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Original poster

Taking DS on holiday 2weeks before SATS 2020

143 replies

Beanybye · 22/04/2019 08:26

We’ve booked a much needed family holiday to Florida for next April. It’s a once in a life time trip and the only way we could afford it is to go during term time.

DS is a bright lad,no concerns raised about his academic ability. I can’t remember the terms they use now but he’s ‘above’ where he ‘should be’ in maths and reading and at the ‘right’ level in writing. Not that any of that’s relevant.

Anyway, this holiday is 2 weeks after Easter so he’ll be off for a month then in school for a week and then it’s SATS.

At first I wasn’t bothered, DS gets stressed about these assessments so missing the build up to it (i think) will be a good thing. School don’t use it for secondary school streaming it’s used for league tables.

Being a goody goody myself I’m now a bit worried they’ll give me a hard time over it. Any experience? I don’t want to give you all a sob story but this holiday means a lot to us.

OP posts:
BiggerBoat1 · 22/04/2019 11:42

What a shame your extended family are happy for your child to be the one to make the compromise.

Exactly! What would have happened if you had stuck to your guns and said you can't take holidays during term time?

It is important to teach your children that education is a priority. You are failing in this.

FamilyOfAliens · 22/04/2019 11:47

Of course he’ll have a nice holiday.

The compromise is that although he should be in school preparing for his assessments (which the OP says herself he eats stressed about), he is on holiday at a time that suits everyone else but him.

Dothehappydance · 22/04/2019 12:05

Well it's booked now, so you will have to deal with any issues that arise at the time.

I am, I'm afraid, another parent who cares very little about what my DC achieve in their sats and would prefer them to underperform. Therefore me getting ds to do his practice papers over the holidays has amounted to little more than 'done your homework? no? Ok then'

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Windowsareforcheaters · 22/04/2019 12:11

It is important to teach your children that education is a priority. You are failing in this

It's important to teach your child to make reasoned decisions.

SATs are a waste of time, they are not education they are a nightmare of paperwork and politics.

I work in education and I would boycott them. That would not be failing to educate my child but prioritising actual educated over government policy.

Enjoy your holiday OP.

Aragog · 22/04/2019 12:12

DD just had to do 2 weeks of Easter school in preparation for the SATs. She really resented it.

I bet she did! Poor kids. Why did you make her go? These things are not compulsory. You can say no and just not take her in.

Cheekyfeckery · 22/04/2019 12:19

Meh. My teens often talk about our holiday to Florida. Never once have they spoken about the day they did their SPaG test.

All seem to be doing pretty well at high school.

I didn’t take them out of school, but if I had I don’t think it would have made a jot of difference.

Plus OP, once you get to high school big family holidays are much harder to take.

Smoggle · 22/04/2019 12:19

This whole thread is making me want to home school my child for Year 6!

10 year olds shouldn't have this pressure. They shouldn't then be told they're underperforming through the whole of secondary school because they've been coached so hard through SATS that they have unrealistic targets.

I'd boycott the whole thing. Keep him out from Easter to May half term.

redstapler · 22/04/2019 12:23

and these were the only dates everyone could do.

can your son do these dates? No, not really, he's got exams soon after and from your OP will clearly be upset. Has he been given the opportunity to have input into the decision or have other family members AL issues taken priority over him? sounds like the latter. Did you ask him his opinion before booking?

HardAsSnails · 22/04/2019 12:37

I'm not a fan of term time holidays, but if they're going to be taken, year 6 is probably the best year to take them. Our experience was that there was no new learning at all in Y6, and occasional topics that were started were abandoned for revision. Children should not be being made to feel stressed about these tests.

FamilyOfAliens · 22/04/2019 12:54

I'd boycott the whole thing. Keep him out from Easter to May half term.

Such bullshit advice - how many families are in a position to take the financial hit this course of action could entail?

SubisYodrethwhenLarping · 22/04/2019 12:58

*NOTHING EVER GROWS BY BEING MEASURED
*
Take him on the holiday and do not mention SATs or school or school friends or anything to do with home/school unless he mentions it first, then listen to what he says

Do not take test papers with you

Just let him have fun with his cousins

It is ridiculous that the children are just being told daily how to pass these tests rather than learning new things about being 10/11

They are not learning anything apart from how to pass the tests - what a waste of their time

Surely if the children need to learn how to pass these tests then sats are not actually giving the right impression are they?

It isn't actually testing anything they have learnt just testing the ability to answer a question in the correct way

I mean if they are interested in history and Battle of Hastings etc then spending their own time at home reading about the events of 1066. Going to Battle Abbey etc Then taking the things they have collected, books and photos into school to do a PowerPoint to their friends. Isn't that a better use of their time?

Rather than endless daily sats questions

Smoggle · 22/04/2019 12:59

Family - surely it's only 2-3 extra weeks to what the OP is proposing anyway?

ExpletiveDelighted · 22/04/2019 13:14

I'd boycott the whole thing. Keep him out from Easter to May half term.

To do what? Two weeks of holiday and then leave them at home all day while their friends are at school, I think the novelty of that would soon wear off even if you did have enough annual leave or a SAHP. FWIW I'm no fan of SATS either and wouldn't have sent the DCs to extra classes if they had been offered, didn't push them to revise, but they both said SATS week was the best week of their entire time in primary school, breakfast with their friends, a short test then fun stuff for the rest of the day, glad they didn't miss out on that.

It's booked now, you probably will get called in to see the head, may well get comments from other parents, your DS is likely to get comments from other children, but hopefully all that is outweighed by the holiday.

MsTSwift · 22/04/2019 13:57

It seems daft to me of all the times in a child’s schooling to take 2 weeks off for a “once in a lifetime” trip to choose then? Why not year 5 or after the exams?

FishCanFly · 22/04/2019 13:59

Has he been given the opportunity to have input into the decision or have other family members AL issues taken priority over him? sounds like the latter. Did you ask him his opinion before booking?

Don't be ridiculous. A child's opinion over adults' work commitments 🙄

AChickenCalledKorma · 22/04/2019 14:13

Did you ask him his opinion before booking?

I applaud the sentiment, but hopefully he currently knows very little about what life will be like at this point in year 6. And it's hard to imagine even the most conscientious 9 year old choosing to prioritiee SATs revision over a month in Florida!

ballsdeep · 22/04/2019 14:18

Oh ffs your poor son and you with these ridiculous replies . He's not actually missing th sats so I don't see what the problem is. What he hasn't learnt already he's not going to learn in ten days
Go and have fun. He's ten after all!

SlappingJoffrey · 22/04/2019 14:26

The thought of at least threatening to deregister him after the holiday, without having taken the SATs, if they give you shit over it did occur to me too, I must admit.

FamilyOfAliens · 22/04/2019 14:54

Family - surely it's only 2-3 extra weeks to what the OP is proposing anyway?

Exactly - how many people can afford to take 4-5 weeks’ holiday from their job?

Puzzledandpissedoff · 22/04/2019 15:53

Attendance and SATS results are used to beat us all, by the DfE and OFSTED

Also by parents, who are often the first to pick up on SAT scores when expressing preferences

Hopefully, though, those who insist they "don't matter" won't be among those who do this ...

Original poster
Beanybye · 22/04/2019 16:28

FamilyOfAliens whilst I appreciate you don’t know the circumstances surrounding this family holiday,to say that my extended family isn’t prepared to compromise is really unfair. The other option is that we all miss out because (as I previously said) no other dates suit.

OP posts:
Original poster
Beanybye · 22/04/2019 16:30

redstapler 😆 yeh we asked his opinion ‘would you like a trip of a life time to Florida with your whole family, a trip we’ll never get chance to take with them again or 2 weeks of SATS prep?’ 🤣

OP posts:
DesparateDino · 22/04/2019 16:35

Go and have a nice holiday, I hate bloody sats. Chances are he would have taken about a million practice papers before he goes anyway.

My eldest left high school last year and sats weren't mentioned once in her whole five years there.

FamilyOfAliens · 22/04/2019 16:42

to say that my extended family isn’t prepared to compromise is really unfair.

What would you call it then? You said in a previous post that the dates that would enable your child to have the same preparation for his SATs as his classmates are not convenient for them. So they expect your child to miss two weeks of school so they can go on the holiday. In other words, they are not willing to compromise on this.

Parker231 · 22/04/2019 16:53

@FamilyOfAliens - two week amazing holiday v two weeks of SATS revision? No contest - if the school haven’t covered the work by Easter, the school has a problem in its teaching. Why so much pressure on 10 year olds?