taking children out of school at term time

emmyreece

sturll wrote: »

To be fair there are no jobs in Poland and you all bail out to England so education is really of little relevance when in reality you are simply going to retrain and adapt to the British way of life.

sturll I really don't see what that post had to do with the orignal one, other than to have a dig at PolishBigSpender! I understand where you're coming from and why you're doing it. But I don't understand why you feel the need to jump down everyone's throat if they don't automatically agree with you! If you want to take your child/children out of school then do something about it, go and speak to the headmaster/headmistress and explain your reasons for doing so. Let's just hope you put it more politely than your choice of wording at times on here :rolleyes:

pom_pom

my employer has fixed factory holidays which are outside of school holidays. I want to take my children on holiday for 2 weeks at the end of june beg july 2010. The school has refused to authorise this time off and has given no reason for this. My employer is prepared to write to the school confirming i can only take my holidays at this time. All their exams are completed by this time and very little academic work will be done. can anyone advise?????

isitenough

I would find out for definate (if you haven't already) that nothing will be happening, like exams, at that time, get the letter from your employer and give it to the school (keeping a copy for your records), fill out another form to hand it in with and leave it like that. If they don't give a reason (again) ask politely for one, if they still don't, then take them out. If the money saving for the holiday outweighs the fine then worth it. If you can't take a holiday at any other time because of your employer then that's not your fault.
Just my opinion though.

PolishBigSpender

pom_pom wrote: »

my employer has fixed factory holidays which are outside of school holidays. I want to take my children on holiday for 2 weeks at the end of june beg july 2010. The school has refused to authorise this time off and has given no reason for this. My employer is prepared to write to the school confirming i can only take my holidays at this time. All their exams are completed by this time and very little academic work will be done. can anyone advise?????

If there is very little to be done and you don't have a choice - take them out regardless!

A holiday with your children when they are children is far more important than sitting in school in 20c+ heat doing nothing of relevance anyway!

busiscoming2

Most secondary schools do not allow leave in term time, it is just marked as an unauthorised absence. I would think the only time this would be really detrimental is if the child is due to leave school soon and their prospective employer asks for an attendance register.

It would still be marked down as unauthorised in a primary school, but I would have thought in your circumstances leave would have been allowed. Have you told the head you can get confirmation from your employer? If the head still refuses I would contact the board of governers and put your case to them.

jackieblack

pom_pom wrote: »

my employer has fixed factory holidays which are outside of school holidays. I want to take my children on holiday for 2 weeks at the end of june beg july 2010. The school has refused to authorise this time off and has given no reason for this. My employer is prepared to write to the school confirming i can only take my holidays at this time. All their exams are completed by this time and very little academic work will be done. can anyone advise?????

I would ask to see the headteacher to discuss. Take your employers letter with you.
Headteachers do have the authority to authorise absence in 'exceptional circumstances', unfortunately, there does not appear to be a definition of 'exceptional circumstances' so it is up to the headteacher to decide what qualifies! :wall:

This is what the directgov website (http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Schoolslearninganddevelopment/SchoolLife/DG_4016103) says (I would print it out and take it with you, shows you have researched the situation properly and you are less likely to be 'fobbed off' by the headteacher claiming 'my hands are tied' or that they 'are not allowed' to authorise absences, both of which I have heard given as 'reasons' :mad:)
Holidays during term time

You should not normally take your child on holiday in term time as it can be disruptive both to your child's education and to the school.

Holidays in term time can only be agreed by the headteacher or someone with appropriate authority. Schools can use their discretion to grant up to 10 days’ authorised absence in a school year if both:

• the parent the child normally lives with applies to the school in advance of the holiday
• there are special reasons for the holiday

Schools can only agree to more than 10 school days’ absence in any school year in exceptional circumstances.

Schools must judge each holiday request on a case by case basis. They can take into consideration:

• the time of year for the proposed trip
• if it's near any exam dates
• your child's overall attendance pattern
• any holidays already taken in the school year
• the age and stage of education of your child
• your wishes
• the ability of your child to catch up the work that they have missed
• the reason why you are taking the time off during term time

Schools should not take into consideration:

• availability of cheap holidays
• availability of desired accommodation
• poor weather experienced in school holiday periods
• overlap with the beginning or end of term

If the headteacher does not authorise the time off and you decide to take your children out of school without authorisation, the penalty notice is £50 per parent for each child if paid within 28 days.

Good luck!