Primary School Children and Holidays

[curiousgeorgie]

AIBU to think that most people take young DC's out of school for a term time family holiday? (cheaper, less busy etc)

My daughter isn't even in nursery yet, but after having a skim of the school attendance thread (Anything about schools fascinates me haha) and knowing that my neices and nephews, and some friends DC's are usually taken out of school for two weeks every year for holidays, I'm wondering how they get away with it!?

For example, my cousin (DC's 6 & 9) asked us to bring our DD to Florida with thewm, and that they would be going in October, because there will be hardly any queues...

Do you all do this?

I took my DD out of her elementary school last year for a week and a half - in the lead-up to her summer holiday, to return to the UK for a 6-week trip to see my family.
At that time, she was 6 and in her 1st term of her 1st year at school. We live in Japan and I'm doing the (bloody hard) job of trying to raise her and my DS to be bi-lingual and bi-cultural and part of that "job" - I think - is to continue to expose her to the UK, it's language, it's culture and her family there.

My (Japanese) DH was OK with the visit (he didn't join us) but his family were very that I was taking her out of school for a week and told me that I wouldn't be able to do it again. (A Whole Other Thread).

I arranged a meeting before-hand with her teacher to explain why she would be missing school, and he arranged for me to go into school to collect her holiday homework and the work that she would miss over the 8 days absence. The teacher was ok with the absence, as was, presumably, the school.

I will hopefully (funds permitting) be doing the same thing again this summer. Anybody that thinks this is irresponsible, wrong, or damaging to my DC (in-laws, I'm looking at you), can frankly kiss my arse.

We used to take DS1 (now finished school) out for two weeks in June every year throughout primary to spend time with family in France (DH is half French). At that time there was no chance of us affording to go at any other time. He has wonderful memories of sailing with his great-grandfather, long French lunches with his grandfather, grand uncles and aunts, DH's counsins etc. My other two kids have no such memories - we lost a number of family members rather tragically in a short time some years back and our wonderful French holidays feel like a lifetime ago.

I don't care what anyone says about damaging his education, that is complete nonsense and is so indicative of what a narrow view most people have of the true meaning of being educated. By the time they hit 18 you realize how irrelevant a couple of weeks of primary school are. We gave our child something precious and I would do the same tomorrow if I had the chance.

We are in Sydney, Australia. I am taking the children out for a week at the end of this term and a week at the beginning of next. Airfares to Hong Kong are about 1/3 cheaper. So just over a month in total including the holidays.I find the argument that if you can't afford to pay holiday fares it's like trying to buy a Rolls Royce on a Ford budget quite ridiculous. People buy second hand cars and seek the best deal possible all the time. . We will be traveling around China and think it will be a great experience for them. Best to do as much as we can now before we have to pay full adult fares for them.

Also wanted to add that we simply applied for a leave of absence from the school and it was granted. This means it will not be counted as an unexplained absence.

My grandchildren, 6 and 8, were taken out of school in January for a skiing holiday. They were in full time ski school for six days, 9.15 -4.45, including the ski school lunch period when they ate and played with French children. It was certainly much cheaper than the half term week would have been, but more importantly, they were in a very small class, 6-8 children, rather than the 18-20 which is common at peak times. Naturally they were thus able to make huge progress. My DH is himself a headteacher, and one of the party is an OFSTED inspector and they confirmed that this could count officially as 'Education Off-Site' and would not affect the school's statistics.

The children's own head was perfectly happy, and said it would be a wonderful experience for them, and their class teachers were similarly supportive.

On the other thread about about attendance, someone said that even school trips count against it, which seems totally absurd.

At his own secondary school, DH has many children whose family life, for all sorts of reasons, is not perfect. He believes that any sign of a such a family doing something together is to be encouraged, and he would not withold permission for a holiday.

i dont take ds2 out now as in Gcse years.But do and will carry on taking DD and ds3 out for holidays and ds3 ill alway take out as he cant cope when places are extra busy and is harder for allowances to be amde for his sn

Let alone trying to book anywhere thats wheelchair accessibile ,.Eg Centre parcs which is probably one of better for indepdnet access ahs around 15 villas that are suitable out of the 1000

I once took DC out half way through a Friday afternoon before a bank hol weekend because the ferry company changed our booking to 2 hours earlier at the last minute.
Otherwise I have never taken them out for a holiday.
I might if we had extreme or special circumstances, but not just to get a cheaper holiday. We go camping. We'll save the sunlounger-abroad weeks for when the DC are off our hands

I know a lot of people who do this. I don't, because I'm pathetically rule-abiding, but also because I think it sends the wrong message to children.

I always feel slightly annoyed when people try to justify it by saying "Oh, they learn a lot more on their skiing holiday in Austria than they do in a week at school." I wish they'd just admit that they were doing it to save money/cope with fewer crowds.

We live in a rural area, and a lot of the children at the local primary are children of either farmers or farm workers, also we have an airbase near by, and the children of the servicemen attend the school. The school knows this, and in these circumstances know that the parents cannot go on holiday in the middle of harvest, or just take time off when on active duty, and so make allowences for these children to go on holiday out of the normal summer break. This said, though, they do ask it to be limited to once a year if possible, and also are more concerned from yr 5 onwards. The rest of us have to stick to the rules though.

I've never done it just to save money or go on a beach holiday, but one or both of my DCs have missed a few days' school every year since we moved back to the UK because we return to the country where they were born once a year, during the Easter holidays. I think it's important for them to keep in touch with the language/culture of where they were born, and it's our only chance to see a lot of very good friends.

It's a long trip, and to make the most of it we sometimes stay for slightly longer than the school Easter holiday - leaving a day or two early or coming back a day or two late. It doesn't help now that the DCs are at different schools with different holidays, so this year I am making sure that it is DD (yr4) who misses school rather than DS (yr9) as he is more likely to miss something important.

OP - I also find the threads on here about school attendance do not represent what happens in my dd's school. We are "allowed" up to 10 days per year authorised absence and almost everyone I know takes most, if not all of it (myself included).

I don't think so. I have taken my DCs out of school to go overseas but that is only to visit our home country, and I consider it a necessity of sorts rather than a holiday.

They even do some short holiday courses while we're there. Not for the sake of education but to learn to befriend and study with children from there, learn the language etc. while doing something they enjoy (DD1 chose crotchet last time!).

Or is it crochet? Whatever.

Tillyscoutsmum we are 'allowed' up to 10 days too, took DD out of Y1 last September for a week in Ibiza with no repercussions. We all had a fab time and it hasn't damaged DD at all, either in her academic achievement or her respect for school.

I wouldnt do it and hvent done it. I like the routine of school vs holidays and my children are fully in it too, so to speak.

If i couldnt afford a holiday i wouldnt have one. Having a pooh in peace with a magazine seems like a spa break to me sometimes. Or a day at the sea/similar reallllllly recharges me.

I work in a class room and see how annoying it is to have children in/out missing lessons, topics etc.