Schools no longer allowed to authorise holidays

mumps

Mine missed 3 to 4 years as they started school around year 3 or 4. Officially we home schooled in fact we let them live, play, have fun and just be. Three are graduates, one currently at uni, Two have post grad qualifications, all different universities but including top five in Times league and Russell group. Three firsts and final one looking good. We also had the occasional holiday in school time, not every year. Over the year they also missed school for medical reasons, deaths in the family, school trips (including skiing and activity holidays as well as exchanges for language) and the infamous sports events.

Don't know what that all adds up to but just thought I would mention it.

Spendless

Dunroamin wrote: »

Overnight stays on one week holidays are perfectly easy to do - you leave on Friday and come back on Sunday.

As far as long haul holidays go, it comes back to what I said earlier, if you can afford a term time long haul holiday you can afford an August short haul holiday so no reason not to be able to go for a fortnight.

I apologise if you're in this situation but are there really that many families where one partner can't take any time off in the summer and the other can't take any off at Christmas and Easter? I'm sure there'll be some but I really don't think that it'll be that common.

For me I can't always leave on a Friday. Kids don't finish school till 3.30, we are a 4 hr drive from Dover (longer on a Friday night!) and airport times don't always fit with the time you are due to check in at. Far easier if you live closer to the airports and ferry docks.

People visiting families abroad? We have family in Canada.The overnight flight home when you miss a nights sleep as it is morning when you arrive means I am affected the day after I arrive home. I've been sent home from work before sick after going into work on the Monday following flying home long haul Sat,but not arriving till Sunday. I didn't have enough days hol to take the Mon off work too (new job) so I have to take into account 4 days worth of travelling, the day I fly there, the day I fly home, the day I arrive home and the day after! For that reason I couldn't do a week trip to Canada. Must be worse for people with families in Australia.

I agree it must be limited how many families are affected, but it's an example of why rule will not fit all.

Marker_2

Dunroamin wrote: »

As far as long haul holidays go, it comes back to what I said earlier, if you can afford a term time long haul holiday you can afford an August short haul holiday so no reason not to be able to go for a fortnight.

.

And it comes back to what I said earlier ... why should a family be "forced" to go to Spain every year.

FBaby

zagfles wrote: »

I think one of the problems is that a lot of people don't realise that they can get cheap'ish holidays in the school holidays, they don't need to pay the rip-off prices in the holiday brouchures. As a money saving forum this is exactly what we should be discussing!

Of course we've seen a lot of non-financial reasons why people take their kids out of school for holidays, and that's a separate issue. Personally, if I or my wife couldn't get leave in the school holidays, I'd probably take the kids out of school.

But there should be no need to do so purely for financial reasons.

It depends how you look at it. I don't go on holiday just to have a break, I go on holiday for exploring and discovering new experiences. I don't want to compromise and go somewhere that doesn't appeal much to me just to be able to afford it. Saying that, I am in the fortunate situation that we can usually afford to go where we went to go during holiday time despite the difference in price. Only once I chose to go somewhere and then could only afford to do so if my kids missed 3 days of school. It involved my parents too so it would have been 5 of us paying significantly more for the sake of 3 days. I didn't think twice. Similarly, if I decided I really wanted to go somewhere and could only afford to do by taking the kids out of school (never more than 5 days), and it wasn't the year of important exams, then I would do it without any regrets.

FBaby

Dunroamin wrote: »

I'm afraid I have to disagree with you, most people are trying to justify this on financial grounds because that's the reason they do it.

There's a big difference between a one off dream holiday and a regular missing of two weeks' education almost every year just to sit on a beach somewhere more cheaply than in the school holidays.

If you did this every year (and some people do) your child would be missing a whole year of education and for ittle return in terms of worthwhile additional experience.

I totally agree, this even from my perspective is the extreme cases that could warrant fines, but I personally don't know one family in this situation. I know a couple who have taken the kids off for two weeks as a one off, or families who take a few days extra attached to a school holiday, a few that take the week off just before end of term, when the kids don't do any more work (it is 'activity week' in my DD secondary school). Yet, these people are being put into the same bag, stereotyped as selfish parents, and will be fine just the same as the one who abuse the system.

FBaby

angelil wrote: »

Because that doesn't insult the work being done by the children's teachers, at all...

Well I don't rate the education my kids receive that highly. I accept it because I chose to have them in the local comprehensive, but I am not pleased by the fact that my children are not challenged to their ability. The school has acknowledge they don't have the capacity to support the most able pupils, that's how the system is. So no, I don't think my views (based on my own circumstances) are more insulting then the school admitting it is not able to support my child to her level.

FBaby

zaggle, I really would like an example of these cheaper flights during holiday time. I have been looking for years 6 months in advance for flights in Europe and yes, they tend to be a bit cheaper 6 months prior, but still significantly more expensive than during term time. I tried the leaving a few days after the start of the holiday, coming back a bit sooner, but the only time you can do that and enjoy more than 5 days is Easter and Summer and still these are much more expensive.

pinkladyof66

just done a search for flights for 7 days in easter holidays to palma and it comes up £1200 for flights alone !!!!!

Mojisola

FBaby wrote: »

If the schools want to fine me for it, I will expect to show me EVIDENCE that THEIR education has been compromised because of it, or that their class has suffered from it.

That's not the way the law works - the regulation says that the schools have to impose these fines. The schools are not choosing to do it.

I think most Headteachers would prefer the flexibility they had before.

~Chameleon~

Marker wrote: »

And it comes back to what I said earlier ... why should a family be "forced" to go to Spain every year.

Who's forcing anyone to go to Spain? You must have very limited knowledge!