School asking for flight details after unauthorised term-time absence abroad

[PersonalData]

We went abroad mon-thu last week, ds (10) was in school the week before and went back on Friday. We let them know and obviously knew it would be unauthorised. As it was 8 sessions we don’t qualify for a fine. His attendance is usually 100%.

They asked on friday before and after for us to provide proof of the flights and other details for ‘safeguarding’ but he was back in school and clearly fine ?? We declined as this is private personal data. They replied back that we must submit the evidence by the end of tomorrow?

Is this usual ?

Why do you think HM Revenue and Customs are getting involved?

A point missed.

Both are a great excuse way to hide a multitude of sins.

Also, is it just me, or does getting these details after the event not make much sense ?

Fucksake. How hard is this to grasp.

We live in a world where people beat their kids and lie about it.

Schools are one of the places with a statutory duty of care over your child and they ask for stuff like this so they can prove, as far as is possible, they've checked you've not beaten them up on the quiet.

If they DIDN'T ask the nice white middle class families with Tenerife tans then when a murdered kid slipped through the net everyone would be rightly up in arms.

Get over yourself and be glad your school are doing their job.

Do I think they're overstepping yes but I really wouldn't be complaining about flight details for a flight you've already been on being personal data when you're happy for them store all your other personal data it sounds knobby

It is, I would expect a school to want to know where a child is and have confirmation of that. You are welcome to disagree, but the school are making a sensible choice here, op will also be coming across as trying to hide something, which will be worrying them more.

But there is potential evidence - the absence. They need to make sure the absence was for what the parents say it was for, and not because they went on a bender or some such. The reasoning makes sense. Not sure why you’re pushing back so hard.

we have to provide copy of drs letters if they have a drs appointment.J don’t get the social contract with schools and why they are on such a power trip. School is a service we pay for with our taxes. My bin men don’t turn up demanding I send them evidence of my holidays, or my dr coming round my house counting my calories.
schools are on a power trip. It’s gotten ridiculous.

It is, I would expect a school to want to know where a child is and have confirmation of that.

They do. This is supposedly asking where the child was

So you dont want cases like this prosecuted in an attempt to deter others and get some justice for the children?

FGM: Woman guilty of taking child to Kenya for mutilation - BBC News

Indeed, they clearly have a concern.

I was asked to submit this, but our situation was different - we hadn’t planned to take the kids out of school. We were due to return the night before school started but our flights got cancelled and we instead had to stay an extra three nights. The school wanted the evidence to turn an otherwise unauthorised holiday into a authorised one due to exceptional circumstances

I'm a social worker and feel exactly the same. It's so frustrating that 'safeguarding' gets used as an excuse for every thing and people fall over themselves to defend it without a second thought because 'safeguarding'.
If they were concerned about the child, they would have been checking the details BEFORE the holiday and trying to check the whereabouts whilst the child was off.
This overuse of the word minimises actual safeguarding and breaks down relationships with families as professionals just look like busybodies who just interfere for the sake of it.
The word safeguarding means nothing if you can't back it up with the reason for the concern, the potential risks to the child and the benefits of your actions.

They replied back that we must submit the evidence by the end of tomorrow?

or they’ll do what, exactly?

I’d just ignore them. The overreach of some schools into private family life is ridiculous. Under the generic catch all guise of “safeguarding” when time and time again abused children go unnoticed by schools even when there are massive red flags.

What a stupid straw man of a question

I can understand why they’re curious. It’s a really strange length of time to go for, and this early in the new term is quite egregious.

I want them prevented before it comes to that. What good is it checking the flight details after the fact? If the school were concerned about FGM they have astronomically failed in their safeguarding duties by asking for evidence after the fact and not reporting it sooner.

Well in that case they can either communicate it to the OP, or notify the appropriate authorities.

If the request had formally come from a designated safeguarding lead, maybe the situation would be different. But so far the OP hasn't suggested that.

No it doesn't make sense at all does it. Ticking a box after the event is not safeguarding. It's ticking a box. If they were genuinely concerned they should have acted before or during the event to safeguard.

OP, I really don't think you're doing anything wrong here. You let the school know that you were going on holiday, your son has returned to school safe and well and presumably happy after his holiday. School have no right asking for this information.

I agree with schools calling social services or the police when children have unexplained bruises, are neglected, have said something worrying etc but it really is none of their business where a happy and cared for child has been on holiday! Parents really should be allowed to be parents sometimes without having to explain everything to school 🙄

Do you know op? Is it the DSL or one of the DDSLs asking? Or the Attendance Officer?

To be fair, sort of irrelevant either way though, since, in a school, safeguarding is everyone's responsibility.

I don't and I didn't say they were.

Point I'm making is a general one about the whole issue of proving you have taken a flight.

If HMRC want to audit an individuals time in the UK (it comes into exposure to liability to some UK taxes) they generally will not accept itineraries or e-tickets or boarding cards as proof of travel...it should be fairly obvious why not....

So why do the schools think itineraries,.tickets, boarding cards are proof of anything?..Seems to me it's just a data gathering exercise that maybe covers their backsides.

Exactly! It’s really not that difficult to understand or to just..do.

For whatever reason, that school has decided that blanket policy is necessary (probably because they’ve unfortunately fallen foul of similar circumstances before). They can’t then be selective about who they ask or it defeats the object of tbs exercise.

Honestly, who’d be a teacher these days with parents determined to argue over every, tiny thing.

Why do you say that?

The school is keeping track as far as they are able on where the children have been. All children.

If children from cultures where FGM is a thing have been to countries where FGM is a thing and come back to school sore, quiet, withdrawn, tearful they can make a referral if they feel concerned.

It is very difficult for a school to have a policy of not asking white boys parents to prove where they went on holiday but asking Asian girls - is it not?

Yes, just blank them, see what they do.