Hansbury Farm Primary School in Tamworth recently denied a request by parents to take their child out of school for two days to attend her grandfather’s funeral. Not only did Hansbury Farm Primary School deny the request, they also informed the parents that if they ignored the school’s denial for days off, they would face up to a thousand pound fine for not bringing their daughter to school.
The Hodge family has recently experienced the passing of Mrs. Hodges father, Michael Paul, who had passed away on April 30th. They send the school a letter a week before the funeral asking for compassionate leave time for their daughter. The day before they were suppose to leave and drive up to Watford, they finally received a reply back from the school. The reply from the headmaster, Mr.Hollis, which stated that the school could not excuse their daughter because it was not an exceptional circumstance.
This letter was a huge emotional blow to the Hodge family, who was unable to discuss it with the school that day because the school was closed and they were leaving the next day for the funeral. It caused Mrs. Hodge extreme emotional stress during a very emotional and stressful time for her already.
The Hodge family ultimately decided to take their daughter to her grandfathers funeral and face the consequences when they returned. They were later informed that it was a mistake and that the headmaster had failed to properly read all of the documents attached to their request. The headmaster accepted full responsibility for the mistake; however, the emotional damage was already done.