Keeping child off school because it's their birthday!

FredTheBaddie

It's truancy and you can be fined.

https://www.gov.uk/school-attendance-absence/overview

Where's the discussion?

ptrichardson

Simple. Nope.

pollypenny

jaylee3 wrote: »

Because there have been cases recently of teachers and head teachers going on holiday with their kids in term time!

And yes, because the teachers strike whenever it suits and don't give a rats a$$ about the childrens education then; only 'their rights.'
.

Could we have a link to prove that first point, please? I've never known a teacher take a holiday in term time. Oh, unless it's been a school trip and they are accompanied by 60 pupils ! :cool:


As for the second point, you know jolly well that it is untrue.

notanewuser

As she's not of compulsory education age yet, we'll be keeping DD off school for a day for at least her next 2 birthdays so that we can meet up with her friends.

jaylee3

pollypenny wrote: »

Could we have a link to prove that first point, please? I've never known a teacher take a holiday in term time. Oh, unless it's been a school trip and they are accompanied by 60 pupils ! :cool:

As for the second point, you know jolly well that it is untrue.

Well YOU may 'never have known a teacher take time off in term time.' But they do. Sorry to disappoint you.

Here are just 2 stories from very recently.

Story 1

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2602288/Headteacher-32-takes-MONTH-term-time-married-despite-pupils-banned-doing-same.html

Story 2

http://www.closeronline.co.uk/2014/06/head-teacher-takes-two-weeks-off-school-during-term-time-to-watch-world-cup#.U8l8QJRdUtE

There are plenty more. My neighbour's daughter's maths teacher took a week off with his wife and son in late June to go to Florida, and my friend's son's English teacher was off 3 days for a family wedding in March. There are many more cases I have known of personally over the years.

Double standards much???

As for the last sentence; no I don't 'jolly well know it's not true,' so keep your pedantic and patronising comments to yourself, and don't tell me what I know and don't know. If teachers cared THAT much about the children's education, they wouldn't keep striking. They don't know they're born with the employment package they have: like most public service workers. They always want more.

And sure, they may care about the childrens education, but they care about their rights and their pensions and their pay rises more, ... clearly.

Like I said, double standards much? Fining parents for keeping kids off school in term time and then staying off themselves, for strikes and holidays in term time themselves. Hypocrites!

pollypenny

I agree that this case is appalling. Do you have more evidence rather than anecdotes?

Even if you can find ten culprits, or 100 even, what proportion of the teacher workforce would they represent.

What about figures of those teachers in school in the holidays, giving out results, helping with university places, helping pupils choose suitable A-level or vocational courses? We'd be talking thousands.

As for pedantic, pot, kettle black with sweeping statements .

maman

jaylee3 wrote: »

As for the last sentence; no I don't 'jolly well know it's not true,' so keep your pedantic and patronising comments to yourself, and don't tell me what I know and don't know. If teachers cared THAT much about the children's education, they wouldn't keep striking. They don't know they're born with the employment package they have: like most public service workers. They always want more.

And sure, they may care about the childrens education, but they care about their rights and their pensions and their pay rises more, ... clearly.

Like I said, double standards much? Fining parents for keeping kids off school in term time and then staying off themselves, for strikes and holidays in term time themselves. Hypocrites!

The case of the teacher being given time off in term time is highly unusual. It must have been approved by the governors/Local authority as 'exceptional circumstance' which is what could happen to a parent applying for term time leave for a child. I'd agree that it seems unnecessary as she could have got married in school holidays like other teachers do.




This thread probably isn't the place to rehearse all the reasons why teachers have been on strike but I can only assume you have poorer pay/conditions of service in your own job than you perceive that teachers and other public service workers have.


Why don't you do something about it rather than insist on a race to the bottom? It's not a competition to see who can boast of the lowest pay and poorest conditions? So what are you saying? You have poor pay and pension scheme so everyone else should have them too?

JIL

I am not a teacher. I know a few though and most of them do not see it as a job more of a vocation.
I dont think even with the perceived long holidays I could have the desire or the patience to deal with all the children, let alone the parents.

Carmina-Piranha_2

jaylee3 wrote: »

Well YOU may 'never have known a teacher take time off in term time.' But they do. Sorry to disappoint you.

Here are just 2 stories from very recently.

Story 1

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2602288/Headteacher-32-takes-MONTH-term-time-married-despite-pupils-banned-doing-same.html

Story 2

http://www.closeronline.co.uk/2014/06/head-teacher-takes-two-weeks-off-school-during-term-time-to-watch-world-cup#.U8l8QJRdUtE

There are plenty more. My neighbour's daughter's maths teacher took a week off with his wife and son in late June to go to Florida, and my friend's son's English teacher was off 3 days for a family wedding in March. There are many more cases I have known of personally over the years.

Double standards much???

As for the last sentence; no I don't 'jolly well know it's not true,' so keep your pedantic and patronising comments to yourself, and don't tell me what I know and don't know. If teachers cared THAT much about the children's education, they wouldn't keep striking. They don't know they're born with the employment package they have: like most public service workers. They always want more.

And sure, they may care about the childrens education, but they care about their rights and their pensions and their pay rises more, ... clearly.

Like I said, double standards much? Fining parents for keeping kids off school in term time and then staying off themselves, for strikes and holidays in term time themselves. Hypocrites!

Those cases are appalling, and thankfully rare! The 3 days for a family wedding I actually think is okay. Teachers can't dictate to their family when they plan a wedding, and 3 days isn't too bad.

The the thing though, when the class teacher is away then whoever stands in for them delivers the lessons and the whole class gets the same lessons. The teacher will have left lesson plans and done a lot of work beforehand - but even if they haven't and the stand-in is winging it, at least the whole class gets the same teaching.

When a teacher strikes the whole class lose a day's learning. They might be taught those missed lessons some other time. If not, they still haven't missed out on something that their classmates have learned.

I wouldn't take my children out for a birthday, but my eldest had a half day holiday once in his entire schooling. Sometimes the reason really is important enough to miss school, and for children whose family circumstances are different to mine, such as having an ill parent or having family weddings or funerals abroad then there will be more occasions that merit time off school. But a birthday, no.

stmartinsdiver

Definately not. As for this being the quieter time of the year - how do you decide where the changeover from too busy at school to being 'ok' as it's the quiet time? What nonsense! A school day is a school day whenever the birthday is. There's always evenings, weekends and school holidays to do anything special, and as I understand it most parents go to work so are those the people who throw a sickie to take their kids out on a school day?