Taking kids out of school for a term

It is a bit more complex than what previous posters have said. Under the education (pupil registration) (England) amendments regulations 2016, there are limited legal grounds on which to remove a pupil from roll.

One of them is that the pupil has been absent from school for 20 School days - BUT this also requires the school and local authority to have tried to locate the child and failed.

They must legally make reasonable enquiries as to where the child is and what the parents intentions are. Only after having done that and after another 10 school days have elapsed can the decision be taken whether to remove the child from roll or not.

In a case where the parents are in communication with school around where the child is, and their intention to return in the short term, it would probably be decided that it was not appropriate to remove the child from the school roll, even though absence was unauthorised.

Nepal aside, having a heritage from those countries isn’t exactly as outing as the OP suggests though. There must be loads of MNs whose families come from India or Bangladesh 😂

Could you do two weeks either side of the easter holiday? That would only technically be 20 days of school, potentially less if there are any inset days.

Only if both you and the local authority have made reasonable inquiries and can't establish where they are.

If only she'd mentioned that summer won't work as many places she wants to visit wouldn't be accessible.

Could you go after sats yr 6 so mid May. Eldest already has secondary place confirmed so no worries. Youngest can start at any school with a place in September when they come back.

As a reception teacher I would advise against it. I don’t think people realise how much they learn over reception and the difference a half term can make is huge!

lol! Nepal, India and Bangladesh is terrible during our summer. Depending on where families live, villages can flood excessively and is more of a risk than an exciting trip.

Can’t you go one week before Easter, say, and one week after to give 4 weeks in total? Still a long visit.

I think going in the six week holiday is better though.

Are there other local schools with places that you would be happy to put your children in on your return. I don’t think an oversubscribed school will be able to keep the places.

You have to realise OP, the head cannot authorise it even if they want to - they simply aren't allowed to. It used to be the case that headteachers had a bit of discretion around this but they don't any more, and as others have said you won't find a school anywhere willing to hold their places open.
Whatever you claim, there are no countries you 'can't' visit during the 6 weeks summer - there are just countries its less desirable to visit during summer. You absolutely could go during the 6 week break you just dont want to because it won't be as good.

I would talk to the head - ask what might help. But at their ages I would not give up on the opportunity for them OP. It will be much harder for them to catch up in secondary and potentially be harder to get places back, primary is absolutely the right time to go.

No, you can't. Or not legally, anyway.

And schools list their pupils on rolls, not roles.

I'd be more sad my family didn't want to come and visit me.

but you can give them the experience of going in 6 weeks summer holidays, and 4 weeks easter holidays, you'll still get plenty of time there

Check on the school website. Every school I know, and I know a lot, has something along the lines of “We do not authorise absence during term time under any circumstance.”

Their places are very very unlikely to be kept open. It has happened at our school before but wouldn’t now. The most that gets allowed now is around 4 weeks school missed around school holidays (so families away for 6 weeks total). That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it, just know that you’re likely to have to sort new school places on return.

As someone up above as stated just now the Head Teacher no longer has the discretion to make such a decision. It's not a matter of making a good case. He or she must obey the rules, after 20 days absence your children will be removed from the roll.

Nothing, because it's not up to them.

Slightly different but a friend decamped with her children for half a term whilst dealing with a domestic issue. The headteacher allowed the children to keep their schooling places whilst everything was sorted out (they did return to the area).

So in Wales at least it is possible to remove a child for half a term with the permission of the headteacher. So a good place to start is to ask the headteacher what the provisions are for exceptional absence in your child's school.

I agree with PP, this is better to do when they are younger. Worst case scenario, they are removed from the school and you have to apply for a space when you return home - and have to join a waitlist to rejoin the specific school if necessary. If this trip is truly that important, I'd take the hit and deal with the fallout. Much easier to do now than in even in 2 years time.

I guess it depends on the school as to whether or not you would get straight back in, but I agree with PP about doing this sooner rather than later for your DC's sake. After Y5, it's more tricky with friends, activities, academics.

I'd be interested to know how long ago this occurred. I also suspect it was a private school. State schools have very strict rules now. A Head Teacher who broke those rules and got caught would be putting their job at risk.

I doubt it as Norway is pretty accessible in the summer - and OP says the country she is going to is not - took my kids on a road trip to the Norwegian arctic circle one year without any issues

The regulations are quite complicated but there is a relatively simple guide here:

https://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/migratedimages/removal-from-school-roll-policyy_tcm3-29437.pdf

Headteachers no longer have the autonomy to authorise this kind of trip.

You can go, but they will lose their places and will need to re-apply when you get back,

The regulations were deliberately designed to discourage this kind of thing.