Taking kids out of school for a term

Their places would not be held open in a state school. They got lucky and there were places available in the right year group.

I totally understand that but we are just trying to let you know what problems COULD occur. Then you can make the right decision for your family based on all the facts. If you accept that you might lose the places at your current school and are prepared to deal with that on your return then go for it.

I'm guessing Norway. It can take a massive amount of time to reach some of the more remote areas. Several days

Look at the admissions figures for the last three years on your local authority website. If they have a cut off distance for the furthest admitted child it’s over subscribed. If it says ‘all applicants admitted’ it’s not.

Also look at the data for the school vacancies - if each year has a 0 for available places chances are it’s over subscribed

The school would be happy with the funding if the children were there on counting day, but they would not be happy keeping them on roll, two children notching up 20 absences every week would send up such huge red flags about attendance that no HT would agree to it.

I know someone who is an international sportsman and got into a club in Australia. Took his kids out for an entire academic year and the kids came straight back into school, their places were held open. Speak to the headteacher?

After 3 weeks they are taken off the role. In exceptional circumstances they could keep it for one more week but I've never heard of more than 4 weeks

'the headteacher is very hot on absence sadly'

Why 'sadly'? Surely that's excellent, and the bare minimum?

@Decorhate what happened?

You just have to be aware of timings re getting them back into school in The UK. But as others have said why not just go in summer maybe leaving 2 weeks before term finishes giving you 8/9 weeks there???

I'd just go for it I think. The older the children get the more tricky it becomes.

You will lose the places but you can reapply upon return.

Intrigued as to what country - but it sounds like a fabulous opportunity for you and your family.

If you ensure your kids are still at school on census day (mid October) school
might be more agreeable as they won’t lose funding. But you can’t assume the places will still be there when you get back.

Someone I know was adamant that her kids would get back into their school after a year in Oz. Not only were their places gone but they had also missed the deadline for applying for secondary school…

It was a great experience by all accounts but it was a post Covid decision as they had t seen family in 4 years…

Head Teachers have very little say in it these days. Attendance stats are measured very closely.

After 20 school days the school will remove your child from the register and notify the local authority that they children are no longer in the UK. You are likely to have to provide evidence to the school that you will be out of the UK such as flight tickets. Once you return you will need to reapply for their place. If you're lucky you be able to get them straight back in, if not you face being allocated a place at a school with vacancies and they might not be in the same school. Some towns and cities have populations that will take the kids back to their "home/ancestral country" a lot and my team at work deal with this day in, day out. The school absolutely should not be keeping their places open or worse keeping the children on roll and marking them absent.

If there is a waiting list for your child’s year group then they will take them off roll much quicker than six weeks in order not to deny another child an education. You would then have to re apply for the place on your return, bearing in mind that if the school has more than one class per year you risk them not going back into the same class. You also risk there only being space for one of your children meaning you would have to appeal to have the other place reinstated.

Friends did it with the blessing of school, but they went to school in the country they went to for a whole term, then had to re-apply for their school places… it was all fine but depends if there’s a waiting list at your current school. They won’t hold your place because parents do this and sometimes don’t return…

I cant figure out which country is inaccessible for weeks at a time in summer, it's driving me mad 😁

Why don't you just say what country? Its hardly outing and you might get more specific advice.

Depends how popular the school is and whether there are spaces in their year.

I'd deregister them, to homeschool for a term, and then re-register them when I arrived back. However, you run the risk of them having to move schools.

I believe they only have to hold the spaces for you for 2 weeks.

We can take chn off roll on the 20th day of absence.

They'll take them off the role because of attendance stats. Is the school over subscribed?