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

Have you got younger kids that you expect to go to the same school, OP?

Why do you all say the school will not authorise it?

Just tell them X wint be at school and the reason.

I work in a school and never a holiday has been not authorised.

And its a bloody brill school with the highest rating so little Billy going away wont make a blind difference.

Have you got younger kids that you expect to go to the same school, OP?

Why? Do you think they won’t be allowed to if OP takes the term time holiday?

I'd like to know where the income from the fines ends up.

If a family has form for taking kids out during termtime and is oversubscribed then the school may take this into consideration when deciding whether or not to accept younger siblings.

Don't take the whole week off if you don't want a fine. Take him from the Tuesday.

Klobluchar - rubbish. State schools do not have the discretion to reject children who meet their admissions criteria.

Ducky has good advice though, under a full week off is unlikely to attract a fine so even if you can just get in for the morning on the Monday you are much more likely to escape a fine.

Wasn’t aware it was a state school, sorry

I would do it without a second thought.

And its a bloody brill school with the highest rating

@Huffleypuff

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!

Long division in year 1????

Seriously though surely long division was taught over more than 1 week?

Klob Only a minority attend private school. Why would you assume, on
MN, that the default is a private school if it isn’t stated in the OP?

My DC is already 5 unfortunately so can't get round that one. What are single mums supposed to do to be able to afford a holiday?

Slightly contradictory to say they do nothing in a week and then say you will ask for the work.

Go if you want, but don’t come out with the normal crap excuses!

@maskingtape. Only time they haven't messed about before Easter was y6 SATs. Otherwise definitely a 'fun week'. We missed 1.5 days last Easter (at the end, not beginning of term, in y4) and I got a very, very snotty letter (despite 100 per cent attendance) but we were under the fine threshold! Hah. Some HTs prefer to concentrate on attendance than teaching quality. I was tempted to write snotty letter back to HT as ds2 had a terrible teacher but I refrained!

We used to go camping in this country or not go at all. Foreign travel isn’t compulsory for young children.
Or you take your child out (I wouldn’t do this every year) and you budget for the fine.

If you know your DC school is strict on it why bother asking them? Just tell them he's going and pay the fine.

Thesnobbymiddkeclass, I tried the trekking approach and wrote a polite letter explaining the circumstances. I was then asked quite forcefully to fill in a form to apply for leave . I think it's so they can deny it as opposed to you just telling them.

Trekking= telling

We are going away in a few weeks, and have to fill out the form even though it doesn't 'do' anything. It won't be approved and they will go down as unauthorised. The school doesn't fine though.

Never it isn’t down to the school. Headteachers don’t issue fines.

@maskingtape up until about age 15 the last week of school was always a complete waste of time when I was at school. OP may be thinking on that basis not realising that times have changed.

Just write to the school. Took ours out a various points over the years due to my job and once oh had left teaching.

Even did it in year 11. Made bugger all difference to their results. And had some cracking holidays really don’t know why people get so hung up about it.

There’s far better ways of improving our education systems then the way it runs currently then worrying about the odd week especially at that age.

At 5 the best education systems in the world are far more play centred that our bollocks hot housing.

Enjoy your holiday.

It is in this instance...our primary school is an academy and as a governor we were given the choice of whether to go along with the rest of the LA and charge, or not. We decided not to.