OMG. Are these 'penalty notices' for taking children out of school in term time legally enforceable?

[Utterlyastoundedmum]

Not interested in having a debate about whether it is 'right' to take a child out of schol, in term time for holidays etc. just wanting to know whether they can be enforced from a legal perspective.

I have just read the latest school newsletter and am to be honest, very annoyed indeed to find that as of September the school are changing its policy on authorising absences. Until now it's always been on a case by case basis but now they are saying no absence will be authorised whatsoever no matter what, except for one day for weddings ( with proof!)

The penalty is £60 or £120.

Not very fair on any parents such as myself who booked a holiday for a week in October as we really CANNOT get away in half term this year.

I will not be paying unless this is legally enforcible!!

Just pondering - what is educational? Going on a plane? Experiencing a different country and their culture? Visiting important world sites? Spending quality time out and about with the whole family? Even learning how to ski?

I would argue the point of education is to prepare our kids for useful working lives. In that context pretty much every holiday sounds educational to me...

so dont post on facebook that you are in florida when you are supposed to be at death's door.

the educational argument doesn't work in court either. The law is you must send your kid to school. End of.

But holidays are educational - it may not be maths and English but airports, coach travel, being in hotels, being around other cultures etc are all educational in a way.

Even after years working as a rep I find I learn new things when going away now I'm an adult. This has happened with trips in the UK too. Even if it's tolerance of twats other people around you.

I think it's just power hungry jobs worths who don't care about kids spending quality time WITH THEIR OWN FAMILY. I'm dreading sending dd to school....

No. The law says they must be educated - and if you choose to use state education then they must be there.

Sadly I do choose to use state education. The downside of which is having to put up with utter bollocks policies like this one.

Taking kids out of school during termtime is just saying to them "school rules dont count, they are there to be bent or broken when it suits us", then its just a downward spiral of sickies, duvet days, etc because kids learn from their closest role models. If you only ever give them the message that school comes first, period, that will be the value they uphold through life, because it is part of their belief system. And if their friends at school take time off? Two wrongs dont make a right, Sonny-Jim!

Sounds draconian, but it is true.

well obviously anotherworld.

But quality time doesn't have to be a holiday does it? I spend quality time with my daughter every day.

I do too but DH doesn't. We need holidays so he books the time off and switches off.

I didn't go on holiday as a child. It's only since having children and a DH with a job which takes up 90% of the time do I realise just how important a break away together is.

"Holidays are generally way more educational than being droned at by a probably bored teacher stuck in a classroom. Really, can anyone not see that ????"

Do you really think that's what happens in schools?! How offensive to teachers! (Not a teacher btw!)

If you only ever give them the message that school comes first, period, that will be the value they uphold through life, because it is part of their belief system

I agree. Thankfully I have no intention of installing that belief in my dc. Good grief.

but ladyBryan that's just your good luck.

some parents work away so don't have this luxury.

LadyMilford, the law does not say you have to send your kids to school at all, just a require to educate them and very little interference if you don't.

what about private schools where cabinet ministers kids attend? long long holidays so they can go way in the cheap rates, not that they need to!!!

family bonding, relaxing and units are far more important than attending school every day.

agree there must be a limit to absence but there should be some lassitude.

very interesting to see how this will apply to traveller children, and children who are taken to the Indian subcontinent for weeks at a time visiting family.

or is it just 'ordinary' parents who will be targeted and bullied.

No fair point thebody - but even when parents have time off, quality time doesn't immediately have to be boarding the nearest jet plane. Some of my fondest memories of childhood are holidays in the UK. In fact some of the most special times we've spent with our daughter have been holidays in the UK.

My daughter is at private school. She finished a week ago, still within the premium pricing band of summer holidays.

So only those who can afford to pay the fee will be going away then

For us its not about holidays being educational its about spending time as a family. Dp works long hours, shift work only gets one wkend off a month. The hours of his shifts mean he goes days without seeing the children ie not home till 11pm and them out before they get up the next day. Plus night shifts etc. His leave is restricted by his employer so this year he cant get time off in the school holidays. He is never allowed to book anytime off in december either and routinely works xmas, only gets bank holidays if it happens to fall on his rotad day off etc. So time together is limited. We have booked a holiday, in the uk at the end of sept, the children will have five days off.

So work within the law and de register your children the Friday before you go away and re register them when you come back.
Some leas have an unofficial 21 day cooling off period when you de register, if your school is not over subscribe or your head has no idea what to do with a de registration letter you'll be fine for two weeks.
And when thousands of family's all across England are doing this every week then the goverment may rethink the policy.
Yes the parent chooses to send there child to a state school, but the goverment is voted in by the people the serve the people.

oh for gods sake i KNOW about home education.
i meant if they are registered at school OBVIOUSLY

My mom took me out for a skiing holiday every year when I was growing up. There was no downward spiral to duvet days or whatever. And I hated school, was bullied & had panic attacks and all. Don't be daft.

Oh FFS. The parents who take their children away for "educational" holidays are generally the first ones to whinge when their little darlings don't get the grades they think they should get in their exams. Yes, missing school affects results. Exam results affects choices later in life. Get over it.

This kind of crap makes me glad my children go to an independent school.

All that will happen is that parents will claim their child/children are ill.

Having said that, I only took mine out of school when they were very young.

I had time off every year as my dad was RAF i still got good gcse and a level results and then a good 2:1 degree.

My ds1 is predicted a* and a's in his gcses and ds2 just got level 5's and level 6's in his sats, despite having five days off for a holiday last year. Ds3 is doing very well and my reception age child got expected/exceeded in all his early learning goals. Having time off does not always affect results, persistant tine off yes but a child who otherwise attends school and has supportive parents who value education and learning but also has five days off for a holiday...doesnt necessarily have an impact.

Maybe more people should homeschool, then they can take holidays whenever they want.

I am genuinely shocked at the number of people that think this fine is perfectly acceptable. I am also appalled at the people who suggest that a holiday is not educational.

Of course a holiday is educational. Yes. Even a package deal to Magaluf is educational. I know when I was a child, I learned far more on my trips abroad than I ever did in school.

The experiences and education I gained from various travels are what have made me the person I am today.

Also, why do people keep bringing up the fact that there are plenty of holidays to go on here in the UK? What relevance is that? Even holidays in the UK cost more out of term time!!

Teachers complaining about the fact that they don't get holidays out of term time? You chose your career with the knowledge that you would have limited holidays. Parents, generally, don't have that kind of choice.

I, for one, will be taking my children on holiday when I see fit. DD, is autistic and doesn't handle crowds well. If I want to go on holiday (UK or abroad) at a quieter time of year to make it less stressful for her, then I will. I think that fining me for that would be discriminatory and I would fight it to the end. It is not always about the cost of the holiday. It is also about timing. My children both seem to get ill around the end of term anyway (Summer Term and Christmas). I don't see why I should miss out on a decent holiday with my family when I could take them and avoid them getting ill because they are not so burned out.

I think this government need to recognise that it is a school's job to educate. It is not a school's job to dictate. That is including things like, packed lunches, reading private letters from children to parents and the holiday situation.