Are the new term time holiday laws making you re think holiday plans?

[WindyTums]

Every year, my parents and in laws pay for the whole family to go on a European lodge based holiday. It’s during term time as school holiday costs more than double. DH and I are the only ones who have school aged DC (secondary).

Every year the holiday is arranged for either just before the Easter holidays or just before the October half term. We always go and it’s a great experience for everyone.

This years gathering is just before October half term and I’ve agreed to take the DC out of school for this, accepting we will be fined.
One of our elderly relatives has a milestone birthday next year and it has been agreed to book the next one for just before the Easter holidays. It’s likely this will be elderly relatives last time going.

However, for DH and I, this means our DC would need to be taken out of school again within a six month period and will result in a hefty fine as we have 3 DC. Whilst I could accept the fine, it would mean we could not take a family holiday during term time for another three years due to the new laws.

We simply can not afford school holiday prices. We are planning to decline the Easter gathering but I’m really disappointed and upset for my DC.

I suppose the new laws are clearly working if there are others like us?

Before anyone tells me that holidays are a luxury, not a right, I’m aware of this. However, you can’t tell me this affects the rich and their DC in the same way. It’s another way of separating the haves and the have nots. Nobody on their death bed ever regretted family time.

@OhNoFloyd it’s only selfish if a parent is expecting a teacher to catch up their DC; but we have never expected this, have done it ourselves and we’ve never had an issue.

I bet the kids are delighted to be freezing their arses off in a “lodge” in October with Granny when their school mates have had summer holidays in the sun! Making memories alright…

@Pippa905 This is exactly my view.

I don't know if London is stricter than the rest of the country, but absence to go on holiday was never authorised in any of my dc's schools (1 primary and 2 secondaries) and it was just not something that people seemed to do. They were in school 2006 to 2022. I remember one year I pretended they were both sick on the last day of the summer term so that we could go on holiday but only because my husband's freelance work later in August meant that we couldn't have had two weeks away otherwise. And I felt really naughty!

Holiday price hikes are an annoying fact of life.

However, for DH and I, this means our DC would need to be taken out of school again within a six month period and will result in a hefty fine as we have 3 DC. Whilst I could accept the fine, it would mean we could not take a family holiday during term time for another three years due to the new laws.

You have three secondary school children - surely at least one if not two of them will be in GCSE or A level years in the next three years? Would you really go away for a week's holiday in term time in those years?

@ChristianHornersGlisteningFinger This is such a rude comment. We are blessed to have our family pay for our holiday to a lovely location. Would you post the same comment on a thread if a poster was saying they couldn’t afford a summer holiday and had to make do at home?

This.

The people to be unimpressed with are those who organise the extended family time in a way which requires you to take your three secondary age children out of school in term time for the duration of a holiday (for at least a full week?) twice within six months, but doesn't require this inconvenience of anyone else... They're the ones putting you between a rock and a hard place.

@DancingPhantomsOnTheTerrace No, not beyond year 9.

Any sympathy for the OP that I might have had was lost when the words milestone birthday was mentioned. Total marketing nonsense at best.

I do agree about the longer holidays at some private schools giving parents some lower cost holiday options.

I don’t think they’d be waxing so lyrical about that.

@LlynTegid Did you miss the part where I said we were NOT going? It’s still ok for us to be disappointed to miss the milestone birthday celebrations.

I am fully in favour of the fines. DDs are both in primary school and we have never taken them out of school for a holiday. That has often meant no holiday, or camping in the UK as that is what's affordable but I am an ex teacher and am fully aware of the disruption caused by children being out of school.

People always use the excuse you have "they'll get more out of a holiday than a week of school" and I do think it's something that people say to convince themselves they're doing the right thing when they're not.

@ChristianHornersGlisteningFinger You’ve missed the point of the thread; therefore posting try hard sarcastic comments is just making you look silly.

Personally I think it's ridiculous. Every pupil should be allowed to miss up to a week of term time for holiday in my view. As a director in a huge firm, are you seriously telling me losing a week of school will mean the person I hire is less capable? Come on.
All this does is punish the poor. Again.
You do not need to be a A grade student to earn well in life. My own experience is testimony to this. I'm a B grade student, but a top 3% earner. I really think thee needs to be perspective on this - not everyone can afford term holidays and an allowance of sorts would put this to bed. I personally don't accept the disruption argument either, just like sickness it's manageable and work could be taken on the holiday as a worst case.

@LlynTegid Sorry my pp to you appears abrupt, I do not mean it that way. I was typing quickly. I was genuinely asking if you missed the part that said we’re not going.

I always wonder what people mean by that comment. Surely, if you go in the school holidays, you get your holiday and a week of learning in school. No need to miss either.

Most of the time the people that say that are the ones who will spend the whole time sat by the pool. (Not saying that’s the op)

Now as much as there is nothing wrong with a holiday like that it doesn’t have an educational value!

@WindyTums I don’t think people are ‘frothing at the mouth’ about your choices. You have three children, so they must now be in years 7,8 and 9, because you said that you wouldn’t take them out beyond that. So next year won’t be a possibility anyway, if you stick to that.

You know that a holiday is not a right - you’ve said so, but I’m not convinced that’s what you feel. You say that you value education, but then say your children won’t be disadvantaged by missing a lesson with an unqualified teacher. That really smacks of trying to justify what you’re doing. Everyone who has holidays in term time comes up with the same reasons.

They do nothing in the last week
They have an unqualified teacher
I can teach them just as well, so they won’t miss anything.
It’s more important to spend quality time with family.

The right to an education was hard won, the potential to become literate, numerate and the capacity to forge a career. There’s an increasing perception that it’s now optional. I find that sad.

Can you go for the birthday holiday and not the other holiday?

Mine started some GCSE work in year 9, so I would have been very wary of missing that.

You’d better believe I’m as into making memories with granny as you are - in fact that’s the only time I’ve taken my kids out of school for a couple of days, when it looked like my mum wasn’t going to be around much longer. But if you value state-provided education you have to let your principles be evident in your actions, which unfortunately means no term time holidays. We can’t pick and choose the rules to suit us.

@Bluevelvetsofa A slight exaggeration possibly, I agree. DC are in years 7, 7 and 8 so next year would have been our last before year 9 but we have decided not to go.

I do know a holiday is not a right, but there are other factors that I have not posted here, that make me more open to the understanding of taking term time holidays. I don’t think people often comprehend that there may be other reasons than simply wanting sand and sangria.

I also value education, but not in its current form, again for many reasons I will not post here. However, that’s a red herring as ultimately, education should be prioritised. Although, combined with the other factors, I believe a week with family once per year is very beneficial.

I’m not trying to justify my decision, because I am comfortable with it. My thread is about whether the new laws have made people re consider term time holidays, not whether my decisions were right , which is what some posters have focused on.

To answer your actual question, yes it has made me rethink. I am a teacher in a private school so get slightly longer holidays, 2 weeks in October for example. I (unwisely!) booked a holiday for next October before DD’s term dates were released, based on when half term has been in Reception, Y1 and Y2. Term dates came out last week and it’s moved! So I paid the fee to change it by 5 days so we’re now going Thursday to Thursday. DDs will miss 2 days but I feel that’s better than 5, especially as youngest will be in Reception. One big reason for the change though is that if we can afford to do a proper adventure-type holiday in the future, somewhere you can’t really go in the summer, I will take them out for a week. I didn’t want to get a fine and miss lots of school for a week in Europe which then limits what we can do in the future.

Gave up on reading the thread. If teachers from different unions can strike at different times while the impact of covid is still very felt then parents should be able to have a few days flexibility. I write this as someone with a child who meets wp criteria applying to cowi and a child at a non maintained special school who was placed there following tribunal.

The educational system we have in this country is not uniform. We cannot and shouldnot apply laws as though every child has the same input and any missing days have the same impact. For some children a term time holiday may be more beneficial than 100? attendance.

I will be taking my son out of his special school next year to have 14 days with older brother who will be going to uni next year. We will be doing this late July when the A-level exam has finished. I truthfully believe that this will be of more value than 14 days in school.

@WindyTums you just have to make a decision based your children and where they are in their schooling. A few people have told you that you must 'know you're wrong' and are 'trying to justify it' but I honestly believe a holiday in term time (provided they're otherwise regularly attending) is going to add something and not be a detriment.

Without fixing the system and providing all children with an education that is accessible for them (the system is failing so many children) these new policies around absence aren't going to help a thing. They're just going to take opportunities away from those families who can't afford it at double or triple the cost and mean sickness is rife in schools.

It's come up is teachers can't take term time holidays... they can and I know some who do through taking unpaid parental leave which all parents including teachers are entitled to. Schools aren't going to shout about that though!