MMD: Should you take the kids out of school for a holiday?

airiez

Last year i took my two children out of school for 1 week from 7th July to 14th July. I am divorced and it was our first ever holiday, we went to Devon to a holiday park and if we had gone in the summer holidays the price was double! I did get permission from the head teachers, my son has autistic spectrum disorder and goes to a special school, the head didn't hesitate to give permission as he said it could only be a positive experience.My daughters head teacher was reluctant at first, stating that my daughter would be missing out on valuable education.I argued the fact that there was no "valuable education" happening the week we were going, quite the opposite,the school was on wind down for the summer break and all that was happening was dvd's, playing games,summer fairs etc.My daughter had completed her Sats and has a good school record,permission was given!Nothing educational missed and we had a great British holiday.:T

A.Jones

Sheepster wrote: »

I can't for personal reasons, but if I could....then I would.

It's all very well when we had people like Tony Blair bleating on about parents not taking children out of school, and his government threatening fines for doing so....unlike him, we don't get holidays given away!

His out of touch government should reserve their annoyance for the reason poorer parents take kids out of school - the rip-off holiday companies hiking the prices every single school holiday.

Do you watch / listen to the news? Tony Blair is not the Prime Minister.

Why is it a rip-off for holiday companies to charge more for holidays when there is high demand at certain times? All companies do this - if a product is in demand then they will charge more for it than one they cannot shift.

My answer to the question - I would seek the school's permission first.

janineo

I don't see a problem with taking children out of school for holidays as long as it isn't abused, and done every year.
I was taken out of school for a week when I was 8 for a holiday in France. We certainly didn't have a lot of money, in fact we only went abroad 3 times when I was at school, and I certainly remember those holidays far more than the trips to the British seaside. It didn't affect my education in any way I can see (9 GCSE's, 3 A-Levels and a BSc).

I don't currently have children, but when I do, if we really can't afford a holiday in the summer, then I will take them out of school, providing there are no exams. And as neither myself or my husband enjoy lying in the sun all day, there will definately be some culture involved!

Family is important, time together is the most beneficial part of childhood. Yes, education is important too, but not to the exclusion of all else.

Xenos

I'm a teacher, and I would beseech parents not to take their children out of school AT THIS TIME OF YEAR.

If you want to take them out of school and save at bit of money, fine, but do it in June (unless they have exams then of course, but that only affects GCSE and A-level students, and they'll have finished by July so you can go then.) Or in the second half of December.

The winter term (by which I mean Sept, Oct, Nov and the first half of Dec) is incredibly busy. For teachers and students. Teachers are getting to know their classes, students are making friends, work is covered at breakneck speed. Taking a child out for a week at this time is going to cause them all sorts of problems. They could miss some very crucial piece of understanding that dents their confidence for the rest of the year because they consequently 'don't get it'. It's all very well to say the teacher should be able to help them catch up, but teachers have classes of 25-30 students and they are very, very busy. There is a limit.

With the best will in the world, things ease off in the second half of Decembere, veryone has settled down by then and both students and teachers are winding down for Christmas. Anything I cover in that last week before the holiday I would moreorless expect to have to revise again anway :rolleyes:. Likewise at the end of June.

So fine, take your children out of school if you must, but please give some serious thought as to WHEN. September is the worst possible time to do it!

batvink

In addition, I would welcome comments from other cultures and religions where it is known that their children can be taken out of school for longer than 2 weeks for 'religious' reasons. Whats the difference ? none !

That's not right at all! The same rules apply to all children. If the school chooses to allow children to be taken out for extended periods for religious / cultural reasons, then I would say they need to review the strength of their leadership team.

I have seen confusing messages come from schools. Authorised absence is not automatically granted, although some schools would give you that impression. It's intended for exceptional circumstances, such as family bereavements.

I wouldn't take my children out of school if I could help it, although we have done it once. We checked with the teacher that the work planned for that period that would be missed would not affect the rest of the year (a lot of work is cumulative, missing a week could affect a whole term's work).

Having said all of that, I think it's time the government stepped in and stopped the unethical practises of travel companies. They put families in a most awkward position, forcing them to make decisions such as this. I fully sympathise with people that just want a nice break at the only time they can afford it. That is very different, though, to putting your child's education at risk just to save a few quid.

staggered

I am totally against parents taking their kids out of school during term-time.

I agree with the earlier poster. What if the teachers decided that THEY wanted to take THEIR kids on holiday during term-time? And closed the school for 2 weeks so that they could do it? There wouldn't be many parents saying "well, it's only 2 weeks, they won't miss anything important". There'd be absolute uproar. They'd want to know why the teachers couldn't have taken their kids away during the 13 weeks holiday!

I don't have kids myself, but I have to pay taxes so that other people's kids can get an education. I don't mind doing that - children are entitled to an education. But parents can't just pick and choose when they want to send their kids to school, whenever's most convenient, whenever saves them money. It's something for something - your child gets a free education, you send them to school.

I think that parents who take their children out of school are selfish and disrespectful - to the teachers who'll have to spend time helping them catch up on what they've missed, and to the tax-payers who paid for their children to be able to go to school in the first place.

If you can't afford to take your kids abroad for two weeks during the school holidays, take them for one week or don't take them at all. It's as simple as that. If you want to blame anyone, blame the greedy holiday companies.

sealady

irecord wrote: »

My sister and I used to be taken out of school during term time, but it wasn't to go to a rubbishy foreign country, we used to be taken on the Sun £9.50 holidays, generally to wherever the rain was scheduled. We really enjoyed it, mum and dad took us to museums and gallerys, local NT places and other local attractions. As a result, we saw things outside of our local area, which I think is a major plus.

It's all right for teachers, they don't have to schedule their holidays with their co-workers and managers, they don't have to find child care places during the holidays. As long as the child is of a standard that they are capable of catching up, then I don't see a problem with up to two weeks off during term time, I would be against any more than that. Obviously, if it were two, one week trips then that would be better.

Teachers don't have an option about when they can take their holidays, they have to have them during a set time of year whether it suits them or not. Teachers do have familys and husbands/wifes etc and sometimes it does not suit their families to have holidays during the normal holidays. The majority of teachers do spend some time at school during the holidays and so therefore they have to organise child care. I'm not a teacher but I do work in a school and I have spent the best part of two weeks of these holidays at school, and I had to organise my own childcare so teacher's don't always have it easy even during the holidays

joannelovesbooks

dazchief wrote: »

This is one topic that really frustrates me!
Life is not just about what you learn in a classroom and league tables. It is about experiences. And if the teacher from the previous comment can get his head out of his personal ofsted worries and focus on the children for a minute, he would realise that it isnt just about the costas, its about spending time as a family unit, which, in my opinion, is under rated in discussions, and the benefits far outway the costs from a family perspective on many levels.

I completely agree that it's about spending time as a family unit - this is so important. That's one of several reasons why schools have 13 weeks holiday per year. Most parents have around 22-24 days holiday so there is ample opportunity to take some or all of this leave while the children are not in school and spend some quality time then, without disrupting their education.

Joanne

Beverley

fudgecat wrote: »

Two weeks out of school in the Autumn term is enough to miss an entire scheme of work of a specific genre in, say, English. If that is the only possibility for the parent and children to take a holiday, then fine as the benefits to family life may well outway any formal education loss. If it is done purely for a cheap deal, then go ahead - but do not convince yourself it will make no difference to your child`s education - it will. I am doubtful that a two week package break on one of the costas will particularly broaden the experience of other cultures?
As you can guess - I am a teacher!

What a load of rubbish. I also work in schools and I see the amount of time wasting which goes on.

If I didn't work in schools, provided it didn't clash with GCSEs (SATs are no earthly use to anyone), I'd happily take my kids out of school during term time for a cheaper holiday - the benefits far outweigh the loss.

BrianAllen

Yes. If more people did this, then the over-charging which is prevalent in the school holiday periods could be severely reduced - not a bad thing ! The travel business has been milking the young families too long.