Couple who took their children out of school for a week's holiday in Rhodes could face jail for refusing to pay fines

• Stewart and Natasha Sutherland will appear at Telford Magistrates' Court
• Couple refused to pay initial £360 fine after holiday at the end of September
• They booked the holiday for their three children before guidelines came in
• Penalty then doubled to £720 because it was not paid within 21 days
• Now the week-long break could cost up to £2,000 and pair could be jailed
• Under new rules, children can only take days off for holiday in 'execptional circumstances'
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•  A couple who took their children out of school so they could have their first family holiday in five years risk being jailed after refusing to pay fines introduced under controversial new laws.
  Stewart and Natasha Sutherland will appear before Telford Magistrates' Court tomorrow after they took their three children to the Greek island of Rhodes during the school term. 
  The couple were given an initial fine of £360 after the family of five went away for seven days at the end of September, but were unwilling to pay.
  The penalty then doubled to £720 because they did not pay the fee within 21 days.
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  The Sutherland family: (left to right) Sian, 13, mother Natasha, Keane, six, father Stewart and daughter Rhiannon, 15 on holiday in Rhodes last September
  
  Now the week-long break could cost the couple up to £2,000, while they also face the prospect of a three-month prison sentence.
  The family booked the holiday in October 2012, before the new guidelines were put into force on September 1 least year. 
  Before they went away, the couple were warned they each risked a £60 fine for taking their six-year-old son, Keane, and their daughters Sian, 13, and Rhiannan, 15, on the break.
  Mr Sutherland, 39, who works for the Ministry of Defence Guard Service, said, the family struggle to fit in a regular holiday and were desperate to get away.
  ‘It’s like a revolving door in our house - I come in from work and my wife goes out.' he said.
  ‘We haven’t been able to get leave in the school holidays at the same time for five years, and we desperately needed a family break.
  
  

  Paradise: The family of five went to the Greek Island of Rhodes, a destination popular with British tourists
  
  ‘I work in a sensitive job where staffing levels have to be maintained - there’s been a recruitment and overtime ban and it’s been impossible to arrange summer leave that fits in with the rest of the family.
  ‘I know how important education is - but there’s a bigger picture. Family time is important, too, and the children’s behaviour and schooling has improved massively since our holiday together.’
  The amendments to school attendance regulations ended a policy which let schools grant up to 10 days leave a year for family holidays.
  Headteachers now are not obliged to give pupils leave during term time, expect in 'exceptional circumstances.'
  Now, according to Section 444 of the Education Act, 1996, parents are legally required to send their children to school on a regular basis, and failure to do so can land them a fine or prison sentence.
  
  

  Youngest: Their six-year-old son Keane was taken out of Donnigton Wood Primary School in Telford during the family holiday
  
  
  Mr Sutherland added ‘I informed the school after the summer holidays that we were taking the children out for six days. At that point, I wasn’t even aware of the new legislation.
  ‘We had a letter back warning that as the time off was not authorised we could be fined, but the holiday was already booked and paid for - what could I do?
  ‘I’ve since become aware that other parents just lie and tell the school their kids are ill, but I was upfront from the outset and raise my children to be honest.
  ‘I’ve even heard of local schools advising parents to say their children are sick to avoid getting fined. What kind of lesson does that teach them - that it’s OK to lie and be deceitful?’
  The couple are arguing that the education authority has no appeal process and they have no choice but to go to court to have their say.
  
  

  older children: Their daughters Sian, 13, and Rhiannan, 15, both attend Sutherland Business and Enterprise College in Telford
  
  Mr Sutherland said: ‘This is not about the fine or the cost of the holidays outside of school term, it is about the principle. I could not have holiday any other time.
  ‘We spoke to the school attendance officer and things looked hopeful that the fines would be quashed.
  ‘But the next day we had an email back saying once a fine had been issued, it couldn’t be withdrawn.
  ‘I asked the attendance officer to put herself in our shoes - the kids go back to school and their friends ask where they’ve been over the holidays.
  ‘They have to say 'nowhere, my dad was working.