To be confused by this

[nottonightjoesphine]

Sorry for posting here, I'm confused by the court order my ex and I have regarding our child. We need to share holidays but he wants to include inset days as holidays, (in our child's school they are always tagged onto the end of holidays) which in terms of meaningful holiday time, causes losses on both sides, but usually me. Does anyone know the legal position? Are they included?

No, they wouldn't be included. The court would find it confusing and problematic to have to share these out as well as holidays. Most schools don't have very many per year anyway. It's not worth arguing over.

Is your ex trying to maximise the days in order to cut down on the amount of child support being paid?

Yes, inset days are taken from the holidays - therefore they count as holidays.

Inset days are teacher training days, which were taken from teachers' holidays.

Pupil school year 190 days
Teacher school year (formerly 190 days) 195 days

So I'm afraid I'd say he's right, they are school holidays from the pupils' POV.

It kinda is worth discussing though, you see my child has 18nights holiday at xmas. Ex is having the first half, which leaves me with the remaining 9 nights, two of which are a Sunday night and Monday inset, therefore effectively 'school nights' and impossible for us to go on holiday.

He doesn't pay much support anyway so I don't think it's that, no

Mummy mixed responses then....wonder what the legal position is?

Any one else ? Thanks!

Bumping for traffic

Why is the Sunday night a school night if he's off on holiday on the Monday?
Surely only the actual night before a school day is a school night?

I'm never off on a Monday so when inset falls on a Monday (it usually does), then two of those holiday nights are effectively school nights in our house, in the sense that my child will have to go to childcare somewhere for the inset. This Xmas he is having the first 9 days and can have a full sat-sat holiday somewhere. I can't, because there while there are 9 days remaining, the last 2 of those are work/school days.

Could you maybe swap around next year or does it not work like that? Apologies if that's a stupid question!

No it doesn't work like that- thanks for your input though (and to everyone)
I guess I just need to know this from a legal position as at the moment most of my child's inset days 'eat' into meaningful holiday time. It might only be a day, but there are 5 in the year, which can prevents us from having a holiday. (Lots of holidays run sat-sat, so by including the inset as a holiday, it can mean I don't get her back until a Sunday evening which makes a full weeks holiday impossible.

But for him those days aren't work days presumably. Are you a teacher then? Then that is unfair. I agree. Why can't he swap unless he is a teacher too?

Not a teacher but work term time, yes.
He won't swap

We already have a standard court order. In several ways it is quite restrictive, for example we take it in turns to share a half term each, but unless he agrees, Im unable to have a standard sat-sat holiday in the half terms because the order states that the contact time runs from 10am one Saturday to 10am the other Saturday- try building a holiday aroun that!
The issue I have with inset days is that if they are counted as part of the holidays, it also cuts short my actual holiday time and restricts our movement.
Im happy for our holidays to be share equitably but would just really like to know if I can ask that they are not counted as holidays.

Does anyone else know the answer to this? Any legal persons around?:)

In legal terms, as I've said on your other thread - any time that is not school term time is holiday time. You will need to try to renegotiate this if it doesn't work for you.

Thanks verata. Yes on the other thread I've made a query about the actual court order itself wing restrictive to our movement in general so will likely end up in court again as he is unwilling to discuss anything.
I know several people with CO's and the inset days are not included in the holidays, so wonder why it would be for me from a legal pov?