School Abscense Fine - huge amount

[PMDD]

If I am correct, if you take your child/ren out of school without prior agreement, there is an automatic fine of £60/day/child/parent?

So for us, a family with 3 children, a 2 week holiday in (say) June, would cost us £3600 - or double that if we don't pay within a certain amount of time!

Is it me to think that is totally unreasonable?!

That is a huge amount. The people who take their children out normally can't afford the hike in holiday prices, so how on earth would they afford the fine?

When I was little and went to primary school in the 1970's, I went in my normal clothes, ate what my mum gave me and had no homework til I was 11. We went away very rarely but on the odd occasion took a day off school.

Our overall level of attainment in this country is not higher now and we have sunk down the league tables. For all the compulsory school uniforms, harassing ordinary parents who have never done anything like parked on double-yellow in their lives, who put their bins out on the right day (wrong recucling- we don't collect those!), telling you what to put in your lunchbox, there are lots of minor petty ways in which our lives are now regulated which in themselves are all extremely small but make the UK a less nice and relaxing place to live.

This is one example, making life just a tiny bit harder for lots of parents and children, but to no great effect. The children who are really struggling with reading and writing, who get no ok GCSE's aged 15/16 won't be cured for staying in school one extra week per year, will they?

in really simple terms. if for example, like me, your family consists of one child and one adult it is actually cheaper to buy flights to a cheap country where you have friends and can access free or very cheap accommodation, where the cost of living is low, the weather is great allowing lots of free fun and you don't need a car than it is to attempt to go on holiday in the uk as a non driver who can only carry so much and can't afford to pay for expensive meals and days out if it's pissing down with rain. the flight is the biggest cost and you spend way less than you would have in the uk.

No offence but bollocks to camping.. can't think of anything worse. Its not even cheap.

Excellent point, Dont. Holidays for us meant going to the Grandparents for a couple of weeks. No problem there.

Camping is not a cheap option everybody can afford.

Plus for parents, it's not exactly a break from household chores. Slightly different chores, done in freezing and wet conditions. No thanks. We went camping and walking in Derbyshire once, pre children. Had fun, but I felt like I needed another holiday to get over it.

they aren't the kids who are going on holiday in term time anyway thetallest, and often their parents aren't the parents who'd pay the fine anyway. much like the parents who give their kids red bull and a mars bar for lunch don't give a flying fuck about letters home anyway.

they're just red herrings used in order to regulate and regulate the rest of us until we don't know we even have the right to say boo to a goose let alone challenge the ruling classes.

tiggy - it's not a legal requirement to have your children sit sats! i will quite possibly withdraw my son from them.

Excellent point, Dont. Holidays for us meant going to the Grandparents for a couple of weeks. No problem there.

My children's grandparents do live in a different country! I have never requested time off for a separate holiday, only to visit their family and if we didn't have to, I'd not bother in all honesty

It was an example. Going to stay with Grandparents is not the only option, and is obviously not compulsory - unlike going to school.

Numpty that's why I know this will have no effect on lifting up those really poorly attaining students. Budgets for things like Reading Recovery and literacy programmes have been scrapped, things that actually worked and helped semi-literate children get back on track with their lives. Instead, the government has decided to clamp down on children doing just fine- a week's absence in term-time once a year of itself would never trigger an attendance officer's investigation as they are too busy trying to find all the kids who have been missing for weeks if not months and have missed say 1/4 of their schooling!

I love these threads. They start off with "What's wrong with camping?" then "What's wrong with a week at granny's, plucking her chin hairs?" then it'll be "I'm happy having a day on the nearest beach with a flask of weak lemon drink and my cagoule zipped up to keep me from the lashing rain."

Yawn.

Oh here we go. Competitive hardship...

not competitive hardship at all, I'm far from the poverty line, I just seem to have an understanding and empathy for those that are poor, but you carry on in your own little bubble, and take things out of context.

I just don't like the "appreciate having the bare minimum" tone of your post. There is nothing wrong with aspiring to something else and wanting a bit more, within reason.

It's a week's break, not asking for a diamond-encrusted palace.

I am thankful everyday that I have enough money to house, feed and clothe my children the rest is a luxury, which I am fortunate enough to have."

Oh bollocks to that. I live in the 'real world' and frankly on my third nightshift the though if that two weeks in Majorca gets me through.

And bollocks to camping too

I like camping but once you have children it isn't a cheap option.

That's not the intention at all. I just think we have to be realistic. I think education should be the priority, and holidays come second - and I have no shame in saying so. It's when people counter by basically saying that rich people have it better. The fact is that yes - rich people will always materially have it better! That's not in any sense to say aspirations are bad, as they're anything but - it's simply a statement of fact.

I think that aspiring to have time with your family is really sad. It should be a given.

But education is my priority.That is the whole point.I want my kids to experience more than a very tight curriculum and tests.I want them educated in a whole host of things they don't get at school.

Tiggy I didn't know that about the SATS, so you can't keep your children off for that. I wasn't going to, because I don't feel so strongly against them.

I wonder if all of these initiatives and compulsory enforcements is why there's so much sick leave and stress-related illness in teaching, as well as them leaving the profession in droves (will get worse after recession over). It can't be very nice starting out thinking you are going to make a real difference to children's lives and then ending up policing small petty matters which put you in conflict with parents and children. It is somewhat similar in my workplace and it does grind you down.

'4 weeks in the summer holidays camping around Cornwall or the Lake District is just as enriching as a fortnight in Magaluf...'

It may or may not be. One thing is for sure though, both the Lake District and Cornwall are a lot more affordable in June, and more effective use of time as there are no queues or waits to access tourist things.

YABU. Someone who took a 2 week unauthorised absence from their job would have a lot more to worry about than being fined- they would very likely be fired.

Perhaps schools should adopt a similar approach. Instead of imposing fines (which most people who can afford a holiday will just include as part of the holiday cost) perhaps they could give the school place to somebody who is on the waiting list. Okay that's probably very unreasonable (definitely unreasonable) as ultimately the child is the one that will suffer. But it's the child who suffers when he misses a chunk of learning due to his parents desire to have a cheap term time holiday. If it really is a case of the parent has no choice but to holiday in term time due to issues such as disability, work commitments, armed forces families etc then it is more understandable, but for most people it's just about saving some cash.
A moe reasonable solution: make the fines for an amount that would mean there is no cost saving by taking a holiday during term time, therefore only people who are taking the holiday at that time for reasons other than finances will continue to do so.

'I think education should be the priority, and holidays come second - and I have no shame in saying so.'

It depend who you define 'education' though. Some would define holidays as education.

I know I do.

But education is my priority.That is the whole point.I want my kids to experience more than a very tight curriculum and tests.I want them educated in a whole host of things they don't get at school.

Have you considered home-ed? If it's possible then it might be ideal for your family.

Camping isn't free (and to be honest isn't my first choice of a holiday either) but is generally cheaper than flying somewhere and staying in an hotel/apartment, whatever time of the year.

At any rate you just have to do what you can afford, which might be staying at home and going on day trips. But within school holidays.