I'd rather have a criminal record than pay school fine over earrings

A mum in Newark is refusing to pay a school fine due to her daughter's earrings and says she would rather have a criminal record. Helen Gent, 45, has described the situation as "ridiculous" after her daughter was not allowed into lessons at Magnus Church of England Academy due to wearing gold studs in her ears, resulting in "unauthorised absences".

In Nottinghamshire, if a child has over three days of unauthorised absences in a six-week period the parents can be issued a penalty notice of £120. However, Helen claims that she took her daughter, Lucille, to school each day and that the academy refused to let her into classes because she would not take out her earrings due to her ears being newly pierced.

Helen explained: "In June just after the May half term she went to school having had her ears pierced. She just had a pair of gold studs."

She was advised that the studs would need to stay in for six to eight weeks so that they could heal properly and so they would not become infected. However on her first day back at school she was told the school has "a zero jewellery policy" and that the earrings would need to come out.

Helen offered to cover the studs with plasters, but claims she was told that this was not an option and her daughter, who was in Year 9 at the time, would need to be in isolation whilst she wore them. The mum, who runs her own taxi business, said this was "not acceptable" as Lucille is a good student and wants to be in her lessons.

She added: "She always hands her homework in on time and is bothered that she does well. Putting a child into isolation for six weeks is so damaging to their experience of school and their mental health."

For five consecutive days Helen claims she took her daughter into school and requested that she was put back into classes but the school told her no. She also said that during those five days she set work for Lucille to complete at home as the school would allegedly not send work home.

After five days of missing school, her teenager was worried about falling behind and missing a French test, and so Helen purchased a pair of clear stud earrings. She explained: "I bought her a pair of clear plastic studs and you can hardly see they are there unless you look very closely.

"I was thinking they would do a uniform check but nothing, she went into class and she went and did her French exam." A couple of weeks later Helen claims she received a letter from the school stating that Lucille had five unauthorised absences and warned her that there could be a fine if there was any more.

She thought the matter was closed as her daughter usually had 100 per cent attendance, but then received a letter that she was being fined £120, or just £60 if it was paid within a certain timeframe. However, as Helen took her daughter to school each day and was turned away, she feels the absences should not be classed as "unauthorised".

She said: "I told them I'm not going to pay because they are not unauthorised absences. They took her out of classes. I took her to registration every day and begged them to put her into lessons and they refused. That's their choice."

A spokesperson for Magnus Church of England Academy said: "Our uniform standards are clear and available on our website. These have not changed in over six years, and reminders are sent home frequently throughout the year.

"On rare occasions, and where individuals do arrive at school having not followed our uniform policy, we always give them an opportunity to correct this. If they do not, or cannot correct their uniform, we provide work, along with full teacher support, for them to complete elsewhere within the school.

"We do not exclude for uniform breaches and we always work with families to resolve them quickly." However, Helen has argued that pupils can be seen wearing earrings in the school's 2024 prospectus.

The fines Helen received were issued by Nottinghamshire County Council as the local authority of the school, but the mum refuses to pay so she is now waiting for a court date. A spokesperson for the council said: "The decision about whether to authorise an absence is a matter for each school, not the county council.

"The council issues enforcement notices only if schools formally request it, and provide supporting evidence. If a parent is unhappy with a decision taken by a headteacher, they would need to follow the school’s complaints process.”

Helen added: "I've had to take on a solicitor which is costing me money and I'm going to have to take a day off work which is going to cost me hundreds." Helen is risking a criminal record over the situation.

Regarding the jewellery policy at her daughter's school, Helen claims she was told it was not because of health and safety reasons but because of valuable items being potentially lost. Describing the earrings Lucille was wearing, she explained it was a pair of quick-release gold studs that she paid no more than £20 for, and she feels it should be the "parent's choice" what they send the child to school with.

Lucille is now in Year 10 and her first year of GCSEs and is "determined to do well" but the situation is causing additional stress on them. Helen shared that Lucille is in the "top set for all her classes" and that she was one of just a handful of students at the school who were working on the Duke of Edinburgh Award.

Since the incident in June, Lucille has not missed a single day of school and even received an award last week for having a 100 per cent attendance since September.