holidays in term time

Almo

Another fence sitter:

If you are taking a child out of school at a non-crucial time and age to see the Inca Trail/Great Barrier Reef/Northern Lights etc then I can understand it. If you are taking a child out of school to sit on a beach I don't think it's reasonable. To clarify, I don't think there is anything wrong with beach holidays but I don't think they warrant your child missing school.

I wouldn't want to take a very young child who was learning to read/write etc out of school, nor would I take an exam age child out of school.

As a former teacher (of adults, thank God) I would also say that if you make the decision to take the child out, don't expect any help with them catching up - it's not fair on the rest of the class. This was the policy I operated in my classroom.

jackyann

throughtherain wrote: »

I personally think teaching children the value of education is more important than them getting the chance to see Mickey Mouse.

Far better would be to have children who value their time in school and appreciate having access to something millions of children can't even dream of, and have a cheaper holiday.

so do I, but I have taken my children out in order to:

visit friends in other countries, making sure they experience the culture there, and speaking the language
to visit a "peace-making" school being set up in an area of previous conflict
to attend a family wedding, planning the route & visiting places of interest on the way

This was all reported back to school and incorporated in lessons. I did worry that it would make other children envious, but it didn't - places in Europe you've never heard of don't compete with Mickey Mouse in terms of "cool".

kelloggs36

If you can't afford to go during the school holidays, what is to stop you saving for longer and going the following year?

sunshine_1988

As schools are autonomous and self governing, effectively they can create thier own policies and procedures. They may have to take guidance from the LA, but clearly each school is different to how they operate in these situations.
Im not saying that they wouldnt take action as unauthorised absenses are a cause for concern.
Check the school websites etc, however, in my personal opinion I wouldnt advise removing your child from school in term time - I know its cheaper for holidays etc but the repercussions can be risky.

blue_monkey_2

kelloggs36 wrote: »

If you can't afford to go during the school holidays, what is to stop you saving for longer and going the following year?

It is not always about being able to afford it. It is also about being able to get a seat on a flight for that time as well. We could not get a seat for the Easter Holidays 2012.

The only practical time for a long haul holiday is the summer but my children would never be able to cope with the heat in the summer anyway (neither would we) so we go when it is cooler but it means there is a chance we cannot get a flight - as happened this time, nothing left for next Easter so I am taking the kids out.

When we booked for October 2010, half term flights were prices at 1k EACH to go out Sat and return to Sat long haul in economy.

It is not only the flight companies that do this though, it is all holiday companies. Should it be that only the well off families can afford to go on holiday and the kids of working class parents do not get to go?

I think there has to be a happy medium and while holiday companies are allowed to charge more during the term times there will always be people taking their kids out of school. For example, they do not charge more for bus/train travel, cinema tickets, bowling, theme parks, etc.. during the school holidays, restaurants and supermarkets do not put up the price of food, why is it just this one industry sector that insists on putting up their prices at the busiest times of year 'because there is supply and damnd'. The same applies for anything that means kids have a day out somewhere when they ar enot at school but other industry sectors do not do this so why holiday companies? Is it just pure greed?

NickyBat

andy.m wrote: »

Then respectfully I say to you that you cannot afford that holiday and need to lower your standards.

You are so wrong !
it has nothing to do with affording the holiday, why should anyone have to pay double or more the price of a holiday just so the tour operators can make even more money.......that is what it boils down to.

We have taken our little one out of school for the last three years with the schools permission but we won't this year due to exams, and when looking at prices in the school holidays they are astronomical and i for one refuse to pay so much extra.

If we were talking a few pounds extra, fine but we are not like i said often its double the price.

mandco

this is always gonna be a hot topic but to answer your original question

yes they can fine you its usually £50 per parent per child and if you dont pay they can take you to court and increase the fine to £1000.

it depend on school policy our local has a zero holiday policy and will not autorise any holiday at all for any reason but they cant stop you from taking your child out of school.

they dont always issue fines sometimes they'll just send you a warning and say if you r child misses anymore tiem then they'll take further action. if they decide they willfine you they'll write you a letter stating that the fine is to be issued if you decide to go ahead and take your child out of school. then once your child has been absent they'll issue a letter telling you when the fine must be paid by.

personally I think unless you child is in senior school or going to miss exams/sats or otherwise has poor attendance ect then its not a problem. I know others wont agree but if its the only way you can afford to go then the benefits you kids get far outweigh the few days of school they're gonna miss or they could miss just as much time with illness and you wouldnt be fined for that .
yes education is important but life is way too short at times(in the last couple of months I've had one friend die and another diagnosed with terminal cancer)what are your kids gonna remember more those precious holiday memories or what they learnt at school???

andy.m_2

fishingcinema wrote: »

Both doing fairly well in school both can read write there own name ect and counting

Sorry I'm only joshing

andy.m_2

NickyBat wrote: »

You are so wrong !
it has nothing to do with affording the holiday, why should anyone have to pay double or more the price of a holiday

1) So it IS affording the holiday, it may be a big increase but all the same it comes down to the money.

leading to point 2, the reason why.

2) Supply and Demand, economics 101.
There is a limited supply of holiday spaces during the correct school holidays, therefore the demand far outstrips the availability.
Therefore the companies can charge a premium, be that 1%, 10%, 100% or more.

3) If a food store did this then you would have the choice of paying the extra or shopping elsewhere, if they all did it then you would have no choice and have to lump it.

The supermarket analogy is a little weak I'm afraid.



To give you another anology, if you want to buy a joint of beef, it is £10 on the shelf, it is basically £10 at all the available outlets.

This is prime meat, within it's sell by date, (where sell by date is the correct school holiday period).

You want cheap beef by going out of season, therefore you buy meat that is passed it's sell by date.

You cannot afford the beef in date, you buy out of season.





It is regrettable to those who think they have a right to take little Johnny to Florida but the upshot is that you cannot afford it and are putting little Johnny's education at risk, as well as teaching him that in reality, anything is ok to save a buck.

As a child we alternated between a foreign and a UK holiday, on the UK holiday year we saved the extra towards next year's foreign holiday.


But, it is your choice and if you are happy to do then go for it (tight !!! )

NickyBat

No it's not about affording it, as i have already said it's the principle of it (in my case anyway).
I also don't think it's my god given right to take mine out of school, but also don't think it's that bigger deal either (as long as it's not done frequently).
I have taken mine out of school for a holiday i also asked the teacher to give me the work he would miss while we were away and he did it when we came back.
As a child, i never had a holiday with my parents because they simply could not afford it, and whilst education is very important, so is a bit of time out and a bit of fun!