I'm fuming after my son's school fined me £240 over our holiday… now I'm playing them at their own game | The Sun
A RAGING dad has "fined" his son's teachers for going on strike after he was hit with a £240 penalty for taking a family holiday in term-time.
Steven Doherty, 44, was fined when he took his son Alfie, 13, a pupil at St Ambrose Barlow RC High School in Salford, Manchester on holiday during the school term last year.
The Mancunian dad said he booked a holiday for the Easter break before Alfie had been placed in a high school and that he didn't realise schools in the area had different term dates.
Now Steven has sent Alfie's teachers an email "fining" them £120 each for going on strike last Wednesday.
The mechanic slammed teachers for breaking the same attendance rules which he says his family was fined under.
Steven's email, sent on Wednesday evening, cheekily includes his payment details and a Valentine's Day deadline.
It reads: "Good Evening. You probably won't remember me but my name is Steven Doherty.
"My son Alfie is in year eight. I contacted you when he was in Year 7.
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"Whilst waiting to see which high school he was accepted in we booked a holiday for the following Easter.
"We thought we were doing the responsible thing by looking up the term dates on Salford education website & booking during these dates.
"Unfortunately after being accepted at your school the Easter holidays at your school were slightly different to what was on the Salford education website meaning Alfie would miss a couple of days of school.
"I emailed you telling you the predicament we were in, attaching screenshots of the term dates on Salford education's website to prove our position.
"You wrote back to me stating you had a 'zero tolerance' for absence not due to sickness and explained to me how important Alfie's education was and I would be fined for the unauthorised absence.
"Although I was disappointed you didn't review the situation and realise it wasn't a deliberate attempt to go on holiday in term time I was impressed how seriously you took your pupils' education.
After describing how Alfie told him about the strikes, Steven's email continues: "I was gobsmacked! You could've knocked me over with a Year 7's PE bag.
"Now I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed.
"So I will be fining each teacher that should've taught Alfie today £120.
"Now I will show some understanding of the situation and with times being so hard for teachers at the moment if the fine is paid before 14th February, 2023 I will be willing to halve the amount.
"Payment can be made via PayPal to [redacted] or my bank details are [redacted]."
St Ambrose Barlow RC High School ignored the email, but told Steven to remove his screenshots of it from Facebook.
Steven said: "When I heard Alfie was off it annoyed me because of the double standards. It's hypocritical.
"It's acceptable to not be in school when they don't want to be in school but it's not when I make a genuine mistake on my holiday.
"The school wanted to see it as black and white when they fined me so I thought I'd give it back to them the same way.
"I hope they'll have a bit of a laugh with me but I don't know.
He added: "I thought I'd give them a bit of karma and send this email.
"It entertained me last night. I was laughing as I wrote it.
"Obviously I don't expect them to pay me any money in the near future but it might make them think I've got a point and realise they could have been more amicable and had more sympathy with me.
"Teachers are jumping on it and giving me abuse, thinking I'm falling out with them.
"I've not got an issue with why teachers are striking but it's about double standards."
People in Manchester were divided over Steven's furious email.
One local said: "You're right mate I said this earlier. Fined for not being in school but they can have a day off to strike."
Another agreed: "That's f***ing genius."
But a third Mancunian said: "Bit silly really, considering teachers pave the way for your child to succeed in life.
"They are fighting for a better education system, yes pay too, but I, for one second, wish you could see how much work teachers do. Grow up."
Another said: "Imagine thinking a week away doing absolutely s**t all is in any way comparable to teachers taking a day to try and improve their children's learning environments and getting abused for it."
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Salford Council declined to comment.
St Ambrose Barlow RC High School were contacted for comment.
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