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 What a strange question. Why is anybody in this discussion bothered...come to think of it why is anyone bothered about anything on this site? It's a 'discussion' board and as such...we tend to discuss things do we not?

I do think there is an argument for either buy in or opt out. If you want the state to educate your child, respect the timetable they have put in place. If not, home educate and have the total freedom to educate your child in any country and at any time you wish. A one off holiday is one thing, but expecting to ask the state to educate but also expecting to take your child out for weeks every year is not buying in to the system put in place.

Inertia I'm sorry I don't know how to get a link on here, but if you Google it all will be explained. It's not just my EA btw...

I'm amazed at the expectation of going abroad every year as much as anything else. If the price is double, why not go away every other year instead? Certainly, growing up we never went away every year, and I don't think I was particularly deprived of experience as a result.

However, I also remember in the first year of secondary, being off for 2 weeks with measles and how much I struggled to catch up with the work I missed afterwards. And the last and first week of terms may not be 'important' academically, but in terms of peers/social importance being away during those meant you missed out on a lot.

One thing if you have a reason to take holiday in term time, but I don't think prices is a valid one.

But anyway, what they're saying is it equates to 36 weeks which is roughly equal to a year of missed schooling during the whole of the child's school life. I'm unsure if that includes the nursery and reception years where they are not legally required to attend.

I agree Rubberduck and I'm also unable to understand why so many parents keep their children off on the last day of term saying "Oh it's not worth sending them in to watch DVDs and play games at their desks"

It's called having fun at school...or would they rather the entire year was all work and no play? No wonder some children don't like school if all they see is the study side to it.

YANBU -
My job means that I cannot take any holidays this year during the schoool holidays ( I am bottom of the list)
Dh and I both worked over the Xmas holidays.

Soooo we are taking the DSs out of school next week for a week in Egypt - our family holiday. And we will prob have to do the same in Sep/OCt.

Luckily the head at our School is very supportive of this.

Family time is just as imporatant as school.

Cant believe some of the posts on here

Your DC will survive not going to Egypt though.

The special needs support in my son's school is outstanding according to OFSTED...fortunately the attendance is excellent too or the money spent on SEN and everything else would be a total waste....

Answered here on this thread Riven or in RL?

Spare a thought for teachers who have to go in school holidays and pay those prices when they don't have kids...

Some serious bragging on this thread.

GMajor7 they'll also survive missing a week of school!

People seem to be talking about persistent long term absences and one week of holiday a year as if they are one and the same which they are not.

Riven because it's less hassle for the Government to commission a load of billboards than to actually tackle that issue :(

Lequeen No I didn't say I'm a teacher and no I didn't say the Maths was mine...it's information put out by the EA and the Government. As I said, if you Google it...it's all there for you to try to understand.

I'm sure there are lots of little darlings who are way ahead of their years when it comes to education...though often those with poor attendance records will find themselves being 'overtaken' at some stage by peers who have in the past been less 'able' than them.

Think of the uproar if only the 'clever' children were allowed term time holidays?

How about the government make it unlawful for holiday and leisure companies to increase prices during school holidays, less parents will be under the financial pressure then and less likely to book a holiday in term time.

I hear everyone's concerns, complaints and outrage. I agree that if one just applied common sense the odd week out of school every so often is not going to be a big deal.

But spare a thought for the Headteacher who is desperately trying to improve a schools performance and is constantly thwarted by parents who keep choosing to take their children out of school in term time (authorised or not.)

I am not that HT but I am a school governor ( and a parent) and find it really frustrating when the likes of Ofsted come to visit and like what they see but deem a school unsatisfactory based on attendance! They do not discriminate, they do not look at each individual child and say ooh look Johnny broke his leg so couldn't help having time off, or Jane's parents genuinely can't afford a vacation in the school holidays they just lump all the figures together and look at the total percentage of time off across the board. So next time you start moaning that your Head wouldn't authorise your "cultural trip" to Disneyland Paris remember that teachers and schools are working within targets and frameworks that very often give them very little room for manouvre.

It's all very well for a Tory gov most of which are loaded,own 2nd homes and travel round the world willy nilly(GO ski-ing in Switzerland this Xmas)to lecture.

I actually want my kids to experience more than 4 classroom walls like their kids do except I could only afford to take them on holiday(UK often more pricey than abroad actually) out of the school holidays particularly now thanks to the Tory cuts.

Sooo I will take my kids out if I see fit thanks and won't be lectured.Until this Tory gov walk a mile in my shoes then they can lecture.

I am an ex teacher and firmly believe experiences and travel outside of school are priceless and should be accessible for all kids not just the rich.

I'm not talking about consistent truancy but 1 week either before the Xmas or summer hols when believe me kids do buggar all and most schools are in complete chaos so very unlikely to even notice-or care.

Rudolph my kids go to an "outstanding" school with a very reasonable head who seems to value out of school experiences(none of us have had anything rejected). This clearly has had little adverse effects with OFSTED.

That sounds like a bad school Lequeen

All SEN pupils should be given what's best for them...what other parents think or say should not be a part of it.

I think the adverts are in anticipation for the parents who will remove their dc from school for the 3 days between the easter hols and bank hols this year to get away for 3 weeks. Easter is late this year so school hols are very early as a result.

Wow - this thread is highly indicative of the entitlement culture at work. No-one had term time holidays when I was at school except for the family who won a holiday to the US. It was a special one-off.

There are 3 reasons why I don't agree with term time holidays.

1. It's only possible for some families to have a term time holiday because most families don't. If every child in the class took a fortnight off school during term time, the class teacher would find it very hard to teach with any sense of continuity and all the class teaching would suffer.

2. The arguments that are used to support term time holidays - affordability, family togetherness and educational/cultural value - could be applied to many day trips also. It's cheaper and quieter to do most things midweek than it is on weekends. Soft play areas, eating out, entrance fees to attractions, theatre. No-one would deny that all those types of day trips are good experiences for children and families but would you like to see it the norm that children are randomly taken out of school to do these things?

3. Many families who do take term time holidays could afford a school holiday-holiday if they chose a different type of holiday or thought more imaginatively about where to go and how to get there.