New £60 Fines For Taking Children On Holiday During School Term (No 10 Days Grace)!

gregg1

balletshoes wrote: »

oh there could be loads of reasons for that - like for example they don't like kids enough to want to spend 6 hours a day with 20 or 30 of them!

It's not a pre requisite, believe me. I know many excellent teachers who do not particularly like other peoples' kids;) (although I would add, for a lot of teachers the kids are a doddle compared to having to deal with some of the parents!)

gregg1

zaksmum wrote: »

My daughter's a deputy head and she works like a dog.

By the time the summer holidays come round she's exhausted and really needs that break.

People often fail to consider the behind-the-scenes work teachers do, often late into the evening and at weekends. My daughter is expected to be at work in the last official week of the summer holidays, too.

She has to sort out a lot of the social problems the kids may have too, along with a whole range of other duties. It's far from easy.

I often wonder why those who think teaching is a cushy number don't train up to do it themselves...!

Well said.

maman

gregg1 wrote: »

It's not a pre requisite, believe me. I know many excellent teachers who do not particularly like other peoples' kids;) (although I would add, for a lot of teachers the kids are a doddle compared to having to deal with some of the parents!)

Strangely I see many parents who appear not to like children much either. You see them regularly in shops or on the street in school holidays, screaming and yelling at them when they can't manage 2 or 3 let alone 30. Maybe that's why they get so aerated when schools aren't open 24/7 to provide childcare for their offspring.;)

gregg1

maman wrote: »

Strangely I see many parents who appear not to like children much either. You see them regularly in shops or on the street in school holidays, screaming and yelling at them when they can't manage 2 or 3 let alone 30. Maybe that's why they get so aerated when schools aren't open 24/7 to provide childcare for their offspring.;)

Exactly right.

Murphy_The_Cat

maman wrote: »

Maybe that's why they get so aerated when schools aren't open 24/7 to provide childcare for their offspring.;)

oh dear. oh dear and once again, oh dear.

If I was to book a 24/7 childcare provider, I'd give a 100%, 24 carat, copperbottomed guarantee that it wouldn't be via an agency that had anything to do with an LEA, nor employed people of the teacher persuasion in .it.

I need a guaranteed high level of service,reliability & consistency, which are areas where schooling can sometimes fall woefully short:beer:

callum9999

Murphy_The_Cat wrote: »

oh dear. oh dear and once again, oh dear.

If I was to book a 24/7 childcare provider, I'd give a 100%, 24 carat, copperbottomed guarantee that it wouldn't be via an agency that had anything to do with an LEA, nor employed people of the teacher persuasion in .it.

I need a guaranteed high level of service,reliability & consistency, which are areas where schooling can sometimes fall woefully short:beer:

I find it incredibly hard to believe that the average child care provider does a better job at looking after children than the average teacher...

As to all the people moaning about how this is some kind of "money making scam" - absolute rubbish. The amount of money made from a scheme like this is incredibly minimal. Just like parking tickets - many councils only just break even on them when they've paid all the admin around them.

These types of fines are invariably designed to change behaviour and not as a big money-generator. People always think "1 week off doesn't matter" - but it DOES. One study I read recently found that in California, students who were absent for just 1 week a year were 25% less likely to get into college. Yes, 25%. Children DO NOT need fancy foreign holidays - if it's too expensive for you to go during school holidays then go and pitch a tent in Cornwall for a week. Although people love to pretend the government is some huge uncaring ogre, these fines exist because it's in the best interests of the child - period.

Mr_Wang

callum9999 wrote: »

I find it incredibly hard to believe that the average child care provider does a better job at looking after children than the average teacher...

As to all the people moaning about how this is some kind of "money making scam" - absolute rubbish. The amount of money made from a scheme like this is incredibly minimal. Just like parking tickets - many councils only just break even on them when they've paid all the admin around them.

These types of fines are invariably designed to change behaviour and not as a big money-generator. People always think "1 week off doesn't matter" - but it DOES. One study I read recently found that in California, students who were absent for just 1 week a year were 25% less likely to get into college. Yes, 25%. Children DO NOT need fancy foreign holidays - if it's too expensive for you to go during school holidays then go and pitch a tent in Cornwall for a week. Although people love to pretend the government is some huge uncaring ogre, these fines exist because it's in the best interests of the child - period.

My child care provider has just 4 children at any one time yet our school has around 17 per class. To say one is better than the other at caring is just ridiculous as both do a fantastic job at caring for my kids.

My local council made about $2million off parking tickets last year.

My children have taken a minimum 2 weeks from school each year and my son passed his Grammar school exam and despite us living miles out of area was given a place to start in September.
Whilst I agree school is perhaps the most important part of a child's upbringing I also believe they should love being a child, have great family time and family memories and create strong, lifelong bonds with their siblings. And whilst for you that may be a weekend in Cornwall, for me it might be getting lost somewhere in the Himalayas.
As for children not needing fancy holidays, perhaps you think that now. But how do your children feel getting bunged in the back of a Cortina for a wet weekend on the South Downs whilst their mates at school jet off to Florida.

Everyone is different, we all do things that others might not necessarily agree with it - But I believe somewhere amongst all this parental discretion should remain, and it isn't for you, or anyone to tell me what suits my children best because frankly, Ive done quite well so far without your input.

FreddieFrugal

Mr_Wang wrote: »

As for children not needing fancy holidays, perhaps you think that now. But how do your children feel getting bunged in the back of a Cortina for a wet weekend on the South Downs whilst their mates at school jet off to Florida.

How snobish!

I didn't give a monkeys were we went on holiday when I was a kid, so long as I was with my family and we were having fun and we always did. It's about the experience of being with people you love not going somewhere fancy. My best holidays have been relatively cheap ones in terms of money but absolutely fantastic in terms of doing stuff together like climbing hills in the lake district.

Yes my friend may have been going to Florida very regularly for his holidays but he also had parents that showed barely any attention to him the rest of the time.

Being able to afford expensive foreign holidays does not make one automatically a better parent.

jackieblack

IanRi wrote: »

Being able to afford expensive foreign holidays does not make one automatically a better parent.

Very true

but being able to afford foreign holidays, and wanting your child to see and experience things from other cultures, even if the only time they can do this is during term time, does not automatically make one a bad parent

FreddieFrugal

jackieblack wrote: »

Very true

but being able to afford foreign holidays, and wanting your child to see and experience things from other cultures, even if the only time they can do this is during term time, does not automatically make one a bad parent

This is very true. I do know first hand how disruptive it can be for a child if they're taken out during school time. But yes a child from a caring family that's taking them somewhere were they will get some good experiences will recover from that gap in school education very quickly and if anything will gain more than they lost.


I for one completely disagree with the new rules because it should be up to school discretion to decide. Schools know which parents are trying it on and which ones are genuinely going a family holiday. There will be some circumstances were it's not in the particular children's best interest but there will also be many circumstances were it will not harm the child's education at all if anything it will be good for them and also bring back good experiences to the class room which can be shared with the rest of the children. Especially if they go somewhere relevant to the topics being covered at school it's a fantastic opportunity, gives them experiences to write and talk about.

Unfortunately I've taught children whose only experiences outside of school at weekends and during holidays are sitting outside the pub on the estate while their parents waste whatever time and money they could have put towards spending quality time with the children.