Real-life MMD: Term-time truancy for a cheap hol

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  • ask yourself the question in reverse. how would you feel if you heard that half of the kids in your son's class had taken time out of school and your kid was behind in his studies because the teacher was busy helping the holiday kids to catch up?

    this behaviour is frowned upon (and fines sometimes issued) for a variety of reasons, but one of them is that it would cause absolute mayhem for the teachers if it became standard practice, so schools try to discourage it.

    it also isn't a brilliant lesson to teach your kid: "we're breaking the rules because we don't respect your teachers authority and think we're better than the other kids at your school". whether you think that or not, you run the risk of setting a bad example unintentionally.

    ultimately, if this is a genuine "once-in-a-lifetime" situation then exceptions can be made, but if your parents just want to watch him play in the sand on the costa del sol while saving a few bucks, then maybe they should just go to margate during the summer holidays instead.
  • Instead of endlessly debating the rights and wrongs of taking children out of school can we do something about the profiteering companies that make it so expensive in the school holidays. I don't believe it is about supply and demand, Other European countries have different holidays especially in the summer so demand will be spread already
  • You can debate until you are blue in the face about whether they will miss anything in School, whether the holiday will be more educational which really depends on the week you choose to miss and the type of holiday. Aside from that, it is about morals and ethics. Surely by taking a holiday you are condoning skipping school when it suits you? Does that not engender a complete lack of respect in education? We have so many problems with children truanting because school doesn't matter - maybe it actually starts with the parents attitude from day 1. He might only be 6years old, but believe me, he's learning, not just at School but from his parents as well!
  • I have to say I'm confused by two people mentioning in a derogatory manner that teachers take InSeT days, so why shouldn't kids go out on holiday during term time.

    InSeT days are NOT in school time. The Local Authority (usually) tells the school how many days education they must provide. So that's what they do. It's usually around 13 weeks, give or take a day or two.

    It is vital that schools provide InSeT days as well - they do this OUTSIDE of the directed teaching days. Most schools choose to attach them to the end or start of term to minimise disruption to parents and carers. Some schools put them in the middle of terms or even in the middle of a week - this bugs me and is, thankfully, rare.

    As others have said, as a true one-off, I can let it slide. But I'm loathed to agree to it generally because otherwise, why are kids at school at all if they could just not go and be provided with worksheets..?
  • ptolomy
    ptolomy Posts: 18
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    I regularly missed a few days of primary school to go on holidays with my family. My parents were teachers too (secondary though so slightly different term dates) and never saw any problem with it.
    It didn't encourage me to truant when I was older or to devalue education at all - I did extra classes at night school when I was older and have a degree and MA.
    At 6 years old I don't think he'll miss out on anything vital in a week. Just find out what his teachers are going to cover and there'll probably be an easy and fun way to cover the same stuff while he's on holiday.
    All the people saying it would be a nightmare for teachers if everyone did this are clearly forgetting that kids are always picking up bugs and having a few days off, the education system doesn't collapse because of it though.
  • I think the tip of this debate should be started towards the government for allowing holiday companies to over inflate prices when the school holidays are on forcing parents to take the kids out of school and then be pestered from the schools for "fines".

    Petition to Mr Cameron I feel..... (not that he'd do anything about it of course!)
  • Samuraiman89
    Samuraiman89 Posts: 29 Forumite
    edited 5 December 2012 at 3:21PM
    I was taken on holiday once or twice a year (two weeks at a time) and as a lot of people have said, I learnt so much more (culture wise, foreign languages, history, personal development) then I ever did at school.

    My holidays continued until my final year at Secondary School and it did me no harm - speaking as someone who graduated and joined an airline and then broadcaster as an analyst in London ;-)

    Ironically in my school, the kids who never went on holiday are now the ones without jobs with children in their late teens lol.

    Travel = more rounded person.
  • Definitely let him go on the holiday. He's 6 years old, what's he going to miss? I took my kids out of school for a week every year until they were year 10 and starting GCSE work and they were fine. My eldest passed all her GSCEs with A*s and As. They had a bit extra homework when they got home and caught up easily. They could have a week off school with a bad bug or flu. When mine were at Primary School the headteacher said to me that they would learn more on a week's holiday than they would in a month at school. As long as you don't take the mickey and give them loads of time off for holidays, a week won't hurt.
  • Perhaps it depends what type of holiday is intended. If it is just a beach holiday, then perhaps it is not sufficient reason. However, I always obtained permission to remove my children from school during term time because the experiences they would have whilst on holiday would far outweigh any classroom teaching. For example, real-life language, cultural, history and geography lessons whilst travelling through mainland Europe, Science lessons whilst waiting for the launch of the Space Shuttle, etc. These are experiences that cannot be gained in context within the classroom, and can enhance the more formal schooling experience. Think hard before taking your child away without permission - the truth will out!
  • I'm sure you wouldn't be the first and you certainly won't be the last. I think it's absolutely ridiculous that holiday companies cash in so much in the holiday times, and it surprises me they actually do any business with people not being able to afford to go during holiday times. Could you not just this once, claim your child is ill? I'm sure the school would never know otherwise.
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