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Fined for holiday in school time
Comments
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I had lots of children who took 2 weeks in September, and a couple in July, so in effect they had 8 weeks holidays!!!! I had to pay full price!0
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Whats available for one child in a certain part of the country should be available for all.There is a clear need for extra school places in the area that i have just moved from and i have seen genuine hardship develop from these reasons.I was fortunate because i drove, I was able to get my child to school but i know of families that really struggled and still do .There are areas in this country that are deprived and I could go into greater detail but that would be going off topic.esmerelda98 wrote: »People rely too much on the State to look after them and provide for them. It is primarily the parents' responsibility to ensure their children get an education, not the State's. There are poor people in other countries who do not drive too. Most of them would find it laughable that a child misses a whole year of school because there is no school 'nearby'. Bus, taxi, car-share, move. I'm not saying it wouldn't entail difficult choices, but parents the world over make major sacrifices to give their children an education. And they usually have to pay school fees as well.“Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. Your really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.” Lucille Ball.0 -
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clarabella23 wrote: »Hi everyone, just want to thank you for your comments and opinions.
Just to reply to the posters who thought it was a bad idea to go- as a single parent, with no contributions from her father, there is no way I would be able to afford Florida during holiday time. The price MORE than doubled for that time. So I knew that if we wanted to go to Florida any time in the future- as my daugter desperately did- then it would have to be while she was at a young enough age not to be sitting or studying for exams.
As for her learning being affected and the teacher having to work with her to catch up, she was already the best reader in her class, being well advanced on her age, and good at maths as well, and we made sure we did puzzles and read lots of books while we were away too. She made new friends out there, even to the stage of getting a pen pal, and did more physical exercise through walking than would ever be done at school.
Someone critiscised the fact that she went to Disney rather than Peru or the like. Disney is actually very educational. Tyla learnt more about animals there than she has done anywhere in England. She got to pet farmyard animals, come up close to birds of prey and learn about poachers, went on a small safari, saw hippos and gorillas up close. All the time she was being taught about there environments, creating natural habitats, etc, and she came home actually excited about animals and wanting to learn more- something shes never been interested in before!
There was also a shuttle launch while we were away, and, while we didn't get to visit, she did get very interested in how it worked, why they were going to the moon, etc.
All in all, we had the best holiday together, and I would recommend Florida to anyone- yes, you go on your rollercoasters and have lazy days by the pool, but there is a lot to be gained by your children if they are willing.
As I have previously said, I will pay the fine if I need to, simply because we got to spend a lot of quality time together, and it was worth it. I work full time to support my child, so whatever time we have together is worth more than a £50 fine! All I wanted was to know if anyone else had been in the situation, as she certainly wasn't the only English child in Disney!
Thanks, Claire
Good for you. If you have to pay the fine then there isnt alot you can do but Im sure your child had a wonderful (and educational) time with you and am also pretty sure it will in no way have affected her long term education by any stretch of the imagination. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but think a bit of perspective needs to be applied. The child is 5!!:D:smileyhea0 -
PolishBigSpender wrote: »But they still have their parents who should be allowed to say "you are not going to school today because we are doing this or that" and that's none of the school's business! As long as the kids generally do go to school and are pulled out just for a short while, there is no need to interfere.
And anyway, 5 years old is more like nursery age!
Parents do of course have a perfect right to do this...IF they choose to home-educate. If they want their child to be educated in a school, then they abide by the school's rules. Much as an employee abides by the rules of their workplace.0 -
PolishBigSpender wrote: »No problem - I will only say that in Poland it is the parent that authorises any absence and the school can not fine you for taking the kid out of school for a short period of time.
Of course, if the child doesn't go to school at all, social services may and will get involved. However, this will not happen in a case of a trip to Florida!
On the other hand, the child will be expected to make up for it at home, borrowing the notes from his friends - the teacher will not waste the time in the classroom to repeat the material just for one student.
In your perfect Polish world that may work but the reality is that topics often need to be explained to the child and without that initial introduction and explanation, it can be extremely difficult for them to understand the work merely from their friends notes.
As milliebear has so wisely said previously, if you choose to send your child to school rather than home-school them then you abide by the rules!0 -
I was told by our school that the magical 10 days that parents think they are "allowed" to take their children on holiday in term time for, is actually the trigger point for informing social services of a child's absence from school. I don't know if there is any truth in that, but I guess there must be a trigger point.
Ultimately as the OP is saving much more than £50 by disrupting 30 children's education, I mean taking her children on holiday instead of sending them to school, the fine is most reasonable."On behalf of teachers, I'd like to dedicate this award to Michael Gove and I mean dedicate in the Anglo Saxon sense which means insert roughly into the anus of." My hero, Mr Steer.0 -
oh dear, some people here really need to lighten up, the kid is 5 for gods sake! i've known parents that have moved house and moved their kids school between 14-16, thats one heck of a lot more disruptive than a 5 year old having a nice holiday?!
in the grand scheme of things, that child wasnt going to have learnt anything in those 3 weeks that they wouldnt have learnt either before or after, or anything that couldnt have been caught up on as homework. at 5 years old they arent going to be having long, in depth history lessons that they would have needed to take notes and write essays on, for example. some writing practise, and basic numeracy, art projects of some sort perhaps.
whenever anyone on this board posts about anything whatsoever to do with schools or teachers, all the resident teachers always then come out and tell us how hard it is, how low the wages are and how high the workload is
Mummy to
DS (born March 2009)
DD (born January 2012)
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oh dear, some people here really need to lighten up, the kid is 5 for gods sake! i've known parents that have moved house and moved their kids school between 14-16, thats one heck of a lot more disruptive than a 5 year old having a nice holiday?!
in the grand scheme of things, that child wasnt going to have learnt anything in those 3 weeks that they wouldnt have learnt either before or after, or anything that couldnt have been caught up on as homework. at 5 years old they arent going to be having long, in depth history lessons that they would have needed to take notes and write essays on, for example. some writing practise, and basic numeracy, art projects of some sort perhaps.
whenever anyone on this board posts about anything whatsoever to do with schools or teachers, all the resident teachers always then come out and tell us how hard it is, how low the wages are and how high the workload is
But things aren't just about you are they!. (You in generally, not you personally). Maybe you are happy to take your child out of class for 1, 2, 3 weeks and think it's ok as "She's only 5", but it's my (the other children) child who is (are) stunted when the teacher has to play catch up with yours when they return.
The rule is there for the greater good, regardless of what we think individually. Sometimes our own personal feelings have to be put aside while we consider what is best on the whole. Surely we must agree that on the whole it is better for all children to attend all classes during term time."On behalf of teachers, I'd like to dedicate this award to Michael Gove and I mean dedicate in the Anglo Saxon sense which means insert roughly into the anus of." My hero, Mr Steer.0 -
In your perfect Polish world that may work but the reality is that topics often need to be explained to the child and without that initial introduction and explanation, it can be extremely difficult for them to understand the work merely from their friends notes.
As milliebear has so wisely said previously, if you choose to send your child to school rather than home-school them then you abide by the rules!
What exactly can a five year old do at school that can not be explained by parents at home?From Poland...with love.
They are (they're) sitting on the floor.
Their books are lying on the floor.
The books are sitting just there on the floor.0
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