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.

[sakura]

dockate you really think education only takes place in the classroom? foreign travel changed my life, and the experience I gained is more relevant to what I do today, than anything I learned in class

[Newgolddream]

I have 3 kids aged 17, 8 and 3 - and have taken them out in the past and will do so again. Theres no way we can afford package holiday prices in school holiday times.

Our schools here in Scotland are on holiday from end June to middle of August, and on top of the high price for the holiday in the first place - well sometimes flight supplements for high season from Glasgow airport can be as much as an extra £200 per person - just for flight supplements, it doesnt take that much extra fuel to fly!!!

So it makes sense to holiday in say September when holidays are a bit cheaper and supplements are not so high.

Once my eldest got to secondary school and particularly exam year I didnt of course and now he doesnt want to come on holiday with us anyway lol.

Theres no way a fine would put me off either - it would be cheaper than paying for a more expensive holiday.

As to the poster that said dont have kids if you dont want to go on holiday in school holidays - OMG, what an attitude to have!

[PureBloodMuggle]

Since when has Centre parcs been culturally educational? Too funny using that as an example.

I wouldn't take my children out of school for a holiday, even on that I might flippantly call cultural.

Mind you I will admit if I won a family holiday to somewhere with a truly different culture I'd certainly consider it, though I'd speak to the school first and I'd probably make them create a scrap book about their experience. I that sort of crap parent.

[fedupofnamechanging]

dockate, education and the NHS are not free. We pay for it in our taxes. People who privately educate their children are paying twice.

It is a very good point that schools waste a lot of time watching DVDs and rehearsing nativity plays (my Dc had no PE lessons for weeks because of rehearsals and by the time the play was performed, my DC are bored stiff by it). The school could actually have been teaching them something useful. I don't kick off about this, but if I was on the receiving end of criticism from school for taking time out, then I would certainly have something to say.

[NestaFiesta]

When the goverment actually grows a pair and genuinely cracks down on the greedy money grabbing travel companies who whine about "market forces", we won't even need to have threads like this.

[dexter73]

My dd is going to be out of school next week to go on a skiing trip. This isn't an educational trip but just for fun.
However as it is organised by the school this is perfectly acceptable!

[sakura]

camping is amazingly educational. It's immersion in nature, and very few children come away from camping without a renewed respect for the natural world.
THough to be fair, "respect for the natural world" is not a requirement for the top jobs; "treat the natural world as a free resource" is a better attitude to have if you want to get on in the world

[Inkipinkiponki]

Don't know about anyone else but at my work it's a real dog fight to get time off during school holidays.

To coordinate both parents' holidays at the same time AND during school holidays, is practically impossible.

I approached my DS's teacher with some trepidation to explain that DS's father wanted to take him camping and fishing for a week (they both absolutely love fishing and camping) don't know why.

Teacher's response was that he would learn more from a week away bonding with his father than he would learn at school in the week.

[NinkyNonker]

How do children catch up after a fortnight away mid term? I am talking secondary here.

[fedupofnamechanging]

Oh yes, my sons school organised a trip to a theme park last year. They had the bloody cheek to tell us that this was educational. I wonder what they would have said to me if I'd decided to take my son out of school to go to Alton Towers.

There is some hypocrisy and double standards here, I think

[Newgolddream]

Oh and dockate I resent your sweeping statement that becasue I take my kids out of school for a week or 2 a year I dont value their education.

Instead of a "cheap" holiday being more important than their education I would substitute the word "affordable" - and when my DH and I work hard all year round I value the importance of our annual holiday and spending it together as a family thanks.

[Inkipinkiponki]

Crossed posted with Sakura. They do learn a lot.

This is how DS learned to use a compass, cook on a campfire, identify different species of lizards and other bush insects and animals.

He has learned great respect for the environment and his ambition is to be a Vet or geologist or maybe both. He can't separate his love of animals from nature and rock formations.

[TheFeministParent]

Well sending a child to school costs the government money, the least any parent can do is send their children as often as possible. However for some parents it's affordable holiday during term time or no holiday.

[Serendippy]

You can't have one rule for one family and one rule for another. Some families take children out of school because it will be culturally valuable, an educational experience or family bonding time. Others take them out because holidays are cheaper and they have no intention of spending any time with the children at all or of making it interesting or worthwhile for the children, they just want cheaper holidays. There has to be a blanket rule. As people say, with the fine it will still be cheaper to go during term time.

All the energy that goes into arguing this would be better spent petitioning the gvt for a fix on travel prices so that they are not hiked up during school holiday time. However, I suspect that a lot of people would not actually want this as they would have to pay more even if they took children in term time than they are now.

[dexter73]

karmabeliever - definitely double standards! I bet I would have never have been allowed to take dd out of school for a week to go skiing but it is ok for the school to do this.

[Inkipinkiponki]

doctate during the "olden days" children learned from the families and the environemnt.

A famous philospher (can't remember which one I'm ashamed to admit) once said that over the centuries when school became more and more formalised that children were herded into classrooms and led away from life

I think that is so true.

[huffythethreadslayer]

1. I chose to have a child for lots of different reasons. Never once did I think about school holidays in making my decision. I loathe how busy most places are during school holidays, so I shouldn't be a parent?? pmsl!
   

1. My child was taken out during her early years in primary. We always did a project or holiday book whilst we were away because she was at that stage where she loved writing. It also gave us a focus for our activities. We couldn't have taken her to Paris or France during school holidays as it was too expensive.
   

1. My child is now 10. She asked us NOT to take her out of school again when she was 8 as she felt she was 'missing out'. She meant the social side of things rather than the educational side and we agreed with her. We told her that the holidays would all be UK based from now on and she's fine with that.
   

I do not, however, see ANY problem with a primary school child being taken out of school during school term times if there aren't exams in the term.

It must be harder if your kids are struggling academcially though, as you have to balance up whether the holidays benefits will outweigh the extra struggle the child might have in catching up.

YANBU though...a poster campaign on it seems a little strange given the cost cutting exercises. A more direct approach from the schools would seem more sensible.

[TitsalinaBumSquash]

I take mine out for a week in term time.
In 'return' I arrange all ds1's major hospital stuff in schhol holidays so he isn't missing tons of school in term time.
Also for families on a low income I just can't afford to go away in the school holidays as the prices are jacked up so much.

[ShoppingDays]

YABU

[catsmother]

I totally agree with Karma's post and could have written it word for word. I can't afford to holiday at any time, but if I did have a little bit of spare money - enough for a week away in term time - and the choice was between spending some quality time with my family, OR, ensuring 100% attendance at school, I know which one I'd personally choose.

I know everyone's circumstances are different, but in this household - in order to maximise much needed earning potential - my partner and I work opposite shifts ... with me working extremely antisocial hours (evenings, weekends). Most weeks I do some work every single day and my partner and I are effectively single parents because we spend so little time all together, and are usually looking after children on our own. This has been our life for years and I can't see it changing unless a miracle occurred. Please don't tell me that some decent and extremely rare time with my family would be overridden by an attendance record .... if there was any way for me to make this happen (there isn't, short of robbing a bank) I'd do it like a shot.

As for the ignorant and ridiculous generalisation that people who holiday in term time don't value education - what utter condescending crap ! I value my kids' education extremely highly ... and I don't consider that education is the sole domain of schools. Any decent parent realises that they too should encourage learning and study at home (or God forbid, on holiday) and this is achieved not only through formal, sit down type of work, but through discussion, activity and encouragement. A perfect attendance record wouldn't, for example, make up for the kind of lazy parent who never helps with homework, who never involves themselves with their child (e.g. teaching them a skill - cooking, knitting, gardening, swimming, whatever), who doesn't interact with their child and so on .... yet, according to some of the people on this thread, that parent would "value" education simply because they bothered to deliver their child to school every day.

[crazygracieuk]

YANBU

Children don't do hardly any work at school for the last week or so of term.

I think that there are so many more important messages that the government could advertise like "Use a carseat for your child" "Clean your dog mess" "If it's so cold that you need a coat then put one on your child" and so on.

[huffythethreadslayer]

Nice argument catsmother. Education and going to school are, at times, completely separate activities.