Holidays with kids in school time, have you done it?

Bloomin_Freezing2

Apologies if this is better suited in the actual holiday thread, feel free to move.


Hello all

Just wondered what reason you gave your schools for taking children out for a holiday during term time. (I am not looking for a ticking off or to be told if I can't afford a holiday during the school breaks then don't book one )

Currently our holiday is booked for during the summer hols at the start of august, the deadline for paying it off is approaching, although I have spoke with the travel agent about extending it for another month.

I'm thinking of changing our travel date to late sept, this brings down the holiday price by a fair bit, plus gives me longer to clear the balance. Lots of parents at our school have gone on hols towards the end or start of terms. Having spoken to the school about holidays in term time they said they only allow if if it's for a wedding/once off family gathering/funeral etc.

my daughter will be 6 when we go, will missing a week really damage her education that much?! I don't think so but wondered what fib I can tell the school. Can't say she was off sick and she returns with a little bit of colour, telling everyone she's been on a plane.

What reasons have you given for term time holidays, or am I the only terrible parent here?

lynnnie123

I took my teenage son out of school for 4 days last January and told school I was doing it.

They didnt really kick up a fuss, but said it would be unauthourised absence and would go on his record !!!!!. he has a high attendance record anyway and this did not significantly reduce it. I was told by the school this and also that other childrens parents just take them out without letting school know.

I think so long as its not a regular occurence and there are no exams on the horizon, then as a one off it should be allowed. I offered to take school work with us, but was told it was not necessary to my sons relief !

I have a friend who does this every year and says the child is sick - bit difficult to explainthe tan, but hey ho.

If its your only option and there are no exams and the child has a good attedance record, do it .

Have a good holiday !!!

balletshoes

At your daughters age, I wouldn't advise fibbing to the school at all - because your daughter won't know what lie you told them, and will happily tell all and sundry about the lovely holiday she's been on .

I take my DD out of school for short trips away, no more than 3 days off school (but sometimes twice in a school year). Our school has a blanket policy though, as long as the child's attendance the rest of the year is good, they will allow up to 10 days per school year for notified absences. I've never had to give a reason on the holiday forms, just the dates.

pigpen

I think children gain so much more from a holiday than a week in school obv. unless exams etc.

I am of the opinion they are MY children, I pay for the holidays and I will take them when I want to go I won't 'ask permission' and I think it is ridiculous to expect parents to. Though the schools have to allow up to 10 school days for holiday a year.. There is a huge percentage of non-British children at our primary and they reuaarly disappear for a month at a time to whizz off back to visit relatives.. usually for religious festivals or after easter when the university year ends.

I have known teachers go on holiday in term time (though usually they pull a sicky I know a lot of teachers) but shush they pretend they don't do that.

My reasons.. it is cheaper, the weather isn't so disgustingly hot, it is when you chose to go as it is best for your family.

Make sure DD learns something while there.. that said.. if I went somewhere warm, I'd take a cardigan and visit all the air conditioned buildings and never go outside.

gingin_2

I've done it once when DS was year one but wouldn't want to disrupt their education in KS2 and above. I definitely wouldnt lie about it.

moggylover

Bloomin_Freezing2 wrote: »

Apologies if this is better suited in the actual holiday thread, feel free to move.


Hello all

Just wondered what reason you gave your schools for taking children out for a holiday during term time. (I am not looking for a ticking off or to be told if I can't afford a holiday during the school breaks then don't book one )

Currently our holiday is booked for during the summer hols at the start of august, the deadline for paying it off is approaching, although I have spoke with the travel agent about extending it for another month.

I'm thinking of changing our travel date to late sept, this brings down the holiday price by a fair bit, plus gives me longer to clear the balance. Lots of parents at our school have gone on hols towards the end or start of terms. Having spoken to the school about holidays in term time they said they only allow if if it's for a wedding/once off family gathering/funeral etc.

my daughter will be 6 when we go, will missing a week really damage her education that much?! I don't think so but wondered what fib I can tell the school. Can't say she was off sick and she returns with a little bit of colour, telling everyone she's been on a plane.

What reasons have you given for term time holidays, or am I the only terrible parent here?

If you really must do it then might I suggest that telling the school the truth is the right thing to do? I wouldn't want to have to put a 6 year old in the position of needing to know "what to say" in the first place and I wouldn't want to offer my six year old the example of it being "okay" to lie in any or certain circumstances.

Just tell them you all really need a holiday, and are struggling to afford the prices during the holidays and ASK if it will be okay. Our headmaster at primary school was always understanding with parents that asked, not so happy with those that just assumed and then expected him to say yes.

At senior school they are understandably not very keen on it at all because the children can get quite behind in one week in some subjects, depending on what stage of the curriculum they are at.

Bloomin_Freezing2

thanks everyone . I'm sure i will tell the truth. Don't want dd getting caught out!

We'll make sure we do educational things whilst there,we're going to lanzarote (i went as a kid) and will go on a camel ride or visit the volcanoes, it won't all be beach and pool.

I was just dreading finding the mmoney to pay the balance as a few things have cropped up since we made the booking, and if I cancel now it's a 600 deposit to wave goodbye to :eek:

On a plus i've just had a 63.00 tax rebate in the post from 08-09 so my day has already got better .

moggylover

pigpen wrote: »

I think children gain so much more from a holiday than a week in school obv. unless exams etc.

I am of the opinion they are MY children, I pay for the holidays and I will take them when I want to go I won't 'ask permission' and I think it is ridiculous to expect parents to. Though the schools have to allow up to 10 school days for holiday a year.. There is a huge percentage of non-British children at our primary and they reuaarly disappear for a month at a time to whizz off back to visit relatives.. usually for religious festivals or after easter when the university year ends.

I have known teachers go on holiday in term time (though usually they pull a sicky I know a lot of teachers) but shush they pretend they don't do that.

My reasons.. it is cheaper, the weather isn't so disgustingly hot, it is when you chose to go as it is best for your family.

Make sure DD learns something while there.. that said.. if I went somewhere warm, I'd take a cardigan and visit all the air conditioned buildings and never go outside.

Just for once it makes me feel that there would be something to be said for people actually having to PAY for the education their children receive: because then they might be less inclined to be quite so cavalier about it:(

With respect, they may be your children, etc., but their education is provided free at the point of use, and it is something that we should all be very grateful for. If you actually had to pay for that place, and risked loosing it if your child was off and dissruptive to the school year do you think you would be willing to "waste" the one/two/whatever weeks of term time that you had to pay for? Allowing, that is, that each term would probably be costing you some £6K?

What we really need to be doing is campaigning for the holiday companies not to be allowed to rip the @rse off it with the charges during holiday times, not expecting the school curriculum to be dissrupted by unauthorised absences. Even at primary level there can be quite a lot going on in one week that your child will either have to miss altogether, or that the teacher will then have to ensure is covered again. Since that could happen 10 times per class, do you not see the reasoning behind discouraging the practice?

As to the teachers doing it, they should be utterley ashamed, but two wrongs do not make a right:)

Bloomin_Freezing2

Just spoke with the school secretary. She said I need to fill in a form, obviously they never ok a holiday because it's cheaper to go out of school, but it will be noted as unauthorised absence. They appreciate I am being honest but at the end of the day it's my choice. All registers get checked by the education authority and it'd be up to them, but as of yet they have never issued a fine or anything. So i'm going with my decision now, which is to change the dates. We'll fit in some trips and i'll make sure the school knows it'll be beneficial to dd. Thanks for your replies. x

pigpen

moggylover wrote: »

Just for once it makes me feel that there would be something to be said for people actually having to PAY for the education their children receive: because then they might be less inclined to be quite so cavalier about it:(

With respect, they may be your children, etc., but their education is provided free at the point of use, and it is something that we should all be very grateful for. If you actually had to pay for that place, and risked loosing it if your child was off and dissruptive to the school year do you think you would be willing to "waste" the one/two/whatever weeks of term time that you had to pay for? Allowing, that is, that each term would probably be costing you some £6K?

What we really need to be doing is campaigning for the holiday companies not to be allowed to rip the @rse off it with the charges during holiday times, not expecting the school curriculum to be dissrupted by unauthorised absences. Even at primary level there can be quite a lot going on in one week that your child will either have to miss altogether, or that the teacher will then have to ensure is covered again. Since that could happen 10 times per class, do you not see the reasoning behind discouraging the practice?

As to the teachers doing it, they should be utterley ashamed, but two wrongs do not make a right:)

And given so many children have days off willynilly for a' bit of a sniffle' or 'a tummyache' which mine never ever do I feel as the one paying for their holidays they can miss 5 days without disrupting anything..

In any case, they missed 3 days of school one year for a holiday about 5 years ago.. so it is hypothetical anyway.. which out of 17 years I've had children at school is probably nothing in the broad scheme of things.

But even so, if I wanted to take them I would and I wouldn't give a fig about any of the 4 schools I have children at. I am very grateful my children receive a free education which is why they do go unless they are actually sick/very unwell and I don't take the piddle. if I wanted a holiday and a term time holiday or none were the only options I'd go term time.

I hate holidays.. I am a homebody.

stejobeth

We have taken our daughter out in the past and never had a problem. We have always gone at whit so taken her out for a week. She is now in Year 10 doing her GCSEs so we booked our holiday last year for this July. We booked dates going off the day they have broken up for the last 3 years. When we got this years holidays dates the Summer term was a week later :eek:. None of her dates tie in with other schools in the area this year which is proving to be a right pain for my sister who has girls in different schools :mad:.

I put in a holiday request on the Thursday, a letter was sent home on the Friday saying no holidays for Year 9 and above (everyone got the letter) and her request was refused on the Monday. My daughter came home and said her friend (in the same class) had put in a request on the same day as her for exactly the same dates and had it approved :mad:.
I wouldn't mind but the week we want they call enrichment week because they dont do any lessons they go on trips and watch dvds ect!

I wrote to the head of year and my daughter had to go to every teacher and get it authorised!