Would you allow your child to skip school for some cheaper summer sunshine?

MandM90

No I wouldn't.

However, when I was at school you could apply to have leave granted and I think it's sad they changed that. My mum pulled me out twice (neither times during years when we had SATs, GCSEs or A Levels) - once for Australia and the other time for North Africa. Both times she wrote a letter outlining a plan to ensure I didn't fall behind with work and listing the educational/cultural activities that were included. Neither were sit-on-your-bum beach holidays and I got immense value from both.

I wouldn't break the rules but if it were possible to legally take DD out for longer I would love to apply to do so to give more time over a summer holiday to allow for an extended campervan tour around Europe.

maman

pollypenny wrote: »

I fail to understand why this topic has been started by MSE Molly, as he admits it's been discussed regularly and it's not often brought out the best in people.

The ability to take a child out of school for a holiday was always a concession to those parents who had no choice about their own time off. It was never meant to grab a cheaper holiday.

I agree. I find almost all the mse originated pots irritating. It's as if they have nothing better to do. The ones where a member has (allegedly) written in with a question which mse pass on are the worst. Surely it would be better if the mse staff just explained to the member how to start a thread of their own.

Unfortunately, this is a topic that I feel so strongly about I couldn't resist looking at it.:o

maman

MandM90 wrote: »

No I wouldn't.

However, when I was at school you could apply to have leave granted and I think it's sad they changed that. My mum pulled me out twice (neither times during years when we had SATs, GCSEs or A Levels) - once for Australia and the other time for North Africa. Both times she wrote a letter outlining a plan to ensure I didn't fall behind with work and listing the educational/cultural activities that were included. Neither were sit-on-your-bum beach holidays and I got immense value from both.

I wouldn't break the rules but if it were possible to legally take DD out for longer I would love to apply to do so to give more time over a summer holiday to allow for an extended campervan tour around Europe.

That hasn't changed but those applications that are successful are for genuine emergencies like family bereavements or ill health. It wouldn't apply to taking a protracted holiday however 'educational'. I'm not trying to say that travel isn't good for children or even enjoying a bucket and spade holiday with the family in this country. The point is that there are 13 weeks a year when children can go on holiday and there are very few parents who couldn't get any of that time off.

I liked the post that compared it with going AWOL from your workplace. That's the very worst impression to be giving to children IMO.

Grezz24

My wife is a secondary school English teacher and she agrees that at the end of term, particular at the end of the year, classes start to ramp down the work and start to watch videos and play games as the term time work is coming to an end.

So while i see the point people are making about teachers working hard to get that career (i know all to well the hours my wife puts in) its also true that and the end of term is far less productive than the rest.

ibizafan_2

While agreeing that the end of the summer term might not be the most productive education wise, I always enjoyed being with my classmates right to the end of term. It was a lovely time after all the hard work during the year. It shouldn’t be all about getting a cheaper holiday.

onwards&upwards

maman wrote: »

That hasn't changed but those applications that are successful are for genuine emergencies like family bereavements or ill health. It wouldn't apply to taking a protracted holiday however 'educational'. I'm not trying to say that travel isn't good for children or even enjoying a bucket and spade holiday with the family in this country. The point is that there are 13 weeks a year when children can go on holiday and there are very few parents who couldn't get any of that time off.

Nah, my friends been given permission to take a week out for a bog standard holiday next year!

It’s because the kid has good attendance and the parents are sensible and value education but are in low paid jobs and would never get a holiday otherwise, it’s not a crucial time and the school have some common sense and compassion!

pollypenny

Grezz24 wrote: »

My wife is a secondary school English teacher and she agrees that at the end of term, particular at the end of the year, classes start to ramp down the work and start to watch videos and play games as the term time work is coming to an end.

So while i see the point people are making about teachers working hard to get that career (i know all to well the hours my wife puts in) its also true that and the end of term is far less productive than the rest.

However, there are other activities which are equably valuable to pupils and a chance to do some more light-hearted stuff.

MandM90

maman wrote: »

That hasn't changed but those applications that are successful are for genuine emergencies like family bereavements or ill health. It wouldn't apply to taking a protracted holiday however 'educational'. I'm not trying to say that travel isn't good for children or even enjoying a bucket and spade holiday with the family in this country. The point is that there are 13 weeks a year when children can go on holiday and there are very few parents who couldn't get any of that time off.

I liked the post that compared it with going AWOL from your workplace. That's the very worst impression to be giving to children IMO.

I think in our case the Australia trip would've taken more than the 2 week Xmas hols - it took about 30 hours each way - to be 'worth it' and the North Africa trip rolled in a family wedding. My mum was very, very strict with education - both of us were pressured beyond belief and ended up leaving school with As across the board at both GCSE/A level and going to top a 5 Uni - so it wasn't disregard for the importance of education, but more the belief that education doesn't start and end in the classroom. Over the course of the whole 13 years or so of school, we missed 2 weeks due to these trips (combined).

As I said, I would never pull DD out and break any laws but I do think there can be value in it if it's not against the rules. It's just like taking annual leave from work if approved. I think there's a huge difference in taking kids to see an amazing natural event/a once in a lifetime long haul trip which makes 2 weeks disproportionately short for the travel, rather than just wanting a few hundred quid off Center Parcs or an all inclusive to Gran Canaria.

DD goes to private school and as far as I'm aware no such fines exist - which is strange because it's still a legal requirement. They seem to be able to make up their own rules. I know a family who went travelling in a camper for 3 months and just kept paying fees to hold their school place.

maman

onwards&upwards wrote: »

Nah, my friends been given permission to take a week out for a bog standard holiday next year!

It’s because the kid has good attendance and the parents are sensible and value education but are in low paid jobs and would never get a holiday otherwise, it’s not a crucial time and the school have some common sense and compassion!

Obviously a compassionate headteacher who knows that if they didn't agree the parents would probably go anyway and would rather have the absence authorised rather than unauthorised which shows up as truancy.

How the system is administered seems to vary across the country. In some places headteachers choose, in others it's down to the local authority. And as you said M&M, independent schools seem to do as they please.

It's nothing to do with good attendance as the wording of 'regular' attendance was challenged in court and failed.

I know I'm being pedantic but it's not true that people in low paid jobs would never get a holiday. They would but they'd have to wait longer to save up.

ibizafan_2

Be thankful you don’t live in certain parts of Germany where the police patrol the airport on a Friday looking for children who should be at school, and then reporting those children, whose parents receive a large fine. Although, actually in Germany it is pretty much socially unacceptable to take children on holiday in termtime. My German friends who are recently retired teachers were telling me this in June.