Maxine Ingrouille-Kidd wants to take her quadriplegic, epileptic, terminally ill teenager on what may be his last holiday. Curtis enjoys the rocking motion of boats and loves swimming, so she wants to celebrate her silver wedding by taking him on a cruise. She tried to book for the autumn half-term, but no wheelchair-friendly cabins were available. Rather than give up, she asked the school for permission to miss a week.
The answer was no. Under new rules brought in by Michael Gove last autumn, school attendance must always take priority over joyful, absorbing, memorable experiences even when the child in question will be dead within a few years. If Maxine takes her son away, she and her husband will be fined £60 per child per