Taking kids out during term time for family holiday?

[NotmySundaybest]

Do any of you do this?
When we were kids we always got took out to go away. I know times have changed & obviously fines are now issued.
Just wondered if you would still take the kids out of school as paying the fine is cheaper than the extra holiday cost?

If you would do this or have how old are your kids?

Since mine have been at senior and mid way through Primary I always book when they've broke up. If I knew they deffo wasn't missing anything important I would be tempted.

I sometimes took mine out for a few days tacked onto half term holidays or for a long weekend until year 5, but we didn't do it every year. Just like most parents, we were pretty responsible and our DC had good attendance otherwise.

I'm glad we're past that now. I'm actually looking forward to a cheaper holiday next year once youngest has finished GCSEs.

It will be interesting to see the effect this has on holiday prices. I can't help thinking that if the demand for holiday time holidays increases, that will further push up prices. So even with higher fines, it could still work out less expensive overall.

It is really unfair on separated parents and has the potential to make situations worse. Why should someone be fined for a decision their ex made and they have no control over? And no I'm not a step mother or new partner either but I still think it's unfair that my ex will get fined if I take the kids away for a few days when he has very little involvement in their day to day lives. Way to introduce tension needlessly. Yes I could just not go but I have very limited funds and holidays are expensive. As for inset days are school days. Parents should turn to malicious compliance over this and arrive as usual with their kids on inset days on the grounds that the letter home explained that they are now to be considered school days. I am pro school and pro education and know it's not the individual schools making this nonsense up but something needs to be said.

It won’t make any difference at all. People will still take term time holidays and holiday companies will price peak time holidays accordingly. It’s supply and demand.

The average primary school pupil gets about 30 mins of direct engagement with teachers per day. More able pupils will likely get less.

My parents were both in education. If we were ill we got taken to work with them. We rarely had holidays because they were expensive in school holidays. Not the life I wanted for DD, who is very bright and capable and has thrived despite us taking her out for up to 2 weeks a year.

She’s rarely ill and does loads of additional stuff for school so we’ve always taken that time with their blessing.

School is only 1 part of education, and it’s actually pretty tiny. She learned loads in an immersive and fun few days away with me this week.

Sorry - I meant that to be a response to @Citrusandginger who considers us irresponsible.

Yes I have done it every school year for about 3 days tagged onto a weekend, usually late June or early July.

DS is bright and otherwise has excellent attendance. I'm a lone parent who would not be able to afford a holiday otherwise. DS off to secondary next year so will reconsider what we do then.

@SneezedToothOut that was my point . If the fines go up, but the cost of holiday time holidays goes up by more, It will still be more economical overall to go in term time.

It would be incredibly cynical of me to suggest that it isn't about school attendance at all. So I won't.

We’ve done it but our DC are adults and although we weren’t fined, it didn’t go down well with the school. My adult DS is on a cruise now for 2 weeks and there’s over 1000 children on board, so being fined must work out a lot cheaper than booking over the summer holidays.

Ah. Is something happening in England to increase fines?

Just going up…..my kids are i. Their 30s and back in my day the fine was £50 so it’s never really gone up much….so now it is

Like @redskydarknight we generally haven't because of annual leave limitations. If we took an extra week off together in term time, that would equate to them having to do an extra week of childcare in the summer hols. Or even 2 weeks, if we also wanted a week off together over the summer hols. It's not just the cost of the childcare, it just seems a bit mean to them. I'd rather have a more modest holiday in the school hols.

We did take them out once, to go to Florida when they were late primary.

Are you still needing childcare if they are at high school?

If people didn’t take the piss with things like this to make their package holiday cheaper, then there wouldn’t be fines for people who genuinely celebrate religious and cultural holidays in other parts of the world, or for those whose jobs restrict them like the forces.

I do. No fines as they aren’t gone for 10 consecutive sessions. Will be in Monday morning, possibly get afternoon mark then will pick them up early.

i have done regularly through out primary. I’m transparent with the school. Unofficially the school are happy and the HT will tell us to have a good time. Officially all leave requests are declined.

This year will be the first time in high school. Maybe the last. I feel missing out in high school is harder for DCs.

We will need to discuss going forward how we do holidays as we can’t afford school holiday prices.

I know a family who take regular term time holidays, I’m talking a month skiing, another month somewhere else. I’ve no idea if the holidays get approved or not, but the kids are all doing well, top sets, always winning achievement awards and very popular with the teachers, so it can’t be doing them that much harm.

Thank you for your comment. DD struggles with anxiety (I think ADD but that's a whoooole other story) so they send her home sometimes and other days she can't get in. Her attendance is around 94% I think so they won't be too concerned that she is off but her form tutor is amazing and fully understands so I'm now thinking of saying something to him. Really appreciate your comment.

We're doing it for the first time this year. DD is Y10, mocks will be finished and we're saving over £1200 so decided it was worth it.
She is going in on the Monday so hopefully we'll avoid the fine but if not so be it.

I don't think it is acceptable. A good lesson for life that you cannot always have everything you want, and a basic courtesy to teachers.

If it was to visit a dying or elderly relative who lived a distance away, maybe different.

Never had and never would
I feel it gives DC the idea that school is optional/ unimportant

I’m a teacher and used to work at a private, International school. There, parents took their children out/away whenever they liked, often a few times per year. It used to get on my nerves, they’d also ask for me to give them the work they’d be missing, so that was more planning/worksheets prepared etc.
Now I’m a parent I see things differently and find the rules ridiculous, I’d definitely take Dd out of school and think a few days here and there does no damage at all, to fine parents is pretty terrible.

In Ireland so no fines (although they’re talking about bringing them in). We took them out for a week in June before and they ended up missing school sports day, a bake sale and one missed a school tour to a theme park while another missed a birthday. It was a great holiday but they’d have enjoyed that week as much at home.

Why is that taking the piss? …..we saved loads taking ours out of school….meant my 3 could have some brilliant holidays ….. I don’t give a shiny shite why other people do it …. your opinion is very entitled thinking 🙄

😂😂😂

Schools have discretion to just fine one parent if the parents aren't together.

We don't do it. DCs enjoy school and would be sad to miss out, even doing fun end of term things. We can afford to pay for holidays during school holidays, and just accept it as a cost of having school-aged dcs.

Every single year.

Only stopped this year eldest (15) is now in an exam year.

We are in Scotland so no fines here.

We often meet English people on holiday who tell us they just factor the fine into the price of the holiday