Taking kids out of school for a term

How about going for 4 weeks, and going around easter so they miss less? So maybe the week before until the week after? You will get a fine but not much else.

Teacher. Yes - it does happen. We had a kid who went home to Hong Kong for a bit. 🤏

This will be so disruptive to their learning. And so unfair on the teachers who will be expected to just pick up where they left off.

People did this when my dc were at primary school. One lot did it to visit family in New Zealand for four weeks over Christmas. Another went back to Brazil for a term before reappearing. The third family went off on a world trip that was supposed to be six months duration, but they came back half way through because the parents split up.

I’ve no idea of the admin/mechanics of their school places. I do know that in all cases, they were honest and open with the Head from the start. It’s a sought after school, but a small village one that tends not to have long waiting lists.

If you go to Aus and haven’t paid taxes, by working for a certain length of time, you will need to pay for the children to attend school.

The school has no option about giving permission for this. We are simply not allowed to authorise absence that doesn’t fit the rules. Once your child has been absent for 20 school days they have to be removed from roll. If you are lucky their place may still be available on your return but the school cannot guarantee this.
Added to this, if you don’t tell the school where you are going and/or where they are receiving education then they have to report to the local authority that there is a CME (Child Missing Education) which means investigations into the child’s whereabouts so it’s important that you are honest with the school.

How about a month in total? Leave day before Easter break, then back 2 weeks after? Only 2 weeks of school is missed that way.

I teach in Scotland and this kind of trip is not uncommon. There is a registration code which lets us know if it is with consent or not.
Would not expect anyone to be off rolled for this. In fact, if I remember correctly, we can’t off role a pupil unless they are actually registered with another school.

OP I did this with my daughter, and chatted to the local school about the best way forward for them to accommodate this. DD went to school for a month in my home country (at her request!) in order to meet local kids and integrate into local culture, we then stayed for three more weeks of their school holidays. The local school listed her as being 'educated elsewhere' for the duration so then it didn't affect their absence stats. They didn't ask for any proof of said schooling, though DD ended up giving a presentation to the class about her exchange school on our return. She returned to her school/class with no issues, although the local school is definitely not oversubscribed so that may have made a difference!

Go for it. I’m guessing somewhere in South East Asia, maybe with monsoon or other extreme weather during our summer - but what an amazing and formative experience. I’m sure it’ll work out. I highly doubt you’ll regret it five years from now, people rarely do. Make the jump. Lucky kids!!

I think this too

4 weeks - a week either side of the Easter holidays could be a good compromise

You could deregister and home educate for the time they're away. You can then re-appky for school place's once you get back. If they're at an over subscribed school, they might not get back in the same school, but the council would need to find you a place somewhere, same as if you had moved house.

Tag it onto a longer school holiday and pick a shorter half term? If you are in a rural area you may be fine. But an oversubscribed school would struggle with it I think.

I'd just go, as you say, it's now or never. If people regularly join or leave your school mid year, I'd say it's likely you'd get a place at your school when you return. I know at my children's school that people got places after reception relatively regularly, and that as long as children lived reasonably close, it's likely you'd be OK after a short wait. Presumably you don't need to worry about work yourself? If that's the case, I'd just homeschool on return until places at their school come up. 4 is so young, it won't hurt them.

Fingers crossed you will find a way.
It will be different type of learning, but they will learn so much about the world.

No they don't have to hold a place and nothing op can say will "persuade" the head or LA to do so. If you do this you might be lucky and the vacancy still be there but popular schools will have waiting lists and may fill the spaces.

They have to hold the place if they know where the child is and that the parents are planning to return them to the school.

Some academics at our uni take their kids with them on sabbatical terms or years. As others have said, no guarantee of a school place where you were before on return. I don’t know if there are any legal responsibilities to show proof they are at school at those ages. I also don’t know anyone directly who hadn’t got a school place for their child wherever they were going for sabbatical.

So much misinformation here about when a school can take a child's name off the roll. It's all set out here - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2006/1751/regulation/8 - and nowhere do the regulations say schools can take children off the roll solely because they go abroad for half a term.

I would advise leaving at the beginning of April (Easter is a moveable feast and it's very "late" next year) and returning for the start of the new school year.
It's no fun for kids trying to join a class halfway through the school year, either from a curriculum point of view or a social one.
But find out what you will need to do to ensure that they have places for the start of the new school year before you leave.

It depends on the school, you will have to talk to the headteacher.
My friend took her DD to NZ to stay with family for 6 weeks in January and the school de-registered her so it wouldn't affect their absence stats but they weren't over subscribed so knew they would be able to take her back after half term hols. Small village school so never oversubscribed

Seems to depend on schools (and/or counties?). Someone at my school took both kids out for a term and was guaranteed their places will be kept. The family had to move for work basically. I don't know if that is why it got approved. That doesn't mean your reason is less valid in my eyes. I'm just wondering what schools might think.

Is there a waiting list for your children's classes?

If not just deregister them and then reapply when you want to return.

Nothing, they are not allowed to do it.

You can do it but they can’t hold the place.

As far as I'm aware this would be classed as an unauthorised absence of 6 weeks and you'd be facing prosecution on your return.

Your best bet is to deregister them and then reregister them when you get back. If the school is oversubscribed, that could be tricky.