To tell school DS is ill & go on holiday?

I work in a school. We know!!! And don’t particularly care. If a child comes into class after time off and it’s obvious they’ve been on holiday I don’t say a word, I don’t think many teachers would. Enjoy your holiday

Because the voucher she has got will only cover a certain amount. To go in school holidays will generally mean having to top it up

Yes i have done to the arsier secondary school, not to primary where the Head is so laid back it’s been a “this is where I ask you, you say no and we know it happens anyway conversation”

Since the school closures during Covid and the way some loud teachers and their unions behaved - society showed how little they actually value education so I don’t give much of a care to keeping school happy these days.

And actually cos our LEA did some thing strange with term dates a few years back - we have October with an extra week for quieter/cheaper holidays anyway so don’t really need to much!

Because your child will tell them anyway, I'd be up front about it. As long as his attendance is perfect and there's no lateness, I can't see that it would sour your relationship with the school.

I'm not sure on the rules re fines though x

So why does she write this then?

I've booked a holiday for next year. Cannot afford school holiday time holidays at all

@ClunkyCoconuts I have done this a few times. Like you, I couldn't afford a school holiday time break. We have been to Haven sites and Butlins in term time. They go to school on the Monday, I pick them up and we go straight there. So they miss 4 days. The butlins break cost me £115 instead of £725. I'd happily take them over the weekend so they only missed Monday but they see their dad Sundays abd he won't allow it.

I haven't been fined because they only missed 4 days not 5. Both dc are incredibly bright, both are always exceeding age related expectation across the board.

A word of warning. Check where you are going. If abroad are their children already on holiday? My European friends try to avoid the British holidays as it gets so busy. They all get longer summer breaks than we do and tend to go at the beginning if their holiday.
I was in Portugal a couple of weeks ago and is was like August bank holiday!
At the beginning of the holiday, I couldn't get over how many kids were around. Turns out it was the Scottish half term. Although, I would say the majority of the kids didn't speak with a Scottish accent. Flight going and coming back were full and delayed. Problems at Gatwick.

You won't get fined for 3 days. Enjoy your holiday but don't lie about it

You're not looking for sympathy OP, but you totally have mine.

I know what it's like, battling with the LA for special needs provision over years and years.

I have done what you're proposing - twice, I think, over the course of a school career - and it was very much the right decision for us at the time.

I say do what your family needs. Anyone that hasn't been through the process of battling to get educational needs met via the SEN system won't have the foggiest how hard it is, so ignore any unsupportive comments.

If you are ok with teaching your child to lie when it suites, fill your boots.

The teachers at DS school actually tell us to phone in sick in these situations. I tried to tell them we would be taking him out for a few days for a holiday and they loudly said “oh it’s such a shame he’s going to be poorly!” And winked. So we went with it. His attendance is great otherwise and he’s progressing really well, so I think they were happy to turn a blind eye and I really appreciated it.

Task take? I meant "tall tale"!

I think you’ll be okay in a SEN setting and have a much greater likelihood of the absence being authorised.

Just request the absence; there’s probably a form. I’d expect the school to be supportive especially so in light of the funding.

Your school will have a Home/School Liaison Officer so you could speak to them about it in the first instance.

I have taken mine out for a family holiday with relatives from down under whom we haven't seen in a decade and won't see again any time soon as we can't afford to travel there

I also allowed my eldest to miss school to go to a concert for which she was really lucky to get tickets - her fave band. As a one off.

Both times I told the school the truth - no fines.

I think this is the best way as otherwise you are asking your children to lie to school. Plus in my case I have to act with integrity as part of my professional registration and I think school can spot a task take from a mile off!!

A lot of these comments are pretty hard work OP, I have a child with additional needs too, we’re in his second year at school and up to 4 mornings a week from 3 last year, I nearly fell apart a few months ago, but fortunately our wonderful social worker organised a bit of weekly respite and we’re all doing much better. I can’t imagine surviving 2 years at home, although I know not all children with SEN are as full on. I think the “would you do this” perhaps should only apply to SEN families as it’s just such a wildly different experience to mainstream parenting.

I suppose the internet isn’t the place for nuance, but I just wanted to say it’s perfectly possible to think school is wonderful and valuable and ALSO think having a happy holiday as a family is wonderful and valuable. My sons school were ok with us missing a week (3 mornings!!) last year so we could have a holiday. I homeschooled my older son until this year, and the holiday was with a group of supportive friends and their children, I’m certain it was more valuable to him and us as a family (which also matters).

Having said this, now my older son is in high school we don’t have term time holidays. I also wouldn’t lie, but I’d try to have a discussion with school about why I think it’s in my child’s interest, but I’d definitely choose a fine over causing bad feeling with school because the positive relationship is so important.

Yanbu kids can learn so much from travel and family time is important. We also can't afford to go in the holidays it's either term time or we would never have holidays. It's 2 days what's he gonna miss at school, that can't be caught up on

@Debinaround but people also don't send their child to a local authority school by mistake. There is always the choice to home educate your child should you choose to.

I do think that the price hikes in school holidays are ridiculous and something should be done to regulate them. If a child in my class goes on a term time holiday I totally understand. (Just don't ask me to set your child work to take away with them.)

have you missed this is being funded by a charity?

Op be honest with the school (even saying “we have a family fund break” or whatever) for three days it won’t be fined, probably won’t be authorised but that doesn’t matter.

You only get fined for a 5 day absence (10 sessions) or more.

Families who can't afford to go on holiday don't, its that simple.
In fact that families that can't afford a lot of things don't have them.
Its a shame but its reality

@ClunkyCoconuts don't worry what people on here think about taking your dc on holiday in term time.
In your situation you deserve a break.

I took dd on holiday for a cheap week in term time when dh had been ill with depression and we needed to just get away.
It was an out of season, english holiday and freezing cold but we enjoyed every minute.

Don't lie, it just makes you a liar and I don't think you would want your ds to be judged by that. Speak to them and tell them how the last few years were so difficult. If they fine you, then so be it but don't lie. Doesn't paint you in a good light especially if you want to have a good relationship with your ds school.

I work in education/children’s social care policy. Time off for cheaper holidays has not been linked with worse outcomes/child welfare on the whole. In fact, children missing full weeks once in a while has virtually no impact. However, children from less than ideal backgrounds who for example regularly miss Mondays/Tuesdays after bank holidays because parents are hungover and can’t be bothered to take them do indeed suffer worse outcomes. So the problem is that the fines are targeting the wrong families and completely ineffective.

Mental health of parents, familial dysfunction and the educational attainment of parents all have a massive impact on how well a child will do at school/in life but fining people for those reasons would (rightly) be seen as completely inappropriate. I can’t understand why there isn’t more outrage from people about the existing fines which are completely non sensical and understood by experts at all levels to make zero difference.

He will tell them.
No 9 year old could be sent to school and not tell everyone that they’d just been on a lovely holiday.
When they were supposed to be very ill at home.