To wonder why it's deemed acceptable to take children out of school for cheap holidays?

[shrunkenhead]

Am I the only one who thinks it's not on to make your child miss school for the sake of a cheap holiday???

shrunken I presume from your tone you can easily afford a family holiday out of term time.

Congratulations

A lot of us can't - and that's with, in our situation - both parents working

Lots of people think the way you do which is fair enough lots of people take thei4 childrden on holiday last fewdays of term

What Normal said is better.

As long as each parent does what yhey think is best then wheres they harm in the long run children will do as well as they can regardless of a weeks holiday in june

Because there has to be a line drawn in the sand, between what the state controls and family life.

IMO the present laws cross that line.

1. Not everyone can get time off work in the school holidays (e.g. those working in tourist industry).

1. Many people put a high value on the experiences gained and time spent with family, and feel happy that they can support their DC to catch up on school work.

1. Some people don't think education in a formal school setting is the be all and end all.

1. Most believe that missing a few days at the end of summer term for a child with 100% attendance is not a Big Deal.

1. What is cheap for some is not cheap for others. £1000 for a cottage in the UK for a fortnight in the summer, or £500 for an off-peak break is a big difference for some.

What does the reception class get for 100% attendance?

*fortnight - more like a week actually!

*must. Oops

What I do with my children is entirely my own business.

Whether you think it is acceptable is irrelevant.

HTH

Sparkly, your DH has 96 days off a year!?

Because life is for living. Eleven years is a looong time to go without a holiday.

Why are yoy that bothered what other parents do what does being out last few days of term do to a chikds education most parents are savvy enough not to go on holiday before exams or whatever parents are not stupid they just want a nice holiday I have done it because we wantec to go to america the dcottish supplements are higj so off we wrnt last few dsys of term and got hundreds off

shrunkenhead, my husband works 12 hour shifts, 4 nights, four days off then four days and so on. Then every two months gets 16 days off.
HTH

Our holiday would have been £2000 more expensive had we gone during the half term break. That's why I consider a few days out of school acceptable.

I find it extremely hard to believe that an entire reception class achieved 100% attendance apart from one child going on holiday. If that were so, sick children definitely attended school at some point in the year, which I find much more annoying than a child missing a couple of days for a holiday.

I don't blame anyone for taking their child out of school. We had a bank holiday last week, followed by an inset on Thursday and they only do half a day on Friday anyway here. Would someone have ruined their child's life chances by saying 'fuck it, I'm adding 2 days to that and going for a cheap week away?'. I think not.

When my two girls were little we took them out of school twice for a holiday. Once was a family wedding abroad and the second was because it was either they missed two weeks of school or we didn't get a holiday.
Weighing it up we decided that a holiday was going to be more beneficial for us as a family. They both grew up without lagging behind academically and passed all of their GCSE's.
I can understand it can be disruptive for schools to manage but sometimes it might be the only chance a family has for a holiday.

My girls still talk about family holidays we had when they were young so it is something which they can remember and cherish for a long time.

Or course when we did it there wasn't a threat of being fined hanging over us.

Normal, we don't have two pennies to rub together! We just value education. We enjoy cheap breaks in the UK, or save if we're going elsewhere.

I'm a bit conflicted on this.

I don't agree that holidays should take children away from school time. They are a luxury, not a right. Yet....a holiday is so special.

I think the compromise would be not year in, year out, but very, very rarely it should be ok.

I remember my vacations with families and time spent with them. At school I remember how I spent time with friends. I don't remember the homework I did, or the specific facts I had to memorize. There's nothing so important that a child can't take a few days off for it.

Although, once they're a teen, it can be harder to catch up, so it really does depend on your child.

I value education and I value holidays too.

I also resent being told I do not value my childs education IF I want to take them on holiday.

I am the parent and I know whats best for my DC.

Oh and folk sometimes say it sets a bad example ime it didnt dd has never been off work or uni cos she fancied tbrowing a sickie

I did take my children out on the last day last summer, which meant they missed 3hours of fun. Instead we went to florida for £800 cheaper than the next day. I don't normally do it but I have a term time job with Friday's off as we have a half day.

And I agree with Wilson, last week was a shambles with Victoria day on Monday then the Thursday off. We usually have Monday Tuesday but they changed it so every year apart from September's election, the inservice days will fall on a voting day!

I know some people think that holidays are not essential, but my husband works extremely hard and our annual holiday is a mus. If people don't agree with that, well I don't really care.

I am sure lots of our husbands work hard, doesn't give the right to keep children off school though

Schools are keen to maintain their 100% attendance, and it's to make parents think before taking their little ones out under the guise of sickness or holiday