amount of absence had an impact on achievement.

"I think their education is more important than having a holiday with the family. It's not a human right to have a holiday," she said.

"It's a form of child abuse, in my opinion."

But the council's education director Patrick Leeson said there was "no legal provision" for a school to remove a pupil for non-attendance.

"Unauthorised absence from school to attend a holiday cannot be seen as persistent or serious breaches of a school's behaviour policy," he said.

"In addition... it would be unlawful to exclude a child for the behaviour of their parents."

"As it is a local authority school, Kent County Council will be instructing the governors to amend their relevant behavioural and absence policy to reflect current legislation."

Mrs Konarzewsky earlier acknowledged that current legislation meant pupils could not enforce an exclusion but said an "absent" child's place could be offered to a pupil on the waiting list.