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AIBU?

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Original poster

unauthorised holiday ...so cross

215 replies

lostlilly · 03/04/2012 21:30

5 days I requested, I finished my degree last year and we havent had a holiday for 5 years!!! my dd is SO excited about going on a plane she burst into tears when I got the letter saying unauthorised. It states her attendance is 100% but it is unauthorised. I am really cross, we have to pay a fixed penalty, as if anyone can afford that at the moment!

OP posts:
pumpkinsweetie · 03/04/2012 22:48

A £100 fine is still way much cheaper than goin in half term -would rather pay it than line the pockets of greedy holiday companys & caravan sitesGrin
Have a terrific time op Smile

marriedinwhite · 03/04/2012 22:48

Sorry to hear that HeartsTrumpDiamonds. We only had to ask once (long story but our summer holiday was cancelled due to a serious accident and one of our parents dropped dead unexpectedly). We desperately needed a break and the dc had different 1/2 term weeks that year - only had to take one out for a week but the HT was very sympathetic and accommodating.

Now they are both independent though we would be even more reluctant to take a holiday in term time. We are paying £473pw or thereabouts per child and we want our money's worth!!

Goawaybob · 03/04/2012 22:49

Purpleprickles thankyou, the voice of reason on this thread

fatfingers · 03/04/2012 22:50

but people can and do go to prison for non payment of fines so that is something I would care about

pumpkinsweetie · 03/04/2012 22:51

I agree with Goawaybob completely-shes on the same wavelength as me. Why should we all have to grovel because goverment tells us what to do in every aspect of our childrens lifes.

Goawaybob · 03/04/2012 22:53

So pay the fine fatfingers, and actually, so long as you pay something, even if that is only £1 a week, you cannot and will not go to prison. Is a £50 fine anyway, do the maths.

WorraLiberty · 03/04/2012 22:53

Of course they're getting prosecuted for non payment

Under existing legislation, parents can be handed £50 fines ? rising to £100 if they are not paid within 28 days ? for allowing children to skip school without permission.

According to figures, 32,641 penalty notices were handed out by schools and local authorities in 2010/11, up from 25,657 the previous year. It represents a rise of 27 per cent.

Of those, 1,515 subjected to the higher £100 fine for late payment and 7,902 went unpaid.

Some 5,629 parents were prosecuted for non-payment

Goawaybob · 03/04/2012 22:55

Thats disgusting isn't it "WorraLiberty" don't you agree? The poorer families being penalised?

This ruling is supposed to be to curtail serial absenteeism and truancy. I fail to see how it helps.

LaurieFairyCake · 03/04/2012 22:57

Pay the fine, you can easily afford it with the saving.

This only applies up to yr 4, after that you shouldn't disrupt their education unless it's the last week of the summer term in most schools

lockets · 03/04/2012 22:58

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Heswall · 03/04/2012 22:59

When a court says you have to pay, you pay, that can take years.
If the rules are ridiculous then people rebel against them.

Facebookhurtsmybrain · 03/04/2012 23:00

WorraLiberty LOL the teacher didn't say that people would be arrested at the school gates, that was my own little take on it... I don't think that would happen.

Goawaybob I was just Hmm at why you would think that people that didn't take their children out of school could afford expensive holidays. My week camping is costing around £300. Probably less than it would cost to go to Spain in term time. That was the point I was making. I would love to go to take my dd to Spain but I can't afford it and therefore don't do it in term time.

I tend to think that people that can throw £100 around on a fine are the ones with money to burn. If only.

pumpkinsweetie · 03/04/2012 23:01

The fine is really there just to pay the goverment it serves no purpose other than that as people would rather pay £50 than pay thousands to take their family away. Conservitives have always picked on the poor & working class and its a sad fact that they can control us by it.

Goawaybob · 03/04/2012 23:02

I would say that i might feel differently about this when DD is in secondary school, but at this stage of her schooling i think that family time is far more important. ideally id take the holiday in the school holidays but i cant afford it, why should we be penalised for that? I just dont understand.

lockets · 03/04/2012 23:02

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Goawaybob · 03/04/2012 23:05

I couldn't imagine being able to afford £300 for a weeks holiday, in the near or not so near future. I didn't say that they can afford expensive holidays, just that they can afford to pay the premiums charged for holidays during the holidays - £300 is way beyond our budget and we are not particularly poor.

lockets · 03/04/2012 23:06

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Goawaybob · 03/04/2012 23:06

lockets, so what if 30 children take a week off every year - i really don't see the problem, its a week. If there was work to catch up on, i would ensure my child did it, but shes six, there wont be.

Goawaybob · 03/04/2012 23:08

Yes, i am aware of that too lockets, we are going on holiday that we are paying for with clubcard vouchers -£500 (triple points - thankyou tesco). Its that or nothing. I am hoping to be working soon (please god) i will then fall in with the rest of the families who are fortunate enough to afford school holiday holidays.

Heswall · 03/04/2012 23:08

The fecking sky would fall in no doubt.
I'd love to say to state school heads what about all the pissing about you do teaching children fairy stories RE, healthy eating, how to brush your teeth, how to use a knife and fork, add all that up I bet it's more than a weeks worth of wasted time.

Goawaybob · 03/04/2012 23:10

Also, you will find that if you stay in caravan parks that there are plenty of holidays for less than £300, also people take advantage of "sun" holidays - most of which can only be taken during school time.

lockets · 03/04/2012 23:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BupcakesandCunting · 03/04/2012 23:11

Tell the school to suck on your baws.

And tell them they can lick their lips afterwards.

Goawaybob · 03/04/2012 23:15

Lockets, maybe schools could get together with parents so that they all have their children out of school on the same week Grin on a rota per class. that would fuck the holiday companies.

I am not being flippant about this in the least because my DD is struggling at school as it is, she gets extra help, but weighing up, as a parent, i feel that this is important to give her that week. I feel she will benefit from it emmensly, I may feel differently as she gets older to be fair.

VelmaDaphne · 03/04/2012 23:17

Sorry to deviate from the subject, but Heswall do you think it's right of your neighbour to simply not pay a speeding fine? Speeding, like many things people are fined for, is illegal, so surely the price should be paid when the law is broken?

OP I can see both sides. obviously you're in a difficult situation with regards to family holidays, so I can see why you'd want holiday in term time. But equally I know that schools are under lots of pressure from Ofsted, so they can't really be blamed either for trying to meet targets.

Ultimately it all comes down to the evils of government targets!