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School illegally fines parents for smoking students

A headteacher has bizarrely used the smoking ban to send fines to the parents of pupils caught smoking in the school playground.

School gates As reported today by the Evening Standard:

Margaret Peacock, head of Elliot School in Putney, wrongly claimed powers under the 2007 smoking ban to issue the £50 penalties.

Ms Peacock sent letters to the parents demanding the £50 and warned them that if they did not pay, the school's governors would face a £2,500 fine. In the letter, she wrote: “The law, which came into force on 1 July 2007, prohibits smoking on public property.

“Your child was part of a group of girls seen on CCTV who were involved in smoking on the school site and therefore a fixed penalty fine of £50 has been imposed.”

In what should be considered a victory for commonsense, Wandsworth local education authority has admitted the school was wrong and has demanded it refund the fines.

The children are damaging their health and shouldn't be smoking on school property, but equally the school had no right to start dishing out fines to their parents.

The school might need more money, but this is not the way to do it.

By Dylan Sharpe

Posted on February 19, 2010 by Big Brother Watch Posted in Home
  • http://sandalsandsocks.typepad.com Keith

    It’s almost like one of those Nigerian scams, sending out fine letters with no authority to back it up but a misguided belief. And we trust F***wits like this to educate the next generation

  • David Cooper

    The practice of private parking enforcement companies is not far removed from this one, especially when combined with the government turning a blind eye to what is little more than blatant abuse of the DVLA in the process. They cannot lawfully impose fines either, but they do their utmost to trick their victims into thinking they can.

  • http://profile.typepad.com/6p0115723fadaa970b Peter Thurgood

    The author of this piece says “The children are damaging their health and shouldn’t be smoking on school property”
    Children’s health is damaged every day, especially in London, just by the very act of going to school, and inhaling all the noxious traffic fumes that surround them, so what are we going to see next, little anti-smoking Hitler’s like the obnoxious Margaret Peacock, head of Elliot School in Putney, imposing illegal fines on them as well?
    Upstarts like this must be stopped in their tracks before their activities get out of hand, as they did in Nazi Germany.
    We have all heard the excuses, that they were only obeying orders, but while our government turns their backs and allows this type of thing to happen, we are in grave danger of loosing not just our freedom to enjoy a perfectly legal substance, i.e. tobacco, but also our freedom to stand up for our rights as human beings.

  • http://www.replicachanelwatches.com/ replica chanel watches

    Teacher, I moved for you, I love you, I love our class. You are my second mother, this class is our second home

  • Sean Lever

    Frankly, I’m amazed that the parents were daft enough to couch up (sorry) the fine money. 13 years of socialism has dulled the former sharp edge of the British people’s fondness to stand up for what’s right and reasonable.
    It’s time for public servants to remember they exist to serve those that pay for them and not to be another long arm of the state.