To ask people to please stop conflating two education related issues which are in no way linked?

[DrSeuss]

If you choose to take your child on holiday during term time, you may be fined. The fine is issued by the local authority acting under instructions from the Department for Education. The local authority has no say in this, it must follow directives. The school has no part at all in this. If you wish to complain, you should contact the local authority, the DFE or your M.P. There is no point in contacting the school, they have no part in the matter.

Teachers were on strike in some areas last week and will be on strike in some areas next week. They have a right under law to do this as do most employees in this country, the most noteworthy exception being the police. Teachers voted to do this and made a personal choice to strike or not to strike. It is therefore entirely reasonable for others to state that they disagree with this decision.

Many people are currently circulating pictures, photos and messages stating that, if they can be fined for removing children from school, schools should be fined for closing on strike days. These Messages etc show that posters do not understand the two issues. They are concurrent but in no way linked.

Thank you.

[FlouncyMcFlouncer]

Jinsei, by selectively quoting my post, you completely missed that I am in fact not remotely angry about the strikes.

[englishteacher78]

Also people forget many teachers ARE parents and their children aren't necessarily at their school.

[Jinsei]

Jinsei, by selectively quoting my post, you completely missed that I am in fact not remotely angry about the strikes.

Flouncy, no, I didn't miss this point, but I'm sorry if my post implied that you personally were angry about the strikes. I get that you're not angry, but many people are, and they are citing the supposed hypocrisy that you have mentioned as a reason for this.

My point was that there is no hypocrisy. Teachers are not trying to make the case that the strike will do no harm, rather that government policy will do more harm.

[Sparklymommy]

Fair enough thebigjessie but can you see why parents get frustrated? I came SO close to removing my eldest child from school and home educating her because of the issue of time off for exams and performance. My children's education is very important to me but the idea that a few afternoons off, when she is already in the top 5% of the class for attainment, is going to seriously harm her education is more than a little annoying. Especially when the people supposedly attempting to stop her doing these things won't see that not all education of noteworthy value happens behind a desk.

I know it's kind of annecdotal but from my experience most of the high achieving children at the dance school feel that their dance helps them at school. It helps with discipline, it helps to teach them to pick things up quickly.

[Growlithe]

Sparkly I can't see why your specific issue with dance has anything to do with the teachers' strike.

[cory]

Speaking as somebody whose child's headteacher was constantly threatening reprisals when I took dd to hospital to sort out the health condition that was interfering with her education, I would perhaps have had less sympathy with the same head withdrawing his labour to sort out his pay and conditions.

The message we got from the school was very clearly "we don't care if something else would do more harm to your dd and her education: we care about our figures because they make us look good".

Or as the head so charmingly put it: "of course we accept that your dd is ill but you can't expect us to be happy about it."

Otoh I know that if we go on strike, as we may do shortly, our students will support us. But that's because we support them and listen sympathetically to their problems.

[cory]

I think what I'm trying to say is, many people take their cue on these matters from their own school.

If the school gives the message "attendance is really important but very occasionally other things may be more important still and we understand that", then most parents would probably be happy to go with that.

But if the message from the school is "attendance is the only thing that matters", then that is what the parents will hear.

Dc went to the school that hassled the mother of the child with cystic fibrosis over her hospital stays, because apparently being in school was more important than being able to breathe. For those teachers to claim that their pay and conditions were more important still- well, you could see why it wouldn't have gone down well.

By the time dc were at secondary, we were receiving different messages and that changed our attitude too.

[CubanoHabana]

For those saying 1 day off for a child's holiday equates to 1 strike day and it's hypocritical, a lot of parents don't just take out for 1 day though it tends to be at least a week... Also, for those saying that it tends to be at a 'downtime' that pupils come out , how many actually check that it is indeed a downtime? Eg one of my year 11s has just. Come back from an unauthorised 3 week holidaying Florida - yes it was still near the beginning of term but she has a gcse exam the week after half term... She is not attending revision classes and parental contact has resulted in nothing...also a year 7 didn't start until two weeks after everyone else as he was on holiday, the first 2 weeks are so important for a successful transition from primary to secondary but he missed this (the only thing in his favour is that he attended the free summer school for 2 weeks in the hols, so at least knew his way around and some of the students).

A lot of teachers do not agree with going on strike but feel that they have an obligation to, through there union, my department have asked for dispensation to teach our exam classes on strike day, so that they do not lose out. The union has granted us it, so we will be going in to take them, whether any children turn up will be a different matter...

[Snatchoo]

I've seen that letter on Facebook.

No they aren't linked, doesn't mean it isn't difficult to separate the two when a holiday is being touted as really affecting learning.

[Viviennemary]

I think people are allowed to make any point they wish without being dictated to. I think it's cheeky to fine people for keeping their children out of school and then they miss school because of strikes.

[Coupon]

StarBall the things you've mentioned work both ways. There are teachers working for no extra pay running various after-school clubs and activities. They spend a good deal of non-lesson time preparing and marking work, writing reports, attending meetings etc. So in a way other families are controlling their family life. They try to organise exciting extra activities such as drama or outings but then the parents just moan about the costume or voluntary contribution they've requested. They try to provide decent transport but they've only been given a budget that is too small, and again parents blame them. They advise on food and sleep which will enable children to be in full health to make the most of their education, and all they get is moan, moan from parents in return. And if it wasn't compulsory for children over 5 to be in education, surely there would be many who wouldn't attend school anywhere near enough, so this requirement is there for good reason. Teaching can be a thankless task when faced with all that negativity from unsupportive parents.

[motherinferior]

Er...a holiday will mean a child is out of synch with all the other kids in the class. And affect learning in that way. For a couple of weeks. One mutual day out of school just means everyone's missed a day. The same day.

[KittyShcherbatskaya]

It's totally a side issue but I get really annoyed when people try to pretend that their holiday will be educational and therefore missing school won't be an issue. Such as DSIL saying well we're going to Egypt and the DCs will learn loads more than if they were at school yeah right cos spending a week swimming in the hotel pool, playing computer games and watching you get trolleyed every evening is so educational you twerp

[Jinsei]

It's totally a side issue but I get really annoyed when people try to pretend that their holiday will be educational and therefore missing school won't be an issue.

But kitty, some "holidays" are educational. Not everyone spends their holidays by the hotel pool!

My dd has learnt a huge amount from overseas travel, far more in a short space of time than she could possibly have learnt in school. We don't take her away lightly during term-time, and never just because it's cheaper to do it then than in the holidays, but there have been times when we have concluded that she will benefit more from the trip than from spending the equivalent time in school. Luckily for us, the school is supportive and recognises the potential educational value of learning that takes place outside of the classroom.

[pixiepotter]

I am sure it will be more educational than sitting at home while the teachers strike