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

SingleSue

maman wrote: »

I agree with the gist of what you're saying but children are on the way to exams from the day they start school. There are expectations of the level they'll reach in every year group. The national test results they get at Age 6 are used to project where they'll be at 11 and progress measured against it and on it goes. I don't approve of schools becoming exam factories but that's where we are.:(

Children spend 7 years at primary school and less than 5 at secondary. All school years are important although obviously taking children out at exam time is madness. I know someone who took his 11 year old to Butlins on a Sun holiday during the 11 year old tests.:(

Youngest completely bombed his year 6 SATS because the noise of the pens/pencils scratching on paper overwhelmed him, he spent most either under his desk or running from the room...he failed to register any kind of mark in all of them. Unfortunately this result came back to haunt him years later (plus a report done when he was 5) and he was figuratively consigned to the dustbin. Imagine his old high school's reaction when he moved schools to a college, retook his GCSEs gaining A*s and then became the top student in his year group at A level and coming out with 3 x A*

Youngest also missed more school than most, he didn't go full time until half way through year 6 and even then his attendance was poor due to medical issues, I think the highest attendance he ever got in a term was 70% and that was in his last year of compulsory education. However, he was (and still is) a very determined individual and although I turned teacher and kept up his education at home in the early years, he took over the responsibility in his later ones and did it so well that he actually became in advance of his peers and where they were with the syllabus and had to wait for them to catch him up in the classroom on his return from an enforced medical break.

No money for private tutors here, just active minds and lots and lots of books (and help from the internet).

Re holidays, UK all the way for me for a main holiday....can't be bothered worrying about airport strikes etc and we have some lovely places here.

onwards&upwards

maman wrote: »

I agree with the gist of what you're saying but children are on the way to exams from the day they start school. There are expectations of the level they'll reach in every year group. The national test results they get at Age 6 are used to project where they'll be at 11 and progress measured against it and on it goes. I don't approve of schools becoming exam factories but that's where we are.:(

Children spend 7 years at primary school and less than 5 at secondary. All school years are important although obviously taking children out at exam time is madness. I know someone who took his 11 year old to Butlins on a Sun holiday during the 11 year old tests.:(

SATS?

Pretty sure they are of no importance to the child’s future, just to the school.

Wasn’t there a sort of strike last year where parents kept their kids off to protest at the pressure being put on 11 year olds?

maman

onwards&upwards wrote: »

SATS?

Pretty sure they are of no importance to the child’s future, just to the school.

Wasn’t there a sort of strike last year where parents kept their kids off to protest at the pressure being put on 11 year olds?

Yes, there was. I don't agree with the test driven system any more than many others but the school has to operate in the system as it is (while Headteachers and teachers may well be campaigning against them). By not supporting the school whether it's on SATs or attendance then parents are giving children the wrong messages IMO.

Sue . I take your point but you obviously have special circumstances but continue to be supportive.

Kentish_Dave

onwards&upwards wrote: »

Why don’t you do a research study on it and find out?

Because I’ve a full time job in another country.

Since you ask though...

Mr / Mrs Onwards and Upwards, would you take your children out of school for a holiday, what is your household income and profession, and how many books would you say that you and your children tend to read a month?

SingleSue

Ooh, can I enter the survey?

Parents took us out every end of June for our (UK) holiday, house full of books (ok mostly mine, I'm a self confessed book hoarder) and until disabilities/medical issues hit in near family/myself, I was a manager in a corporate company and a higher rate tax payer.

However, brother and sister have not had the same success although brother shares the same love of books. Both working but at never much more than a moderate wage, saying that though brother has finally reached the heights of manager in his council department in recent years albeit a minor management role and sister has been offered a supervisory role which she turned down (I was the ambitious one, them less so)

To the final question, as previously answered I did take mine out during term time for our (UK) holidays but this was due to medical needs and we all (teachers, myself and extended family) worked on a solution/built up coping mechanisms and from youngest's start at high school, only ever took holidays outside of term time. This obviously meant that eldest mainly took term time holidays but he went to university and after that, straight onto a competitive graduate scheme....he also has the book hoarding gene (much to his partner's disgust/annoyance, she thought she had a lot until their move in day and she saw how many he had). It's too early to say with middle son as he is only just graduating and youngest is still a way off graduating, middle son doesn't have the love of reading gene, youngest does and has an impressive collection of books.

I must admit I had a conundrum this year, I had a young relative placed with me two weeks before we were due to go on holiday and because I no longer have school aged offspring, that holiday was booked for during term time. I've always been a supporter of education and that it is vitally important to attend as scheduled and it didn't feel right taking her out of school but at the same time, the holiday was paid for and non refundable, time had been booked off work and it had also been aligned with my parent's holiday so that the boys and myself could provide additional support as they are becoming quite frail now.

It was a little annoying though, I gave her school a heads up that I had a holiday booked and they asked why on earth had I booked a term time holiday (erm, because I don't have school aged children and it's a whole lot quieter and yes, cheaper and how the naughty word was I supposed to know a 7 year old would be placed with me at very short notice) before saying they would have to see if I would be allowed to take her out of school and that I should think about these things in future.

Thankfully things resolved, she was returned to her parents and we went on our holiday as planned.

So a mixed bag really but I do think our love of reading and books has played a big part in our outcomes.

onwards&upwards

Kentish_Dave wrote: »

Because I’ve a full time job in another country.

Since you ask though...

Mr / Mrs Onwards and Upwards, would you take your children out of school for a holiday, what is your household income and profession, and how many books would you say that you and your children tend to read a month?

When you get ethics committee approval send me your questionnaire. :cool:

LilElvis

Kentish_Dave wrote: »

I wonder if there’s a correlation between being willing to take your children out of school for a holiday, and struggling later in life.

I’d bet that there is, as it seems the very epitome of being unwilling to forego pleasure now for benefit later.

How many of those saying it’s acceptable set bad examples in other areas? Do you have Sky but few books in the house, for example?

In my (poor) household not attending school was simply never an option. You went in every day, respected the teachers, and did your very best. It was the same in my friends’ households, and this view of the importance of education is likely why so many of us rose so very far above what could be expected of working class children from a mining town.

Kentish_Dave wrote: »

Because I’ve a full time job in another country.

Since you ask though...

Mr / Mrs Onwards and Upwards, would you take your children out of school for a holiday, what is your household income and profession, and how many books would you say that you and your children tend to read a month?

No Sky TV in our house. 8 year old is a prolific reader. Very high income household ( I'm a former professional, now SAHM, husband senior manager in large multi national) with a deep commitment to the school - I'm chair of the PTA. No qualms about taking her out of school last year 3 days each side of Easter as I had agreement from the head and class teacher prior to booking - teacher even gave her a book on South Africa and a project book for her to use. She filled the entire book and gave a talk to the class on her return about everything she had seen. It was a "one off" and those six days have been her only absence in the last three years - next year we're returning to South Africa/ Zambia/ Victoria Falls in our summer so she can see the difference in the seasons on the landscape and wildlife. I would never compromise my daughter's education for a cheap beach getaway but I was happy (as were the school) to lose 6 days for a rewarding, life experience.

julie777

It leads to a fine, a court appearance or both.
To me that indicates one has broken the law.
Surely parents don't want their children to see such lawbreaking.
What does that teach our kids?
What laws will they choose to break?
A slippery slope perhaps?

jasonsmith1989

Yes! We take our 2 children out every year and they usually miss a couple days of school. Even with a fine it is still much cheaper than term time.

My wife is a teacher turned tutor and she agrees that family time is more important. It's the 1 week a year we actually get to spend quality time together with no distractions and if we had to go in the holidays we wouldn't be able to do it.

I think this world puts too much pressure on our young and teaches them that school education is the only way to learn which is far from the case.

Teacher2

Results fall when the parents let the children play hookey and then the teachers ar persecuted by management and OFSTED in addition to being forced to work extra hours to ensure the child catches up. The frustration of planning a series of vital prep lessons for a topic where the child is missing and cannot understand the work is also awful.

In my view, parents who take their children away in term time should be able to but should sign a form saying they are happy that their child drops below their predicted grades for GCSE and that their results should not appear in the school results.