To take kids out of school in term time?

[AtSea1979]

I know this has probably been done to death but couldn't find it.
2 DC, yr 1 & 5.
Want to take them out for a week in November, offer came up for holiday, not exceptional circumstance. Not available in half term.

[hollie84]

In my opinion YANBU. You have to work out if the possibility of a fine is worth it!

[ClockWatchingLady]

Andrewofgg - I agree that, as in all circumstances, consideration of others is necessary. But you can do this and still go away. You just make sure it won't make the teacher's life more difficult (by asking if they mind, and if necessary doing the work of that week with your kids yourself so they won't need extra "catch up" attention).

[ClockWatchingLady]

I think YANBU, personally.

My only concern would be about the lying - when we did it we just came clean and took off for 10 days. DS's teacher was totally fine with it - asked if she could come too

We had an unofficial MN vote on this a few months back (link below) and if I remember rightly slightly over half of people thought termtime holidays should be allowed.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/a1991413-OK-one-vote-each

[KnittedJimmyChoos]

LaBelleDameSansPatience Sun 17-Aug-14 17:53:47

Interesting post Belle and from a teacher too.

[Goldmandra]

kids are taught to lie all the time - "Don't tell Granny she's fat" was the first one in our house.... grin DD's response was "why not? She is!!"

That isn't lying. That is not saying things that might be hurtful to someone.

[JustAShopGirl]

but I would never claim illness to circumvent a fine - that would make it fraud...

[JustAShopGirl]

kids are taught to lie all the time - "Don't tell Granny she's fat" was the first one in our house.... DD's response was "why not? She is!!"

[EarthWindFire]

YANBU. Go ahead, have a great time. Claim illness rather than tell the truth.

Teaching children to lie.. Brilliant!!

[Maisyblue]

It depends on the school. Some schools aren't too strict about it, depending on whether the child is a regular attender, they don't always make a big deal about it. Personally I don't agree with it at all, if holiday company's weren't so dammed greedy putting up their prices in holiday time there wouldn't be a problem. Why should some kids never get the chance to have a holiday.

[gordyslovesheep]

I've done it. Up until the rule changes we had a regular 4/5 days in May for a package holiday ...to a complex where they ate chips ... Shocker

Dd1 just left year 6 with level 6s dd2 is in year 5 and performing ahead of dd1 at that age, dd3 is in nursery working at early year 2 levels

I am also the daughter of a teacher and work in education

I think a week a year has no impact at all provided you avoid exams and have good attendance

[MassaAttack]

I have observed, as a parent, a similar pattern among my son's friends as aneekname has as a teacher.

It's not so much that missing a week here and there is terribly detrimental, rather it's that it is part of a general attitude towards school which isn't generally conducive to getting the most out of it.

[Andrewofgg]

*why

[Andrewofgg]

kytti and others making excuses about wjlhy they do or would do this:

Have you read the posts which point out that getting your DCs up to speed impacts on other pupils?

Going to school is your children's job and making them go is part of yours.

[JustAShopGirl]

We have -when DDs were in primary school, we were not fined - but the feeling about the rules was a bit more lax a couple of years ago.

We took them out for a week added to the October break, (so 2 weeks holiday) to the US for the Haloween/pre-Christmassy stuff with family from Scotland (who got 2 weeks holiday). It was an absolute blast.

School is important, we support their learning at home - and caught them up on the work they missed. The kids fully understood what we were doing was not ideal, that they would miss school, that school is still non-negotiable in terms of attendance.

They understood that it was we parents that were taking the decision - it was not their fault or problem that they were missing school, that sometimes real life gets in the way, that sometimes things are more important to some people than others, that we chose to break the rules on this one occasion for financial, weather and family reasons, that there may be penalties, and they would need to work hard to catch up with the work that they missed.

And everything was fine...

[ChickenMe]

I would do it if I was unable to afford an alternative. Going on holiday is rewarding and is important family time. I fondly remember all the family holidays I went on. Two of them were in term time (we didn't have much money and it was the first time we went abroad, 1985.) I have common sense and wouldn't take kids out of school at an inappropriate times.
The government has become a bit of a nanny state. When it suits them at least. They only pick on people who actually give a sh*t. The ruling isn't going to suddenly make someone who doesn't care about their child's education care about it. The people who make these rules live in a bubble.
Primary school takes itself too seriously these days IMO. Have you seen the amount of homework they get?! In my day it was spellings and times tables and I still managed to go to uni (in the 90s when not everyone "had" to go) and get a good job.
I think that it would be wise to realise that preventing normal people from making decisions about their children is not going to make a blind bit of difference to the underclass minority who couldn't care less either way. It's like the alleged lunch box inspections. Do they really happen or is it a DM invention?

[fuzzpig]

I'm torn on this one.

I am tempted to do it in the future because we have a very low budget and the savings could make a big difference - although the £240 fine may well end up eating that up anyway.

I would never do it for a seaside type holiday but would consider it for the trips we really want to do - most holidays we are dreaming about are based around specific places we want to see (eg just got back from a long-dreamed-of trip to bletchley park, and are considering Amsterdam for Van Gogh obsessed DD, and the titanic stuff in Belfast - both things she has learned in school) and would be really enriching experiences.

But when it came down to it I wouldn't have the guts, I think. If money were no object, and the fine would only be a small percentage of any saving for an expensive holiday, then maybe...

[Noodledoodledoo]

On the saying your ill option - take care as children are rubbish at playing this game.

Towards the end of term one of my students was noted on the register as having chicken pox and wouldn't be back until September - two weeks. I accepted what was on the register no questions.

During those two weeks we had a catch up session of injection - and some of his friends were moaning about having to have an injection and one's comment was well X had to have extras to go to Tunisia - which they all discussed never going anywhere where they needed jabs. One then said - well I hope he is enjoying the sun at the moment to make it worthwhile and discussed him missing school. Quite openly - including asking me about jabs for holidays. So I wasn't earwigging.

The Head of Year followed it up and its pretty easy to do to get an idea of if they are lying or not.

As other teachers have said - its up to you - you know the current rules, just don't ask the teacher to spend extra time catching up on work with your children.

[ApplebyMennym]

I wouldn't do it myself, but can't bring myself to get worked up about others who do.

[SuburbanRhonda]

kytti, I've read some melodramatic statements on countless threads on this subject, but yours are in a class of their own.

Takes me back to my uni days and "Class War".

[SuburbanRhonda]

The likely reason your son's teacher was allowed a month off is that her role can be covered by a supply teacher, in the same way as if she were ill.

Your child cannot nominate someone else to do their learning for them while they are out of school in term-time.

[MrsItsNoworNotatAll]

If you're prepared to pay the fine then go. I've taken the dd's out in term time but can't do it now as I work in a school myself. It didn't harm their education one bit. It was the last week of the school term and all they missed was watching dvds all week.

And what Kytti said.

[KrisBH]

Yes! What kytti said.

[Kytti]

I love the way all these people saying it's tantamount to neglect have really bought into the state's propaganda. The state does not own your children, though you'd think they did. Free education is a wonderful thing and should be cherished, but if you want to take your child out of school for one week, it will not do them any harm.

I could rant for hours about how the UK is happily accepting state-run everything. School is mandatory else you'll be fined, sending children as young as two to full-time nurseries is 'normal', school dinners are 'better' than food in the home. Why don't you lot just hand over your babies at birth and go back to your slave masters - sorry - I mean chosen jobs?

It's a holiday FFS.

[curiousgeorgie]

Do it. My DD is in a nursery attached to a school and I'm taking her out for 2 weeks at the end of September.

I'll probably do the same in 2/3 years time as well, we like Florida and going during school holidays sounds like hell to me. Double the price, triple the people, ten times the queues. No thanks...