A single mum has been hit with a £60 fine after taking her son out of school for life-changing medical care.
Tara Sharp flew nine-year-old Theo to Georgia, eastern Europe, for intensive treatment after he developed a number of persistent dangerous infections.
Theo suffered ‘excruciating headaches’, nosebleeds and a high temperature, and started losing weight as his condition worsened.
He was diagnosed with EBV – which can cause glandular fever – as well as staph and stomach infections.
But the schoolboy kept succumbing to illness despite several trips to A&E and courses of antibiotics.
Tara says Theo would have had to wait four-months to see an NHS specialist, giving her no option but to jet 2,000 miles to a private clinic in Georgian capital, Tbilisi, for the £7,000 treatment.
Tara told LeedsLive: ‘He has always been a healthy child up until this year, but eventually he developed these major symptoms and was diagnosed with an infection.
‘I had taken him back and forth to the doctors and we had been to A&E, but still his symptoms were getting worse.
‘He kept getting antibiotics, but every time he finished a course the infections came back.’
Theo was taken out of his school, Green Lane Primary Academy in Garforth, Leeds, for 14 days while the treatment took place in June and July.
He has since gained weight and his symptoms have cleared.
But the school maintains Tara should have taken him for treatment during the holidays and handed her the £60 fine for unauthorised absence.
In a statement, the principal of Green Lane Primary Academy, Lucy Carlisle, said: ‘Our Academy is committed to providing a high-quality education for all pupils.
‘We believe that pupils benefit most from the education at Green Lane through regular school attendance.
‘We seek to work with parents and carers to identify any barriers to attendance and would always encourage families to talk to the school directly in the event of any queries.’
But Tara told how she is ‘disgusted’ by the school’s response – which has left her feeling ‘victimised’ and ‘singled out’.
‘The school said we should have taken him in the school holidays, but this wasn’t a holiday,” said Tara.
‘I went into school to explain what was happening.
‘I needed to do whatever I could to get him well.’
‘What we have endured has been horrendous,’ she added.
‘To be given a £60 fine, especially being a single parent, is a kick in the teeth.
‘I am disgusted by this treatment. There has been no care, no understanding and no support.
‘I do not feel I should be penalised for prioritising my child’s health.
‘I am sure any parent, given my situation, would do the same.’
A family who took their son out of school to attend his grandmother’s funeral in South Africa were slapped with a £120 fine in 2019.
Metro.co.uk exclusively revealed how a mum saved up £4,000 to pay for absence fines rather than send her vulnerable son back to school when classrooms reopened in September 2020.
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