Help settle a dispute - it's a term time missing school one

No one said that state children should lie. If they’re gonna make a big deal about a year 1 kid taking two days off, then lie. No need to get your knickers in a twist about it. I’ve had parents lie that their kid is unwell on the last day of term, only for the Head to see them at the airport in the evening on the same flight 😂

Why do state schooled children have to be liars?
And why would they not know the difference? I work in a state school, and we would want to know the truth and hear the child talk about their lovely long weekend. Of course they know the difference, they're 5/6 years old not toddlers.

I work in private and we wouldn’t bat an eyelid at this. If your dc is in state they have a sickness bug and won’t be in. Wedding was on Saturday. At year 1 they won’t know the difference.

I would be honest, my children's school approve weddings as authorised absence anyway so perhaps yours will too?

You tell the truth. You'll get an unauthorised absence, but it makes absolutely no difference.

It really is ridiculous when we ask a child if they are better and they tell is all about their weekend away/wedding/duvet day, etc. We always think a lot less of parents who lie and put their kids in that position.

It is however, lovely to be able to ask 'how was the wedding?' And hear everything about their special day.

Tell the truth: we did this when DD was in reception and I was very against telling her to lie to her teachers; for me secrets are a big no and make us into hypocrites. More than likely it’ll be the one time she does tell her teacher about her weekend and it’ll make you look bad

Everything you do is role modelling to your children. Think about when you want to teach your children it’s okay to lie. If you want to teach them it’s okay to lie about trivial things to get out of largely inconsequential trouble, then lie. If you want to teach them it’s only okay to lie to avoid hurting someone’s feelings, then assuming the teacher and/or classmates won’t be crushed by the wedding attendance, tell the truth.

Year 1 so over 5... Potentially could be fined...would child tell teacher?

I'd be honest. You tried to sort childcare there's now an issue so they're going with you. Year1 won't miss anything. Have a fab time.
Ps we've always told the truth when we've pulled the kids for whatever reason. Interestingly pulling them for daddy running the London marathon for a charity very close to heart got authorised!

What time is the wedding?

Can you send them to school for the morning while you get ready, grab them at lunch with clothes for them to change in the car? Id be honest and say its for a wedding and childcare fell through, school will appreciate if you tried to get them in the half day and it tends to be maths & english in mornings.

My DD is high school. All absence is absence where authorised or not.

It's one day. They are year one.

Have a fabulous time.

Yeah, definitely don’t lie. Kids always let the cat out of the bag, even if it’s unauthorised, one day is not a big deal. Nothing will happen to you if it’s just a one off. Some schools might even authorise it.

Just tell the truth! My son is 17 now but when he was at school when he was 6 we took him out one Friday and told the school he was ill. Monday when I went to pick him up after school the teacher mentioned to me that she was glad he was better and guess what? My son turned to her and said " I wasn't ill we were in Centre Parcs!" I just wanted the ground to swallow me up as I don't like lying and have told my kids not to lie so it served me right lol 😂

I would just say tummy bug. You never know when you might plan an unauthorised absence and then need to tell the truth. At your child's age the teacher is going to assume that their timings were mixed up.

I once asked my children's free government faith school (Church of England) if my children (who were six years old at the time) could have one day off (monday) because I was going to be a God Mother in Australia on the Sunday and physically could not get my children back to school on the Monday as it was a 20hr flight. I was going to bring them to school on the Tuesday.

We were told no that it would need to be unauthorised.

So the head of the Catholic church wrote to the school board and asked them to make an exception. The Head teacher asked me why I did not just lie and say my kids were ill....I replied that it was because I was going to a church, to declare I would bring my God Daughter up according to Christian values and I didn't want to lie to get there?

But once the Head Teacher suggested I lie...I gave up trying to take the high ground. Mind you, the next time we needed one day off for the same school - I did say my son had diarrhea and the next day in school his teacher asked him in front of the class if his diarrhea was better. Pretty nasty of the teacher but thankfully he did not know what diarrhea was so was not embarrassed. You can't win really.

Tell the whole truth, including that you did everything you could to avoid the kids missing school but were let down at the last minute.you probably won't get fined but if you do it is MUCH more important to model for your children the necessity of telling the truth. Demonstrating that it's ok to lie to avoid getting into trouble is not a lesson you want to teach your children.

There is but I don't think it matters too much if it's just a one off. I asked my school hypothetically if they would prefer me to call daughter in sick or fill in an absence form for missing a day for an upcoming holiday to Lanzarote. They said to request absence but that it doesn't really make a difference to them.

At my children’s school a wedding would be authorised.

But even if not Just tell the truth, as the meme goes “What they gonna do? Shoot you? I don’t bloody think so.”

Don't lie, sets bad example too.

For one day in year 1 I would just be honest.

Not a big deal in year one. Just tell them the truth, they will say no worries, have a nice time and put it down as an unauthorised absence. Or lie, your child will likely tell them all about the wedding and they will probably find it all quite amusing.....

If it's a day or 2 they don't really care.

My kids’ school always authorise family weddings - even ones happening abroad.

How many days off would this be, just the one? Because of the short notice, I’d be inclined to just say it was a sick day.

I once tied myself up in knots over a holiday that overlapped into the start of a new term by one day. The school didn’t mind at all 😊