School declined holidays and branded the kids truants

minimoneysaver

I wonder what OP decided to do?

jackieblack

Murphy_The_Cat wrote: »

So, the Heads can, if they want to/choose to/use their discretion can, with the tacit approval of the LEA, government and law makers of this country, within certain crieria, authorise 10 days abscence per year.
It's only when they choose not do to do so, that authorised, becomes unauthorised -- is that about the top and bottom of it ?

Absolutely! Got it in one!

jackieblack

blue_monkey wrote: »

Yeah, but employees get 28 days a year of whatever date they choose to be able to go on holiday and can choose the cheapest times.

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:
I wish!

jackieblack

blue_monkey wrote: »

I have been told that some schools do not allow holidays because of the number of absences this causes on their records and that these have to be reported (maybe for league tables). Our LEA seems not to worry about this so much but some areas are quite strict on it I believe. Someone might like to verify this.

Exactly right. In our area all requests for holidays are routinely declined, the reason is because schools attendance records form part of any Ofsted inspection and our headteacher doesn't see why her Ofsted result should be detrimentally affected just because parents want to go on holiday!

Murphy_The_Cat

jackieblack wrote: »

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:
I wish!

my boss is a right miserable pig who tells me that no time is a good time

hippyadam

Murphy_The_Cat wrote: »

my boss is a right miserable pig who tells me that no time is a good time

Get back to work....

blue_monkey_2

jackieblack wrote: »

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:
I wish!

So how many do you get then? Statatory holiday pay for a 5 day week is 28 days but this can (and usually does) incorporate Bank Holidays.

From the CAB website:

Who has the right to paid holidays

Most workers have the right to take a minimum amount of paid holiday. This is called statutory holiday.
You have the right to take statutory paid holiday from work if you are a worker. This includes people who work full-time, part-time, agency workers and casual workers. Only people who are self-employed and a few other exceptions will not be entitled to statutory paid holiday (see below).
The rules about statutory holiday apply regardless of how long you have worked for your employer and regardless of how old you are. However, you don't have the right to statutory holiday if you're a child under school leaving age.
For more information about the rights of workers under school leaving age, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, see Young people and employment. In Scotland, see Young people and employment.
You have the right to take 5.6 weeks' paid holiday a year. To find out how this applies to you, see under heading How much paid holiday can you take.
Before 1 April 2009, your right to paid holiday from work was 4.8 weeks. Your leave year may have started before 1 April 2009 and carries on after 1 April 2009. If so, your annual leave will be worked out on a pro-rata basis – 4.8 weeks pro rata for the period before 1 April 2009 and 5.6 weeks pro rata for the period from 1 April 2009.
Your contract of employment may give you the right to take more than the statutory amount of paid holiday. However, it cannot give you less. If your contract gives you the right to take more than the statutory amount of paid holiday, this is called contractual holiday. The law doesn't say how much contractual holiday you should get, or whether or not it should be paid.

Workers who do not have the right to statutory holiday

There are some workers who are not entitled to statutory holiday.
You won't have the right to statutory holiday if you work in:
the armed forces
the police
the civil protection services.
However, if you're not entitled to statutory paid holiday, your contract of employment will probably give you the right to take contractual holiday.
If you're not sure about whether you have the right to take statutory paid holiday, you should seek the help of an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. For details of your nearest CAB, including those that give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB.
Back to top

How much paid holiday can you take

You are entitled to a minimum of 5.6 weeks' holiday a year. This is called statutory holiday.
To work out how many days holiday you can take a year, you need to multiply 5.6 by the number of days you work in a week.
For example:
if you work a five-day week, you are entitled to 28 days' paid holiday a year (5.6 X 5).
if you work 2.5 days a week, you are entitled to 14 days' paid holiday a year (5.6 X 2.5).
The maximum amount of statutory paid holiday you can be entitled to is 28 days. This applies even if you work more than five days a week.
Your contract of employment may give you the right to take more than the statutory amount of paid holiday. However, it cannot give you less. For example, if your contract of employment says you can only take 10 days' paid holiday a year and you work five days a week, you will still be entitled to take 28 days' paid holiday.
If your normal working week is expressed in hours, your statutory leave may be expressed in hours too.
Before 1 April 2009, you were entitled to 4.8 weeks paid holiday a year. If your leave year includes time before 1 April 2009, your annual leave will be worked out on a pro-rata basis – 4.8 weeks pro rata for the period before 1 April 2009 and 5.6 weeks pro rata for the period from 1 April 2009.
To help you work out your exact entitlement, you can use the calculator on the Business Link website at https://www.businesslink.gov.uk or in Northern Ireland on the Nibusinessinfo website at https://www.nibusiness.co.uk.
What is a leave year

blue_monkey_2

jackieblack wrote: »

Exactly right. In our area all requests for holidays are routinely declined, the reason is because schools attendance records form part of any Ofsted inspection and our headteacher doesn't see why her Ofsted result should be detrimentally affected just because parents want to go on holiday!

So its all down to figures then? Thought so. Never mind having happy children and families as long as your Ofsted report has the right number of attendances.

Scary.

flossy_splodge

sunshinetours wrote: »

There are clearly plenty of decent parents on here who have their overall child's wellbeing close at heart which is of course lovely to see

However the issue of ignoring the rules and taking time when ultimately it suits YOU (because of cost etc) is IMO the biggest lesson it teaches kids i.e don't worry about the rules, they don't apply to us in this case. It shows through in many of today's younger generation's lack of personal responsibility to situations. there is always someone else to blame afterall

As others have said the issue of the husband's potential absence from work against his contract is clearly more concerning and obvioulsy could have far further reaching consequences for the family as a whole. Why don't people make the connection between these events and the lessons it could teach. As others have also said learning is so much more than just text books.....

I don't think it ruins a childs education to have some time away from school but it certainly does disrupt class planning say towards end of terms when these sorts of absence seem popular. If half the class is missing then what useful lessons can the remaining class have that don;t then have to be repeated at a later stage. Again actions and consequences

I also think there are a huge number of parents (again not in this thread obviously ) who very much think its their little Jonny's God given right to have two weeks in Florida because he's obviously so special and so he absolutely should be able to go when "he" wants to. i don;t think there is susually a lot of thought past the parents desire for a holiday to show off to their friends with....

I was happily reading through this thread until I got to this post.
Now my blood is boiling.
What a very naive view.
As to 'teaching the kids to ignore rules' - so what does current policy of leading children to believe they can all get to Uni, they WILL pass (and of course they do with the necessary amount of help from the staff for coursework) they can't be told they're wrong - balderdash. We all get it wrong sometimes and the quicker we learn to cope with negative responses the easier life will be; school teaches children they don't have to work, make an effort, get it right etc etc as the school, hand in glove with the government will 'massage' the results so everyone's a winner. That's an excellent life lesson isn't it.
And what about the school having LIED about the LAW. What does that teach the children of this family?
It is way past time we all demanded the right to a sense of fairness and understanding.
I took one of my 2 DD's out of school at regular intervals and home taught her as she was BORED at school and no-one cared.
My way, she did not lose her love of learning (which she still has incidentally) and had a much wider base to her education than many of her school mates. She was taught English by writing to the PM on matters that interested her (this ranged from a road sign that didn't make sense to her concerns about homelessness) she learnt Maths using life eg supermarket on pack offers for percentages etc etc. We went swimming, did nature study, you name it we had a riot of a time.
I only put her back into school periodically for the social benefits, most definitely NOT for the academic 'benefits'.
Both my DD's have a good degree, one has just gained her PhD, both are well mannered, articulate, quick thinking and a delight to be around - somewhat different to the products of todays schooling.
So you go do your thing, if it feels right, do it and your child will surely benefit from all the many ancillary aspects of this trip.
Good Luck OP.:T

sunshinetours

flossy_splodge wrote: »

I was happily reading through this thread until I got to this post.
Now my blood is boiling.
What a very naive view.
As to 'teaching the kids to ignore rules' - so what does current policy of leading children to believe they can all get to Uni, they WILL pass (and of course they do with the necessary amount of help from the staff for coursework) they can't be told they're wrong - balderdash. We all get it wrong sometimes and the quicker we learn to cope with negative responses the easier life will be; school teaches children they don't have to work, make an effort, get it right etc etc as the school, hand in glove with the government will 'massage' the results so everyone's a winner. That's an excellent life lesson isn't it.
And what about the school having LIED about the LAW. What does that teach the children of this family?
It is way past time we all demanded the right to a sense of fairness and understanding.
I took one of my 2 DD's out of school at regular intervals and home taught her as she was BORED at school and no-one cared.
My way, she did not lose her love of learning (which she still has incidentally) and had a much wider base to her education than many of her school mates. She was taught English by writing to the PM on matters that interested her (this ranged from a road sign that didn't make sense to her concerns about homelessness) she learnt Maths using life eg supermarket on pack offers for percentages etc etc. We went swimming, did nature study, you name it we had a riot of a time.
I only put her back into school periodically for the social benefits, most definitely NOT for the academic 'benefits'.
Both my DD's have a good degree, one has just gained her PhD, both are well mannered, articulate, quick thinking and a delight to be around - somewhat different to the products of todays schooling.
So you go do your thing, if it feels right, do it and your child will surely benefit from all the many ancillary aspects of this trip.
Good Luck OP.:T

Thanks for your concern over my naivety, but there is no real need. Also sorry you overreacted to my post and got your blood presure up

Quite clearly your own children have had a rather different upbringing from most and I am sure it has suited them well. Shame you feel the need to generalise about "the products of todays schooling"

My posts have mainly been directed at the (IMO) rather self centered and selfish parents who value their own week on a beach in an AI resort / week at a holiday camp in term time purely because its cheaper

If that doesn't teach blatant flouting of the rules for one's own purpose then I don't know what does??

Some of your other points I agree with but they have very little to do with this thread