AFTER being fined for taking his children out of school to attend their grandmother’s funeral, a Horndean father is calling for a new watchdog group to be set up to arbitrate in such cases in future.

Mark Massel was fined £240 after his children came out of Horndean Primary School for almost four weeks to attend their Thai grandmother’s funeral.

A Buddhist funeral takes at least a week, and can last up to 49 days in some cases. Mr Massel, of Hamilton Close, said: “We lived in Thailand, and they (the children) grew up there, so knew their grandmother very well.

“In January I was fined on the headteacher’s instigation for taking them out of school.

“I find myself questioning this when there are humanitarian, cultural and educational issues that really ought to be considered.

“Perhaps a small committee of parents should be appointed to investigate such decisions, and be able to offer recompense in the case of inappropriate fines.”

It was in November that the Thai grandmother of Michael (10) and Sophie (8) died, and it was decided they and their mother Tanyanat – a Thai national – should attend the funeral and some of its ceremonies.

Due to work commitments, and the expense, Mark stayed at home.

He approached the school’s headteacher Maria Ackland, who is responsible to the local education authority (LEA) Hampshire County Council, and told her the circumstances.

He said: “She insisted that two days was the recognised allowed time off.

“I find it sad the ethos of tender, loving, care, the school quite rightly holds in such high esteem is taught to pupils, but not practiced at the higher levels of the school’s management.”

Despite being asked for a view on the case, Hampshire County Council effectively refused to comment.

Although they are the local education authority which sets policy for schools across Hampshire, it has distanced itself from this incident, saying the headteacher would have had the final decision in this case.

In a brief statement to the Post, Hampshire County Council said: “Regular attendance at school is crucial for good educational attainment.

“While we are unable to comment on individual cases, we can confirm that Hampshire schools follow the council’s code of conduct which is up to date and in line with the Department of Education’s statutory guidance.

“It advises schools not to authorise term time absence except in exceptional circumstances.

“Headteachers consider requests for absence on a case by case basis and determine if exceptional circumstances apply.”

The council also claims that some of the information provided to the Post by Mr Massel regarding the amount of absence authorised was “not accurate,” yet they didn’t provide alternative information.

The code says penalty notice fines such as the one paid by Mr Massel are to tackle parents who aren’t “willing to take responsibility” for ensuring their children go to school.

It adds that if after a warning letter, there is still sufficient irregular attendance, a penalty notice must be issued unless there are exceptional reasons against doing it.

Anyone who wants to learn more about the council’s policies and fines which apply should visit the website at: www3.hants.gov.uk/code-of-conduct-issuing-penalty-notices-for-unauthorised-absence-from-schools