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

With 3 kids, the money saved is worth missing a few word searches and a lot of movies.

That doesn't sound like our school, especially not at Easter. To the OP he will miss work and you will probably be fined, but if you think the savings are worth it then go ahead.

Just tell them. He's only in yr 1, and while it will go down as unauthorised that's not the end of the world.

Fill in the holiday form. They will say no. Just pay the fine and go. Don't ask for work though, this is just extra work for the teacher.

I am never going to be convinced that taking a child out of school for a week as long at it does not interfere with exams to go on a holiday they might not be able to go on otherwise is a bad thing.

My mum and dad took me out for a week every year except year 10 and 11. They would.not have been able to do it otherwise and I would not have had the amazing memories I have with them. Some people literary have to make the choice between a holiday in term time for not at all even if they go in this country.

I work in a school in a poor area and the few children that do go on holiday with there mum and fad usually do so in school time. Believe you me the beams on their faces when they come back full of tales of their adventures with mum and dad it mum or Dad while on holiday is worth more then missing the week in school.

As well as missing a week each year I was also off for half of year 7 having 3 major operations. I would say year 7 is a extremely important year and I still came out with brill GCSEs.

I look back now and am glad my parents did it.

The ones that say don’t do it under any circumstance would you rather a kid never had a holiday with their family then miss a bit of school? Really?

Send in whatever form the school uses.
Expect not to have it authorised.
Accept your child will miss work. (Not sure how you think you can replicate exactly what is done in this week.)
Certainly never tell the school you don’t think your child will miss much by taking a whole week off.
Budget in case you are fined.

Probably a standard form to complete but even if there isn't do still let them know in advance, as it'll save someone having to try to contact you about the absence. It will have a different attendance code to just generally being AWOL as well so the school, whilst they will have to decline and threaten to fine, would rather that than just a week of unexplained & unauthorised absence on the books.

Agree totally wigwam. I really am irritated by this “no one is entitled to a holiday” or “go on a cheaper one in the U.K.”. Smacks of Know Your Place And Stay In It.

I’m not well off but have managed to travel with my children to many different places by going without elsewhere and doing it during term time. My children are already disadvantaged for various reasons I won’t go into here and if I can broaden their horizons with travel and wonderful experiences then I am certainly going to do so, even if it does come at the price of bringing them out of school a week before half term or actually just three days as is happening this year. One good thing is that their homework is all on line now so we make sure that gets done while we are away. I’ve taken my children out every year since reception and no teacher has ever wrung their hands or been concerned. They’ve without exception said “oh how lovely! Do the on line homework though won’t you?” I’ve only ever seen critical disapproval around a once a year term time holiday, here on MN.

Tell the school it is a family visit.
Expect to be fined.
Keep up their readung practice / phonics.

You can do all that without buying into the myths used to justify this stuff, the mythical 3 whole ‘end of term’ weeks spent watching movies, the ‘won’t miss much’ etc.

My mum and dad took me out for a week every year except year 10 and 11. Theywould.nothave been able to do it otherwise

No they wouldn't and that's one if the sacrifices of having children. We'd love to go on different holidays but they're too expensive in term time so we don't go and do something more affordable.

Pretty much all schools are strict about attendance in England, you haven't said where you are where you are but assuming this is the case as everyone else says, if you're going anyway there's no need to make a big deal out of it just fill the form in.

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

Do people honestly think like this?

Yes, I honestly think this. I come from a family of teachers, my dsis is a teacher, my best friend is a teacher. I have nothing against teachers, but in the last week of term, very little is done, particularly with the younger kids who are very tired. It's not the teachers I have an issue with, it's Heads who write very snotty letters about all the Important Work your child will miss. Slightly ironically, I have only ever experienced these from primary schools even though secondary schools don't seem to have the last week (or even 2 before the summer) of high jinx and tidying up!

Merry - Maybe for Christmas and summer hols but not for Easter. No teachers I know (over the several schools I've taught in) take the foot off the pedal the week before Easter. It's a key time before Y2 sats, Y6 sats and Y1 phonics test.

Just check he won't actually miss the year 1 phonics test. School will be absolutely livid with you if you take him out and miss it.

Ok then so having a weeks extra schooling a year was more important then spending quality time with my mum and dad on holiday and all the memories I have of them.

I am wondering if any of the people commenting negatively on here has had to miss out on every single holiday with their kids. Meaning their kids never got a holiday. Would you really have given that all up for a weeks extra schooling

We visited family but I didn’t have any other holidays until I was a teenager.
A once in a lifetime holiday? Fine.
But every year. How many hours of schooling are missed?

Phonics check is in June! And should not be a big deal, it's a back stop check, it uses a limited set of correspondences and skills they have been working on since reception.

IF the DS's phonics skills did happen to be weak OP should know by now. The best thing OP could do regardless of holidays is inform herself and do a bit more to support at home. They'd be able to more than make up for the missing week before, during or after the holiday. (Not that we have any reason to suppose this is the case!)

I’ve always been a pay the extra! Or don’t go!

I’d write a letter for permission but I suspect it would be a no!

I’m taking mine out for 1 day in December! The day they break up, I will write to the head teacher and I suspect it will be rejected, I’m really nervous about doing it and I hope we don’t get a fine, both of mine have 100% attendance at the moment (I am aware this can change) but it’s never gone below 98%.

This is the First time in 3 years of schooling I’ve ever done it. So bloody nervous.

''He's only in Year 1 so he's not going to miss out on much.''
Do year one teachers really think that missing a week of their teaching will result in lower grades in gcse’s ?

Sorry that was to @maskingtape

They can't authorise it but it's up to you if you go still.....

Don't ask the teacher for work.... They shouldn't be put out because you want to take your child out of school. I'm a teacher and when I'm asked this I say I haven't planned that far in advance yet and to write a journal, read books and complete some simple addition and subtraction.

Do year one teachers really think that missing a week of their teaching will result in lower grades in gcse’s ?

I missed the week they taught long division, I have a postgraduate degree in maths and still can’t bloody do it!

Following this as have a dc in Reception this year. As a newly single mum I have no idea how we could afford a holiday unless it's during term time.

Are there any concessions for single parent families with school leave or just the same rules?

No concessions.

Go.

I'm of the opinion that if attendance is otherwise good and not struggling to hit attainment targets then it's not a problem.

When I was a kid we moved house a lot, went to 3 primary schools and 2 secondarys. Including moving half way through my GCSEs. Missed great chunks of some stuff, doubled up on others. I did just fine, got good grades with help of lots of reading of text books and parental encouragement! One week is nothing - as long as doesn't fall at the time of tests, important activities etc.

With parental support and a bright child I'm sure there's nothing that can't be caught up on!

I agree with others - keep up with reading every day, phonics and take some age appropriate educational workbooks with you and insist some time each school day is spent doing them.

Don't ask the teacher to spend time creating special work for you. But maybe talk to them directly to make sure they know and ask if anything they'll be missing you can help with.

@Hullabalooo When is your child’s 5th birthday? If your child will still be 4 whilst on holiday and the schooo fine you, you could always argue the point that schooling isn’t compulsory until the age of 5 x