To think billboard adverts threatening parents about removing their children for a holiday in term time are a bit well, pathetic.

[BurningBuntingFlipFlop]

Haven't the government got bigger concerns?

Sure a couple of weeks of a child experiencing a different culture once a year during term time isn't that bad?

My children aren't old enough but if they were i probably wouldn't pull them out in term time personally. But i'm shocked that this is apparently a major concern in the education sector right now? What about the parents who just don't give a shit if their kids ever go to school? Or the cuts that are happening?

I can't find a link, they're in Manchester anyway.

Maybe I got that wrong. Ah - the school's own attendance figure was 96% and her's was possibly 92%. Anyway, I wasn't bothered because I knew we'd not been away or scived off.

Ah yes. But still it wouldn't be an issue for me. Bigger fish to fry - like those languishing around 70% who can't be bothered to even pick up the phone and offer an explanation.

perhaps one county (dbd's) has a higher migrant population who travel home to family?

We live in Lanzarote, we pay for private education because we feel that the state education is simply not to an adequate standard. We are responsible parents who take education very seriously.

However, I have many families approaching during the hot spot holidays of October half term and February half term, because the prices are astronomical to get a holiday away in those times. Even as independent travellers the prices are sky high and you can never, ever get those insane Easyjet, or ryanair pay the tax only flights during these times. Half-Term holidays are coming up, and I am afraid I do encourage a lot of parents and clients contacting me to throw a couple of extra days on at the beginning or end in order to be able to get the cheaper flights and much needed holiday they want.

I've read all the comments, see all sides, but as a parent who takes her children out of school every year in order to be able for them to spend time with their family in Norway (they are half Norwegian), and to immerse in the culture in Norway, they are taken out possible up to 4 weeks over the year. They are 6 and under at the moment, but we are given the work they need to cover while they are away and they do it. Even th 4 years olds. Last year I took my step son out for an extra week, he was taking his GCSE English Lit early and Computer studies and got C's in both, possibly because he had to work hard to cover the work he was missing and revise as well.

Time is the point here. Parents who work hard, hard, hard, who want to take the family out during term time, also I think do it to spend family time together. Something that's fading fast, so if they're not getting heaps of culture, at least perhaps they're getting some valued time as families. Equally as important in my book...

It's such a hard one to call, but the Government in UK clearly want to scaremonger those parents who don't take education seriously, and this isn't a bad way of doing it by bilboard in my opinion...

msupa, you said,

I presume by 'education' you mean school? As a teacher and a mother I feel so strongly that this is not the case.

IMVHO, education comes from experiences and nurturing, much of which they get from school but the vast majority of which takes place within the family unit and is enhanced by family holidays.

80% is considered persistant absence by the DFE so really that's too late to begin tackling - you do need to start at around 90% but some areas start higher if the average % is higher.

I think Xenia asked further down about the fine? It's £50 per parent (per child I think) rising to £100 if not paid within 28 days. Repeat offenders can be find up to (I think) £2500 and/or custodial sentence but that would obviously be repeated very poor attendance not a 10 day holiday taken unauthorised.

I disagree, Frazzled. I think it's a rubbish way of doing it. If its target audience is those parents who never send their kids to school and don't take school seriously then they are paying no attention.

Its all the others who do take their children's education seriously but weigh up school based education alongside family holidays that are noticing the posters.

The target audience is every parent who thinks it's Ok to take the child out during term-time. Because we/they don't want you to do it. If it makes someone think twice or start a discussion like this then that's good - whether it's money well spent is another matter, because I agree with you monty - the ones who really need to sit up and take notice don't do that until a penalty warning notice drops on the doorstep.

I'm that OFSTED looks at total absence - does that mean in a small school that a child having chemotherapy or being hospitalised with an illness could throw their figures? Sorry, off topic, but it had never struck me how arbitrary these statistics are. That's the problem with governments trying to legislate a problem away with statistics and rule books rather than encouraging schools to create a culture of attendance, and for school inspectors to have the ability/authorisation to discern between a school with an attendance problem and a school that has high absence for genuine exceptional reasons.

Poster campaigns will probably have little effect on repeat offenders taking more than authorised leave - they already know the rules but are choosing to ignore them. They will just make everyone else feel guilty and be a waste of money.

I've worked in education for 12 years - FE colleges, and students going on holiday was a pain in the arse - only because the courses were quite intensive, and there would be quite alot to catch up with if they took 2 weeks off. Usually the ones that went were slackers anyhow!! 1 week wasn't so bad, as long as they were prepared to put in the extra work when they got back.
However, I would have no qualms about taking my 5 year old out of school - maybe only for a week though, and I am doing this at the start of Feb for a week. I have got the schools approval, and I will try to ensure that we do a bit of reading and writing whilst away. At primary level, I don't think it makes much difference, as long as you don't take the piss.
I wouldn't be comfortable doing it at important times in her education though.
I do think that travel companies are shocking in what they charge for holidays at peak times, and as I could only take holidays during the peak times when I was teaching, I generally didn't have alot of holidays, as I couldn't afford them! How anyone affords them with children - and more than 1 - is beyond me.
You'd just be penalising the less well off if you made it so kids couldn't be taken out of school - life is often hard enough for those who struggle financially, so why begrudge them the chance of a cheap holiday?
Even trying to holiday cheaply in the UK at peak times can be prohibitively expensive.
I just think that taking your kids out of school has to be done sensibly,and considerately.

Yes - that's why poor parents with chronically sick kids still get loads of hassle in some schools.

I think it is fine to take kids out of school for the odd holiday as long as they can keep up etc. They have at least 11 years of formal education and I just don't believe that none of it is unmissable!

So you could get a child who is well below average academically but has 100% attendance and another child who is very bright, is working to levels above thier year group, is G & T yet has had a time off ill/been on holiday for a week. This is why schools should have the authorised holiday choice.

The thing about chronically ill chidlren is terrible - how could a head teacher put such pressure on those poor parents

their not thier!

It's not up to the government to tell me when I can take my child on holiday or not during term time. Obviously as a parent concerned about education I would weigh up the benefits and costs of having them miss school. I live in Canada right now, so don't have to worry about this nonsense until we return home in 3 years time, but I did keep DS home and in school once when his father wanted to take him on a trip to the Caribbean. The teachers went on strike for three weeks so he missed school anyway! Since then I have done what has suited us a family and always asked the teachers for extra work to take with us. We also visit museums etc when we are abroad - they almost always have educational activities for kids. The children then make a presentation on what they learned to the rest of the class when they get back to school. I would think twice about taking them out of they were struggling at school, though.But that's my decision, not the government's.

As a paediatrician I have heard lots of stories off parents with ill children about schools being funny about absence.
I think that holidays of any kind are important and if it meant a child not going on a family holiday or missing two weeks of school I thing missing school is the better option, the difference in prices between term time and holidays is staggering and this is the issue the government should be sorting.

In August 2012 I will actually be taking my children out of school for a year, as my husband and I have been asked on a research and aid project in parts of Africa and Asia. Three of my DC have just changed school (for reasons you might know if you saw the thread) and obviously one of the considerations was if the school was OK with this, thankfully they are fine and the children will rejoin when we return. My eldest will be in year 11 so usually sitting GCSE's, luckily she is sitting some this year (year 9) and the rest next year. But this is what the school usually do with many pupils, meaning in year 11 in school the would start AS levels but now she will just do this in year 12.
We are going to home school the kids during the trip so the will not be behind when we return.

They do have it vintage, it's written within the legislation and LA's shouldn't just over-ride it, for exactly the reason you suggest. Some LA's and heads prefer the blanket ban as it's a consistent message.

Excuse the rogue apostrophe.

I sometimes take the kids out of school for a couple of days at the end of term as flights are generally cheaper during week-days. Generally they don't do a lot leading up to the end of term anyway - DVD days, toy day, concert practice etc!

What does annoy me is the numerous inset days scattered over the year. They have six of these days for teacher training (wish I could have a day with no customers!). Can't the county/schools get their act together and arrange to have these inset days lumped together into a week with each school having a different week? This would mean that kids get a weeks holiday during 'term time' and would allow us to get away during a cheaper period. Simples.

That wouldn't work, Gogopops because sometimes 2 of the INSETS are part 1 and 2 where 1 is the training, then you implement it in the classroom, then have part 2 where you de-brief and discuss how it worked and how it needs to be tweaked.

Also, I honestly don't know of any teacher who could cope with the thought of a weeks worth of training and admin in one go. I know I'd have switched off by the Tue lunchtime. Therefore, making them a waste of time. Some are a waste of time but lots aren't and continued professional development is important.

So really, what you're asking is for schools to do something which would be neither productive nor enjoyable just so you can have a cheaper week to go on holiday!?!

Most LAs tag hten onto the beginning or end of the hols. Tagginging them onto a half term often means you can fly Mon to Mon.

Also, depending on where you live, if you do want to go abroad, not all flights happen to be on a weekend, so it could be inevitable that you may need a few days off in order to this to work.

Or are we also expected to only go where the airline timetables allow, depsite thier daft flight times too......or never have a holiday abroad.....this could get really silly...

it would be nice if you knew where you stood - in practice, our school will normally authorise holidays in term time provided that the children have a reasonable attendance record - but things like these posters and occasional letters home from school seem to want to make you feel guilty for doing it - at primary age, I don't believe it genuinely affects their education if you take them out of school for a week - even if you only go to a caravan site in cornwall, they will still do activities they wouldn't do as part of their normal routine (surfing etc), they probably read a book or 2, and they will get to spend some time with both of their parents maybe learning a new card game or improving their skills at crazy golf. At primary age, all kinds of things can be learning experiences. I find having a week away as a family to be a bonding experience where the 4 of us get to know each other again, which can help when we return to school/work.
Having said that, we do tend to take our holidays out of term time at the moment - we both work, so we can afford to - but if we couldn't afford to take them away in the school holidays, I would rather let them miss a week of school than not take them away at all.