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

Reggie_Rebel

Be careful that changing the date won't actually end up costing you more. leave it too late and you may find yourself in cancellation charges rather than administration charges territory. Check the booking conditions in your brochure sharpish

catpaws99

At the girls school it is they must have 94% attrndence to have holiday approved. My partner isn't allowed to take holiday in school holiday time and he works most weekends so we usually go second week of October. This year will be the last year we take a term time hol, next year will have to leave the partner at home!

littlemissfrugal

we have take holidays in school time and the main problem for us apart from cost is that both my husband and i work in retail so its extremely difficult to get time off during the school holidays as they are seen as peak trading weeks and then factor trying to get the same time off its a nightmare, also as we are all quite fair to go abroad during the high summer is useless as we end up staying in the room for most of the day we usually take out main hols in October after they have settled back to school request work to do whilst away and also try and do a topic on the place we are visiting just to keep the brain active. My DD is year 5 and we have done it this way since she started school she is very bright and has only had 3 off sick days in her whole school life so her attendance is otherwise excellent. This year as we will be choosing secondary school for next September we are going late August so as to be around for all the open evenings in Sept/Oct we are aware that is will be difficult to take family holidays once she starts secondary school.

and I feel that I actually do pay for my childs education through my taxes and to be honest it falls way short of giving value for money but thats another topic

Bloomin_Freezing2

Reggie_Rebel wrote: »

Be careful that changing the date won't actually end up costing you more. leave it too late and you may find yourself in cancellation charges rather than administration charges territory. Check the booking conditions in your brochure sharpish

thanks reggie, went through it all over the phone with travel agent, including the admin fee of 140 (35 per person) it still means holiday is 400 less. all done now so i can relax and look forward to my hol, albeit later than originally planned

Gavin83

pigpen wrote: »

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.

If the school said you could take the holiday but your child would no longer be welcome on their return and would have to find a new school, would that be an acceptable response?

rachbc

I've done it - esp when kids were little without batting an eye tbh. However I've always done it at the end of term as this is when things are winding down anyway. I think at the start of term is more unsettling for the social/ bonding side of things as much as the education.

I didn't lie and I didn't ask permission, I told them what I was doing - its in the school interest to authorise your absence - it has no effect on you, it does affect their statistics!

My ds is now year 8 and we won't be takign anymore term time hols

rachbc

Gavin83 wrote: »

If the school said you could take the holiday but your child would no longer be welcome on their return and would have to find a new school, would that be an acceptable response?

But they won't do that for a short holiday!

Bloomin_Freezing2

rachbc wrote: »

I've done it - esp when kids were little without batting an eye tbh. However I've always done it at the end of term as this is when things are winding down anyway. I think at the start of term is more unsettling for the social/ bonding side of things as much as the education.

its in the school interest to authorise your absence - it has no effect on you, it does affect their statistics!

Good point! Just speaking with my mum about our hol to lanzarote when I was 6 (coincidentally!), they had a meeting with my teacher who said 'how wonderful & what an experience' it would be to visit volcanoes. How things change!

From thinking we'd change from 4 aug to 22 sept i've rebooked it for 3 nov, still nice weather but much better for the kids, the youngest will be 2. Might get a bottle of wine tonight to celebrate! lol

Spendless

My eldest is 11 today, and only once have I taken him out for a fortnight in term time. That was at the beginning of yr1 and it was to Florida, to celebrate my husband's 40th birthday, and also to incorporate my 39th birthday which falls exactly a week before. This holiday had been planned for for many years, prior to having children. We wanted to be away on our actual birthdays which fall in term-time. So this is what I said on the holiday form.

Since then though we have been away, I've not taken them out of school for more than 4 days. This is because I look at where inset days fall, where school holidays fall in conjunction with the rest of England. I once went away for oct half term, setting off on the friday before that was an inset day for the 3 different schools the kids were attending (we took neice plus ours) and it was a week alter than the majority of places. Only recently feb half term in an area nearby fell a week earlier than mine so that is worth looking up. I wanted to go away this year on the week school has 2 inset days, but hubby didn't get to the holiday planner 1st! As of yet, we are undecided what we are doing.

My husband project manages a new IT system going into his workplace, a project that has been on-going since my DD went to reception, she's now yr 3! Strangely enough, hubby's employers want the new system in to suit their own industry times, not the school timetable, so I put 'restrictions due to work committments'.

Once when my husband had had an op due to cancer, and we had had a roller-coaster of a ride for a couple of months, we wanted to go away for a long weekend to draw a line under the experience, so I gave hubby's ill-health and post op recovery as a reason.



I wanted to go away this year on the week school has 2 inset days, but hubby didn't get to the holiday planner 1st! . May half term is out due to hubby's work. I only just found out I can be off at Easter as my work has extended the time I can use holidays up by. The last week of summer hols which is usually cheaper isn't ideal as Son is off to Secondary school so I want to be home organising for that, and a different week of summer school hols is taken by son getting a place at summer school for being gifted and talented in a subject. With eldest off to Secondary, I doubt we will be going in term-time again., so as of yet we are undecided what we are doing.

pigpen

Gavin83 wrote: »

If the school said you could take the holiday but your child would no longer be welcome on their return and would have to find a new school, would that be an acceptable response?

Other than schools cannot refuse a pupil if there is a space for them this would actually not be an issue. They also have to have 10 days as authorised absence for family holidays, unless it is sats/exams or something else they can prove is vital to the education of that child.

if the child will be away a month they are deregistered and can be reregistered on their return, providing there is still a vacancy this is the only time something like this could be said

So you are deliberately being inflammatory.

But given I have not had a holiday in 5 years I might not care and just go anyway because if 5 days of schooling would cause such a response I am sure one of the other 7 schools in my area would take them on their return.

Have you actually read my post and how many days my children have had off school for holidays ever???