Holiday in term time not authorised, will I be fined?

esmerelda98

poet123 wrote: »

And that is your prerogative, as it is mine to calculate that for my children, at certain times a short absence will not (actually, did not )have a significant, measurable, detrimental affect on their education. I know you are talking about your own very exceptional circumstances, but bear in mind that in the vast majority of cases are not like yours, and you do, unintentionally or not, seem to be extrapolating from your own very particular circumstances more widely. Most parents are not education professionals who one would expect to be very in tune with their child's education and attainment, and able to pick up fairly easily when their child is struggling with certain concepts. Also, we are hearing about children going on holiday all through the term, not just the last week, when the formal learning is winding down anyway.

In fact the summer holiday "learning loss" is far more quantifiable than a controlled and considered absence of a few days. Strangely, parents hear very little about this, yet within education it is well known. Surely it is common sense that knowledge and skills not being used will deteriorate somewhat. I expect most teachers incorporate brief refreshers into their teaching. In any case, all pupils are affected by this. It is a very different scenario when the teacher's attention is focussed on teaching Jenny X while the class are grappling with Y and could do with more of the teacher's time. Is it fair on a child who attends diligently but generally struggles if this is a regular occurence?

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paidinchickens

What about step families?? My DHs kids have to go to their mothers in the holidays which is in a court order. So does this mean we can never go on holiday as a family??? He gets every other christmas but what kids want to go away at christmas they want to be at home with their toys/games.

Bufger

sunshinetours wrote: »

Also for thos calling for cheaper holidays in peak periods, you do realise that all off peak periods will be then more expensive? It works the same the world over and won't change anytime soon.

The old phrase I believe is cutting your cloth accordingly - if you can't afford a big sunshine holiday for two weeks in August then go for one week and go somewhere cheaper - no one has a "right" to a holiday away

Spreading the cost of travel over the whole year sounds more reasonable to me, that way its fair for everybody. At the moment people with Kids take a few hundred quid hit per year over people that can travel out of peak times. Teachers also take that hit as does anyone else in that sector.

Yes they can choose a cheaper holiday but why should they not be able to get the same opportunity as everyone else??

sunshinetours

Marisco wrote: »

Why?? That is a genuine query! What do schools do/say when this happens? And it's not 5 kids, it's 5 all together, you know 3 kids, 2 parents!! So flower shops who put up huge mark ups on flowers before Valentines' Day are not ripping people off either?

Don't know - why don't you ask the schools if its genuinely something that concerns you?

1, 3 or 5 kids - still no "right" to a holiday - makes no odds. If you chose to have a family then you make sure you can provide for that family. Too many have grown up spoon fed by the state thinking money grows on trees

Seriously - do you think flower shops buy flowers at the same price all year or do you may be think the flower growers bump up prices for specific seasons just like any other seasonal business! As someone said earlier its called a free market or capitalism

sunshinetours

Bufger wrote: »

Spreading the cost of travel over the whole year sounds more reasonable to me, that way its fair for everybody. At the moment people with Kids take a few hundred quid hit per year over people that can travel out of peak times. Teachers also take that hit as does anyone else in that sector.

Yes they can choose a cheaper holiday but why should they not be able to get the same opportunity as everyone else??

It wouldn't work that is why.

Its not just holiday companies is it - its hotels, villa owners, transport companies, airlines , the resort businesses themselves who gear up for peak season.
its also not just a UK change either as we are not unique in peak period charging

Your final part, they do have the same opportunity as everyone else in that they can book a holiday in the summer holidays like anyone else. Just because some can afford certain things and others can't has nothing to do with this. Should everyone be able to afford to buy a BMW? There will always be some who can and some who can't

gregg1

poet123 wrote: »

No one is denying that some kids do, what they are contesting is the blanket statement that all do, or that all will be affected. The point about achievement is that I knew that those days wouldn't affect my kids because of the consideration I had given to time of year, and length of time away.

My kids were never running on empty by July, but then maybe it is because they have a healthy routine of bedtimes, exercise and diet to ensure they are at peak fitness.;)

In the working world most people get two weeks annual leave in summer and manage to survive. For most of our kids that will be their expectation/actuality too, so by the time they get to Secondary school six weeks holiday may be nice but if they "need" it there is something badly wrong imo.

I have to admit that working in education and enjoying all the holidays we do get I wonder how they (people who get the normal holidays) do it, but they do, so it is a failing of mine to "want" it but not one I confuse with real need. I am tired by July....but don't need six weeks to recover, I would be loathe to see it go though, but I acknowledge the hypocrisy of it when allied to short term time breaks.

I think that we fudge the issue of summer learning loss because we don't want to dig too deeply into the consequences of that one;) You can see this in articles in TES, but even more prominently in the readers responses. If we are brutally honest we would have to accept that this issue is far more of a detriment to overall learning than the occasional few days out of school at considered times.

I do not think for one moment that you are suggesting this would be any different for my kids

They too have had healthy diets all their lives and a good balance between work, rest and play. Maybe some just need to put more effort into their work than others. It does not always come easy for everyone and it is a fact that some have to work harder than others in order to achieve. However, the end result is that, for my kids, the holidays were always a much needed respite for them to recharge their batteries.

It certainly does not imply there is something "badly wrong", merely that they have had to put more effort in to achieve their aims.

However, I see no problem with reducing the summer holidays to maybe four weeks - some schools near me are already reducing them to five weeks which I do not see a problem with at all so I am not completely blinkered on this issue.

Bufger

sunshinetours wrote: »

It wouldn't work that is why.

Your final part, they do have the same opportunity as everyone else in that they can book a holiday in the summer holidays like anyone else. Just because some can afford certain things and others can't has nothing to do with this. Should everyone be able to afford to buy a BMW? There will always be some who can and some who can't

They dont have the choice of when they can holiday therefor they dont have the same cost for holidays. Imagine everyone getting a 30% discount on travel, hotels, transport but that discount not being available to anyone with children or teachers. Doesnt seem so fair when you put it like that but thats effectively what happens.

sunshinetours

Bufger wrote: »

They dont have the choice of when they can holiday therefor they dont have the same cost for holidays. Imagine everyone getting a 30% discount on travel, hotels, transport but that discount not being available to anyone with children or teachers. Doesnt seem so fair when you put it like that but thats effectively what happens.

Come on - "everyone" isn't getting a discount. There are tons of jobs that preclude certain holiday periods and most people with school age children don't holiday in term time so there are many in the same boat effectively - they have the same choices as the rest of us and they also have the same freedom as everyone to choose a career including the majority that may only get 4 or 5 weeks a year when they can holiday

Lotus-eater

Bufger wrote: »

They dont have the choice of when they can holiday therefor they dont have the same cost for holidays. Imagine everyone getting a 30% discount on travel, hotels, transport but that discount not being available to anyone with children or teachers. Doesnt seem so fair when you put it like that but thats effectively what happens.

It's on MSE news now, about how hotels are putting up their prices because of sporting events.
So does that mean that the sports fans are being ripped off?
Supply and demand, how many times must it be said, no one is forcing you to go on holiday.

shellsuit

sunshinetours wrote: »

Don't know - why don't you ask the schools if its genuinely something that concerns you?

1, 3 or 5 kids - still no "right" to a holiday - makes no odds. If you chose to have a family then you make sure you can provide for that family. Too many have grown up spoon fed by the state thinking money grows on trees

Seriously - do you think flower shops buy flowers at the same price all year or do you may be think the flower growers bump up prices for specific seasons just like any other seasonal business! As someone said earlier its called a free market or capitalism

Who doesn't have a right to have a holiday?