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.

I think a lot of people on here really don't know how schools operate! None of this is down to individual schools, and has absolutely nothing to do with teachers.

Whatever the government / council whoever issues the fine @SuziQuinto I don’t really care where it comes from,

But a good education system, good schools, are a two way street. You have to attend for them to be good!

Just like when anyone breaks the rules, it weakens the rules (school attendance), encourages more people to do it, and has consequences. Eg lower school attendance = poorer school results for everyone. There’s a social contract to think about as well as individual needs.

I understand where you are coming from but the new law does not make me rethink anything as we do not do holidays in term time.

I’m pretty relaxed about this sort of thing but I think doing it twice in an academic year, and at all from year 9 or so, should absolutely be discouraged

we booked our 2025 holiday at the weekend and by going two days later and missing two days of school we would have literally saved
£1k. I was up for it, dh (who tbf pays for most of it) was not (on principle). But there’s no need to do this twice in an academic year! Your relatives should be more understanding

I think school has evolved into a bit of a monster tbh. We educate children to pass exams and forget they are children who should be out running, exploring, getting muddy. Holidays can be very educational but we're restricting parents being able to enjoy precious time with children all in the name of statistics. It's depressing

I’ve seen on social media there is going to be a protest about trying to restrict family holidays. I really cannot understand why parents aren’t all protesting this. As parents we should be the ones to decide what is best for our children (except in rare exceptions of abuse) not the state. There is precious little evidence that a family holiday of a week or two for an otherwise consistently attending child makes any difference to their education. No one seriously believes that is the case.

The current social contract on school attendance pretty obviously doesn't include parents all buying into the idea that getting kids into school every day is important. Nor the state, really, considering what we do to DC with SN. We didn't think much about that social contract during austerity and covid so, well, here we are.

Admit it, you've chosen the worst case scenario with the maths cover lesson, and you've also chosen to ignore the fact that, in several days off school, the children are missing a hell of a lot more than one maths lesson.

Actually a very quick Google shows that school absence does have an effect on outcomes. Many studies, earliest of which I found was from 1984, shows that days missed from school leads to poorer performance by the end of secondary.

But it's not one missed week, is it? It's two this year, and it's at least one most years. That mounts up.

No the evidence is that generally absence is linked with poor attainment (not causally). This is more likely to be those that keep their children off for spurious reasons are also more likely to have a whole host of other risk factors themselves. In terms of time off for authorised holiday, that link simply isn’t there.

fullfact.org/education/mixed-evidence-link-between-term-time-holidays-and-attainment/

Totally agree. I’m considering not sending my child to secondary and doing one of the many online schools so he can have a more “normal” life that I enjoyed as a teenager. The stress on teens and the percentages suffering from serious mental health difficulties should be a matter of national disagree. Whilst schools aren’t the only reason, the draconian nature of most state secondary schools is definitely contributing.
I don’t doubt pupil behaviour was impossible hard to deal with for teachers, but in attempting to “get that under control” (which won’t work as these kids need a lot more than a few more rules and detentions), they’ve made ordinary kids so anxious they aren’t sleeping.

Im taking my kids out of school in February for a week. Beginning of feb. Not half term.

school can either authorise it or not. We don’t get fined where I am (yet).

my reasoning is that I’m undergoing cancer treatment. Have had to cancel 2 booked school holiday holidays to accommodate the treatment. And we need time away from the medical stress and crap as a family.

we will have a window from mid jan to mid feb when I will be no treatment but preparing myself for surgery (feb half term) then after than recovery then 3 weeks in London away from the kids for radiotherapy.

I wonder how other countries manage this. Do other countries not have a problem with parents taking their kids out of school? I’ve never heard of parent being fined for this anywhere else. Or is it that in other countries they aren’t being ripped off by holiday companies?
Many other countries have a far better education system and yet I can’t imagine many other countries accepting this dictatorial manner in which we are forced to
use ours

Just clarifying. You said schools "dictate".
They don't.

My daughter’s school has been doing research for the last 20 years into attendance vs results. I used to think it didn’t matter but their evidence shows it really does, even from week 1 in year 7.

The reason there has been new rules released is because people keep taking their kids out of school every year!!
They get enough holidays, I know it's more expensive, but it's also unfair on the kids and the teachers taking so much time off during the school term.

Home educate then. You have that choice. If you want your child to receive a state education then you accept the rules and boundaries around this. If you can't do that then don't take up the offer.

People who have your attitude only think about themselves. The systems we have in society work because of the collective buy-in. If we don't buy in then it breaks down. Unless of course you don't believe that schools should be accountable for education? Why should a teacher spend time and resources trying to catch your child up because you've decided to go on holiday. Imagine if every child did this at a point in the year. It would be utterly impossible. Such a selfish attitude.

The idea that people can set their own rules is one of the major issues. Holidays is one of those things. It is the devaluation of the structure and boundaries that schools are fighting to implement on a daily basis.

We never have & never will take kids out of school for holidays. We have never found school holiday time to be prohibitively expensive, though, you just have to think outside the box & look around a little.

Examples of our holidays include a villa in Portugal/Mallorca in Easter holidays for maybe £2k all in (including spending money, family of 5)

Eurocamp in October half term £350 for the week travel + accommodation.

Eurocamp summer holidays 1 week, £1000 travel + accomodation. Tagged on a few nights in Air B&Bs for extra £50 per night & explored a bit.

So cheaper holidays can be done & enjoyed.

No, I don’t simply have to opt out or lump it. What a strange notion. We live in a democracy. I can protest as I will be doing. We aren’t surfs. We have a say in how our country is governed and we have a right and a responsibility when governments make poor decisions. I really encourage parents to be writing to their MPs and making their voices heard.

Wow I'm genuinely shocked at 90% of the comments here that are supporting the government fining parents for taking holidays with children during school time. Seriously? Doesn't the government get enough money out of the tax payer?!

As parents we should be able to make the choices we want for our children. We have short lives and is one week or two during school time going to affect that child's ability to get a good career? Do you not think life Experience plays a part?....

No fines issued for multiple sick days where that child can probably make school...

Can I just clarify:

You think families should have the choice to take kids out for a term time holiday? Is this just a one off or are we allowing multiple holidays throughout the year and of each year or school?

Is the education system supposed to adapts to every holiday? Do schools become responsible for the lack of learning for that child? How is this measured - would we have a sliding scale that holds parents to account for loss of curriculum because they've opted to go on holiday whilst they're DC is being taught quadratics for instance?