Taking my 5 year old out of school early

[Sunflower1934]

Hi

DH and I want to go away at Easter on a long haul holiday but because of the extortionate prices at half term we want to take DS out of school a week early.
We are visiting family abroad but we will be staying in a hotel.
He's only in Year 1 so he's not going to miss out on much

I haven't approached the school yet but wondered how best to ask nicely?

I don't want to make the cost issue a big deal though it is. The holiday is about £800 cheaper if we go early!

I am planning to say that I will l ensure that any schoolwork he misses out that last week will be covered

Any suggestions please? School is very strict about kids being taken out during term time

Expect them to say no.

Don’t ask the teacher for work for your child, they’ve got enough going on with their normal job and the extra work they’ll be doing to catch your child up when they return to school.

And who do you expect to prepare the work? In year 1, it's a lot of group work using the classroom board rather than individual worksheets. So any lessons they planned to teach that way would need to be altered into a firm you could take. They have enough to do

You’ll probably have to pay a £120 penalty notice (one child, two parents).

They won’t authorise it so I’m not sure why you’d be asking? Are you not going to go if they say it’s not allowed? And they will say it’s not allowed.
Just let them know which week your child will be on holiday. You might get fined and you might not. But even if you do it won’t be £800.

Just tell them. They'll either say yay or nay.

Using kids is a choice. And we all know holidays can be twice the price during school holiday season. It's one of the sacrifices you make. Or you disrupt the class, and the kids education, and pay the fine.

He’s not going to miss much?
His teacher won’t be thinking that as he’s heading towards his phonics check. He’ll miss a week of one of the sounds.
—yes, I’m an under pressure teacher—

Schools have targets to hit for attendance. Expect them to not allow your request and it will go on his record as unauthorised. In our area, you would be fined.

However, the savings you make on the holiday will far outweigh the fine you receive.

But as PP said, please don’t ask the over worked teacher for additional work for him.

They'll say no but take DC out anyway. (You have to fill a form I )

I take my daughter out every year & haven't been fined yet which I presume is because in the last 3 years she hasn't missed a single day of a school bar the ones we've taken her out for holidays abroad so her attendance percentage must be over what they fine for.

However, like you say it's £800 more so minus the £120 fee your still quids in.
Our holiday in 2017 was £3200 in June & a whopping £5300 if we had gone in August, we would never be able to afford that!

He'll be missing the week before half term?

Options are:

1. Ask the school to authorise it but be prepared that they'll say no unless you have exceptional circumstances

1. If/when they say no, budget the cost of a fine just in case one is issued. In our area a fine is only issued if the holiday pushes their overall attendance below a certain level, we always go in term time and have had it authorised each year but the one year we didn't have it authorised we didn't get fined anyway

1. Phone him in sick for the five days of school he'll miss before half term as sick will be authorised leave. Yes he'll tell everyone he's been on holiday but if you're asked just say you went during the half term break

1. Don't go

They're not going to be able to authorise it, so i think just let them know politely and acknowledge you don't expect it, and set aside money for fine if necessary. Some authorities don't fine under 5 full days, is it a full week you'd miss?

I wouldn't honestly bother the teacher about missed work, not in year 1 in the last week of term. Take something for him to read, get him to write up a holiday diary to show his teacher when you get back. Shoe horn some numbers in somewhere - flight times, spending money?

Dear Head, I am writing to let you know that X will not be in school from (date) to (date) as we will be travelling to visit family in C. We feel it will be a great opportunity for X to learn about C country and culture and unfortunately cannot make the trip fully within the holiday period. We understand that you may not be able to authorise this absence.

Ask them politely in writing, they'll say no and warn you you might be fined then go on your holiday and enjoy

I've done this a couple of times when visiting family long haul. With 3 kids, the money saved is worth missing a few word searches and a lot of movies. Schools can't give permission for a holiday even too visit family, but I usually just let them know politely. Depends on the Head how snooty the letter is but I've never been fined.

''He's only in Year 1 so he's not going to miss out on much.''

Do people honestly think like this? Are the primary years just glorified babysitting before the children actually do some real learning for their GCSEs? Forget the fact that it's in the early years and ks1 that they actually learn how to read and write for the first time, learn what numbers are etc etc.

For what it's worth, I'm a primary teacher and I'd take him on the holiday but please never assume that they'll not miss anything as they're ''only in year 1''.

The school may have a standard form for requesting leave - if they do, use that.

It wont be authorised, schools aren't legally allowed to authorise holidays, even those visiting family. They can authorise leave in exceptional circumstances like a religious festival, funeral, or a wedding of a very close relative. But even if that is abroad they authorise the wedding day and two travel days. It depends on your local authority/school if you will be fined. My school wouldn't but others would.

I'm taking my recpt and yr2 dds out for a week at the end of the month, and took the eldest out last year for a week. Our school don't fine but I always write to the head to make him aware. They otherwise have great attendance and are at the top of the class, so far school have never questioned us

Top of the class? And how exactly do you know this? Is there a leaderboard stuck up in the classroom window?
For the person who suggested lying was an option, don't ask your child to lie. That's the absolute worst thing to do, and the worst kind of parenting. It puts them in a really bad position and makes the child think lying is ok if it benefits you.
Let's be honest here, for those who say you couldn't afford a holiday if you didn't go in term time, yes you could, just not a very expensive -show off- holiday. Most kids would get just as much pleasure out of a week in a caravan in Wales as they would a long haul trip to somewhere where they need injections before they fly, bitten to death by mozzies and dragged round some ancient temple in the baking heat!

It wont be authorised, schools aren't legally allowed to authorise holidays,

They can in Wales.

I took my eldest out for a week in year 1 and didn't get fined.

Our school has a standard form to complete. And you get a letter back which basically bollocks you and threatens a fine / EWO referral if you insist on taking them out (we took summer-born DD, who didn't have to even be there until September, out for the last 3 days of summer term in Reception).

The fortnightly newsletter is very stern on the issue of attendance and said that far more fines were being levied due to term time holidays, so it appears that our LEA does fine as standard.

I doubt we will take either child out again, to be honest, unless there's a bloody good reason for it.

TLDR: check for the form and expect a fine.

They are at the top end of the class @soontobe60, I know this because their teachers have told me

Request the holiday, expect it to be rejected. Take him out, expect a fine.

Don't lie to the school and say he is ill. It breaks down trust between school and parent.

While away, keep up reading every day.

Ianbro so does that mean no other parents can take their children out of school because their child isn't "top of the class"?

OP don't ask the teacher for work for your child. And don't ask for permission if you're in England - schools can't authorise term.time holidays.

I think people would feel differently if they had to pay for school like many countries around the world do.
Also how would you feel if your child's teacher decided to go on holiday for a week.
Your choice at the end of the day but it's not encouraging "healthy" schooling/education behaviours in your child by taking them out for holidays.

I'm a teacher, at that age I would probably do it if it was just a week - plenty children in my class do and I teach Y5.

Don't ask the teacher for work though!! We have enough on! Read with your child daily, that's the best thing you can do for them anyway.

Fill in the form and send it in.
Be prepared for a curt letter in response
Go on holiday
Wait to see if you get fined
Don’t ask the teacher for work
Make sure your child isn’t unwell during the summer term, as that could trigger absence procedures

The comments about word searches and watching films and it doesn’t matter because it’s only Year 1 are massively insulting.