Term Time Holidays???

Person_one

onlyroz wrote: »

As for it being a life enhancing experience, depends if you're just sitting on the beach or if you're doing something educational like exploring Egyptian tombs .

Just a week abroad to a cheap bit of Spain is enriching for a child who's never done it. Going to the airport, flying, seeing a different environment, being surrounded by a different language, trying the local foods, meeting other children from different parts of the country or the world, even just swimming/paddling in the sea.

pipkin71

onlyroz wrote: »

If you are happy to teach your children that school is unimportant, that it is ok to lie,that it is ok to provide extra work for their teacher, that it is ok to disrupt the class, that you don't care about their education then by all means go for it. Alternatively you could find another week out of the 13 weeks of school holiday that are affordable, for example May or October half term.

Where have they said that they are teaching their children that school is unimportant?

Where have they said that they are going to lie?

Where have they said they do not care about the education of their children?

Tigsteroonie

Our son starts nursery in January (which is a bit of a woohoo moment ) but we have discovered that because the nursery is linked to a school, we have to get permission to take him out for a week's holiday in June.

I'm not expecting any problems ... but I think I might make him do a 'holiday project' so that he can explain what he learnt on his week away ... :rotfl:

lostinrates

Person_one wrote: »

Just a week abroad to a cheap bit of Spain is enriching for a child who's never done it. Going to the airport, flying, seeing a different environment, being surrounded by a different language, trying the local foods, meeting other children from different parts of the country or the world, even just swimming/paddling in the sea.

But there are whole tranches of holiday brochures and destinations that seem to provide gb in the sun. Irish pubs, all day English breakfasts. I am acquainted with people who have lived years in such areas and have not one local fried and no local language. Similarly I know people who have been to amazing places and seem to have taken noting from it.

I think I agree that not just where you go but how one approaches the holiday can make a trip to any where full of education and experience or a dearth of it.

bestpud

onlyroz wrote: »

The choices are: to get permission from the school for a term time holiday (no lying but unlikely to be approved), be refused permission and pay the fine (and so the holiday is no longer cheap), or lie about the holiday and pretend to be ill.

Poppycock!

The holiday may well be approved.

Even if it isn't approved, there may not be a fine.

Even if there is a fine, it may well be a fraction of the difference between a holiday taken in term time and one taken in peak season.

pipkin71

Tigsteroonie wrote: »

Our son starts nursery in January (which is a bit of a woohoo moment ) but we have discovered that because the nursery is linked to a school, we have to get permission to take him out for a week's holiday in June.

I'm not expecting any problems ... but I think I might make him do a 'holiday project' so that he can explain what he learnt on his week away ... :rotfl:

As school - or full time education - is not compulsory at nursery age, there won't be an issue with the LEA, should school say no but you still wish to go.

You would need to weigh up whether the school could then decide not to admit your son at compulsory age, but I'm sure that would be extreme if it did happen.

bestpud

Person_one wrote: »

Just a week abroad to a cheap bit of Spain is enriching for a child who's never done it. Going to the airport, flying, seeing a different environment, being surrounded by a different language, trying the local foods, meeting other children from different parts of the country or the world, even just swimming/paddling in the sea.

That depends on how you view education.

If you wear the blinkers that many in the education system have firmly fixed to their faces, there is only one type of education and anything else is inferior or a complete waste of time.

onlyroz

Well October half term 2013 starts 26th October. A week here costs £2068 for a family of 4, all inclusive:

http://www.firstchoice.co.uk/fcsun/page/details/details.page?packageNumber=009765WITUAX138276450000013827771000004630138338910000013833948000004631&fhCurrentSelectedDate=26/10/2013&linkName=&sttrkr=mthyr:10/2013_durT:7/w_ls:false_tuidesc:CMS227_day:26_mps:9_isvid:false_dufp:0_sda:true_pconfig:1|2|0|2|0|8-8-/_tchd:2_rating:0_dess:true_act:0_jsen:true_hffp:0_attrstr:||||||||null|null_mdest:false_tinf:0_mnth:10_desc:636_bc:17_margindt:7_tadt:2_numr:1_atfp:0_spp:mainSearch_depm:7_dur:7_dtx:0_df:false_dxsel:0_ratfp:0_dac:*LN_imgsel:0_loct:0_tsnr:0_bbfp:0_year:2013_dta:false__uc:009765_pid:009765WITUAX138276450000013827771000004630138338910000013833948000004631_sd:26/10/2013

Going a week earlier (i.e. during term time) costs £1904. So with the cost of the fine added there's not much in it.

bestpud

pipkin71 wrote: »

As school - or full time education - is not compulsory at nursery age, there won't be an issue with the LEA, should school say no but you still wish to go.

You would need to weigh up whether the school could then decide not to admit your son at compulsory age, but I'm sure that would be extreme if it did happen.

Admissions are done by the LA here so the school have no say - not sure if that's the case everywhere, but it should be!

onlyroz

bestpud wrote: »

The holiday may well be approved.

If it's approved then what's the problem? Presumably a school that approves such holidays is happy for the teachers to spend extra time helping the child catch up and doesn't care that the other children in the class will be missing out on their teacher's time.