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Original poster

I feel terrible, taken out of school for Lapland UK

305 replies

MummaHud · 02/12/2025 07:15

I’ve taken my daughter out of school today she’s 5 for Lapland UK. We don’t have a lot of money and her brother was born extremely premature last year and she missed out on a lot of things because of it.

she’s the kindest soul, she’s really clever and she’s just amazing.

im not justifying anything as id never take my child out of school, but we won VIP at Lapland UK.

an experience I’d never ever consider looking at usually and its not an experience I can turn down.

my daughter has 100% attendance, I’m worried what the school will do? I’ve been honest and she will be back tomorrow.

am I a bad mum? 😭

OP posts:
inappropriateraspberry · 04/12/2025 07:18

It’ll be fine. The teachers will not be cross that you are taking advantage of winning a great opportunity, they don’t make the rules! To be off for a day or two when she has otherwise good attendance will not be a problem.

HandmadeNanna · 04/12/2025 06:47

MummaHud · 02/12/2025 07:15

I’ve taken my daughter out of school today she’s 5 for Lapland UK. We don’t have a lot of money and her brother was born extremely premature last year and she missed out on a lot of things because of it.

she’s the kindest soul, she’s really clever and she’s just amazing.

im not justifying anything as id never take my child out of school, but we won VIP at Lapland UK.

an experience I’d never ever consider looking at usually and its not an experience I can turn down.

my daughter has 100% attendance, I’m worried what the school will do? I’ve been honest and she will be back tomorrow.

am I a bad mum? 😭

You have won a wonderful experience. Surely you could have spoken to the head teacher and arranged a day off for your daughter. Any head teacher with an ounce of common sense would have granted the day off. My dd had nearly 6 weeks off as an opportunity came up, last minute, for a trip of a lifetime down under. Head teacher gave me maths and English workbooks and a blank exercise for dd to keep a diary. Dd was 9 at the time.

ThisAzureBear · 04/12/2025 00:44

Go for it!

Bubbles332 · 03/12/2025 23:30

If you’d asked in advance this probably could have been authorised as an ‘exceptional circumstance.’ It’s at the headteacher’s discretion. But it’s only one day anyway so don’t worry. When I do the attendance at my school, I worry about the kids who are out every Monday and Friday and their parents are uncontactable. I’m really not worried about those who go on holiday a couple of days early one time or who miss one day for a special experience.

FedUp120028 · 03/12/2025 22:41

We went Monday and I took my daughter out of school. We had the normal experience, I entered all the competitions so it's good to see people actually win! I hope you had the bestest time ever!!

PC7102 · 03/12/2025 22:15

Don’t be ridiculous. I’m taking my 5 year old out of school for Lapland UK too 🙂

CrowMate · 03/12/2025 22:10

Love the update and so glad you had a wonderful experience. We’re a few years down the line now and still talking about our day there.

Joyjoj · 03/12/2025 22:06

TheMorgenmuffel · 02/12/2025 07:16

No.

No! Enjoy your trip making memories.

Cm102 · 03/12/2025 21:48

evey child over the age of 4 that is there is likely to have been taken out of school!😆. You are one of many, and most have chosen their date to go specifically on a school day - as it’s cheaper and more available! Lapland UK rely on the fact. You have had the day chosen for you …just a stroke of luck!! Don’t worry about it. She will remember more from that experience than she will miss from one day in school !! Education doesn’t stop at the school gate!!!

Imdunfer · 03/12/2025 21:41

MummaHud · 03/12/2025 17:59

Thank you so much everyone, we had the most MAGICAL day, seeing the magic in my little girls eyes after an emotional year was everything, and even my 18 month old who has no clue expressed magic in his eyes too, seeing everything 🫶🏼

my daughter was back at school today and I asked her if she told the teachers what she did, and she said she did.. I asked what the teachers said and she said they said ‘It sounds absolutely amazing, tell us more.. what did Father Christmas tell you’

I’ve heard no more from the school and no letter in her bag, only just a response for me telling them where she was going and they said it would be marked as an unauthorised absence!

thanks again all, what an experience I’ll never forget and I don’t think my 5 year old will ever forget either- she’s been reading the map we got given ever since xx

Well that's sending me up to bed with a smile on my face.

I'm glad you all had a lovely time.

Supergirl1958 · 03/12/2025 21:28

MummaHud · 02/12/2025 07:15

I’ve taken my daughter out of school today she’s 5 for Lapland UK. We don’t have a lot of money and her brother was born extremely premature last year and she missed out on a lot of things because of it.

she’s the kindest soul, she’s really clever and she’s just amazing.

im not justifying anything as id never take my child out of school, but we won VIP at Lapland UK.

an experience I’d never ever consider looking at usually and its not an experience I can turn down.

my daughter has 100% attendance, I’m worried what the school will do? I’ve been honest and she will be back tomorrow.

am I a bad mum? 😭

Teacher here! Don’t feel guilty! If she’s had an amazing time, life experiences are part of their education! Good on you and I hope you enjoyed it!

please don’t feel bad! It make you an amazing mum!!

SweetMotherofAbrahamLincoln · 03/12/2025 21:22

I took mine out for Lapland UK. Took them out for holiday, centre parcs break (weekend one so had them off on the Monday)
Took them out for a theatre day, their birthdays I keep them both off and we have a family day. I time it all carefully to avoid fines. They both thrive at school and both got 100% in their recent government set tests. This child is yours, not the school or governments! Hope you had a blast!

Zerosleep · 03/12/2025 21:00

No I think you are a fab mum, what a lovely life experience for her and it all makes up her education doesn’t it. She won’t miss much of any value at this age.

FestiveYoni · 03/12/2025 20:35

@Redlocks30 Totally agree and many people are on lower salaries than teaching.

Because it's so unfair people don't buy into it either and don't respect it.

If they could go back to those discretion days they could work more easily with parents .

llittledoveblue · 03/12/2025 20:33

Hope you had an amazing time OP! Don’t fret about it. Loads of people do it without even thinking twice. Enjoy the experience with your daughter

Zanatdy · 03/12/2025 20:33

Absolutely not. My kids missed a few days here and there for holidays and due to ill health my daughter’s attendance was 75% in year 9, and she left year 11 with 12 x grade 9 GCSE’s. It’s one day, education isn’t confined to the classroom and she clearly had a lot of fun. Stop feeling guilty.

Noodles1234 · 03/12/2025 20:31

You enjoy yourself, she’s only 5 and it’s 1 day.

mamaduckbone · 03/12/2025 20:21

Also, good on you for being honest about it - the one thing I can't stand is when parents pretend their child is ill for something like this, and then either a) encourage the child to lie, or b) don't, so they come straight back to school and tell us all about it anyway.

mamaduckbone · 03/12/2025 20:19

Have a fantastic time - no, you're not a bad mum (and I'm a teacher)

user2848502016 · 03/12/2025 20:17

Would have done this in a heartbeat, she’s only 5 it really won’t make a difference!
Saying this as someone who has never taken DC out of school for holidays btw

LalaPaloosa2024 · 03/12/2025 20:14

Can you not say your daughter is sick? She’s 5. She’s not missing anything major.

Tili43 · 03/12/2025 20:14

Redlocks30 · 03/12/2025 20:03

As a teacher, this government obsession with attendance is just missing the point.

Yes, attendance is important, but the kids that are missing school the most, in my experience, are those who are utterly miserable at school. This is more to do with the education system being broken, curriculum not meeting their needs, external support being cut to the bone and funding being decimated. Rather than punishing people, we should be trying to make the education system better.

No governments will do that though, so they can on measuring attendance and using it as a stick to beat both parents and schools with as it's cheaper than doing anything else.

When my kids were little, you could fill in a form and take them on term-time holidays. We did, twice! We had lovely family holidays with grandparents. My kids have long finished school now but left with excellent grades and fond memories of school. Honestly, taking time holidays was fine and not an issue, approved by the HT if your attendance was otherwise ok....as is the case in private schools as well as in many other countries!

Absolutely, we went on several term time holidays with the school’s blessing back then and I graduated with a first class honours degree and have a good professional career

Raisethebar1993 · 03/12/2025 20:12

As a teacher, go for it. Enjoy. Don’t give school a single thought.

Julimia · 03/12/2025 20:09

Do stop worrying you sound like a fab mum. Five and going to laplsnd. Can you think of a better educational opportunity? Have a fab time and tell the truth where you've been and why.

SamPoodle123 · 03/12/2025 20:07

Relax, she is 5! Missing one day of school is not going to do much in the grand scheme of things. It is only a problem if you keep doing it and they are behind.