Holiday fines?

[frozen1234]

Hi.

Im after some advice.

We have been on holiday and took our son in september. We paid the fine.

We have another holiday in march and wondered what the process is? Would we get another fine or do they take you to court for the second time you do it. Out of curiosity can you keep having hols each year and paying the fine? Or will they eventually take you to court?

Thanks for any answers on the above questions..

making some decisions of her own about what's best for her kids
But it's not just about her kids. It's about the teachers having to catch them up with missed classes, and consequent effect on the rest of the class. Excuses about end of term films etc don't wash - sessions like that are planned into the term and don't disrupt classes.

It sounded as though she was making decisions about what's best for her pocket and enquiring about the possibility of having to go to court to me.

Exactly that ^^

Hence the reason she didn't come across to me as someone who gives a shit about anything else.

Excuses about end of term films etc don't wash

Totally agree ... I'm only surprised that it's nearly 13 hours since the thread started, and still nobody's posted the usual tired old phrases

Maybe Sally you should have spent more time at school....catch them up?

I love these threads! Everyone is so indignant if anyone dares to go against the government. Unless they're not happy with their pay/pension.

OP hope you got some answers and ignored most of the other judgemental shit on here.

It's not about not wanting to go against the government. It is about wanting children to be given the right education during term time and that can't happen if parents just take children out of school for the sake of it which too many do (but thankfully less do now it seems so this new initiative is working)

Personally i think i agree with most of the posters that one week off isnt too much of a problem, but then you do get people how have time off for the flimsiest of reasons, "parent is long term ill" so why does this mean you need time off in the term for a holiday? makes no sense to me

And one thing that REALLY ANNOYS ME is when people say that the travel agencies should be regulated and forced to offer cheaper hols during school holidays, can you imagine the uproar if anyone suggested this for another business? Sainsburys you must sell your milk cheaper because Tescos is a penny cheaper??? No - its supply and demand, no one MAKES you have children, no one MAKES you have to go away... drives me bloody nuts!!

who not how

Sallying - so it's OK if the teacher doesn't mind (many really don't)?
If it doesn't inconvenience anyone too much? (e.g., work is caught up with in own time).
If so then great, we're in agreement. In that case, what people here are oddly calling "excuses" are actually genuine reasons it's OK to go away.

As for the impact on the other families... well, I don't know about anyone else but I don't think it's detrimental to my kids if some of the class go away from time to time. I'd wish them well and be pleased that they can go and do something nice (and probably infinitely more valuable than academic work) which they wouldn't otherwise be able to afford.

I think this is about control, and about people getting nervous and judgmental when others don't follow the rules they themselves feel bound to. I really don't think (in the main) it's about consideration of others, because it's quite possible to go away in term time and be quite considerate about it.

If 25 kids in a class all take a weeks holiday at different times, that's 25 different weeks worth of work that the teacher needs to modify to allow those kids to not miss out on their particular week of work. It isn't simply a case of printing out a sheet with the work on as the lessons may involve presentations, group work and other activities which can't be recreated by one kid sat in a hotel room or on a beach.

Yes, some holidays are educational, but I don't think there are many GCSEs that benefit from a week of all inclusive in Costa Del Sol.

I completely understand the issues as to why people want to take term time holidays - cost, work schedules, etc... but the rules are there for a reason.

I don't think there are many GCSEs that benefit from a week of all inclusive in Costa Del Sol.

Even if this is true (and I don't know that it is), there are plenty of LIVES which would benefit from being out of the system for a week or so. We (society) have got this all wrong.

Even if this is true (and I don't know that it is), there are plenty of LIVES which would benefit from being out of the system for a week or so.

Oh, there are exceptions of course, but in general, I'd say there isn't going to be many cases where taking the week during term is of more benefit than waiting till half term and taking it then.

We managed to go on holiday 3 times this year during the school holidays so unless it really is impossible for a family to go in the holidays due to work commitments or perhaps they are planning a holiday of a lifetime which honestly wouldn't be possible in term time (I am not talking a fortnight in spain) I do struggle to understand why it becomes necessary to take kids out of school. I don't like being told what to do either but tbh I always struggled with the idea of taking kids out even though I did do it once when my son was in reception (before the new rules came in). They miss so much especially once they get into Juniors and above.

This year, we booked 7 day independant holidays to Portugal/Spain last minute for Feb half term (800) and Easter (600) where the weather was much nicer than here even though it wasn't hot. I know lots of parents wouldn't have considered going at that time of year but we really had a great time. In August it wasn't financially viable for us to go abroad again so we went camping.

There are plenty of options you just have to be a bit more creative.

In reply to OP's question, it seems to vary from school to school and LA to LA. I know parent who have been fined for a week off and also those who haven't. Same LA, different school so it does seem to indicate that it is up to the school to report it. Our head has indicated that they have been told to be stricter (I am not aware of any parents getting fines as yet). He didn't seem keen on the government taking away his power to authorise absences and used to be happy to do so for a week if a child had good attendance.

One holiday in term time might be acceptable but sorry OP, twice is a bit much.

Wait till half term and you won't be able to afford it, Subhuman

I love these threads! Everyone is so indignant if anyone dares to go against the government.

It has sweet FA to do with the government. It's respecting the school and the teachers, and the work they are doing to educate the children. Pulling individual kids out of class for a week or more disrupts that education.

I'm not a teacher, but I pay tax to employ the teachers and I resent it when parents abuse the work I'm paying for.

Wait till half term and you won't be able to afford it

And if you can't afford it, you don't buy it. Same as with everything else in life. As enjoyable as a holiday is, it isn't an entitlement. And if the holiday is simply about quality time together, there are more affordable holidays such as camping.

If you have a child of legal school age in school, then why would you even know the prices of the holidays during term time? They are not an option (or at least they won't be if the fines increase considerably).

Problem is some people don't seem to want to holiday within their means, they would rather take their child out of education in order for them to get their ideal holiday rather than holiday as they can afford during the holidays.

You can book a decent caravan in this county for £500 a week during the summer holidays if you book at the right time.

Surely the idea of enforcing fines for school abscence is to change the social acceptability of missing school?
While those parents who take their DCs out of school once a year may feel unfairly targeted, what this approach will do, over time, is create a culture in which keeping DCs out of school is frowned upon.
That will benefit those DCs from families described unthread, whose attendance is erratic - persistent lateness and frequent odd days missed.

This is a long term strategy to change public opinion - not a quick fix option thought up by politicians, IMO.

When I was at school (many millennia ago...) we went away for 2/3 weeks every May, the only time my dad could get off work. We never did anything extravagant, just camping in Cornwall or France, but some of my best childhood memories are of our family holidays together (dad worked away a lot). TBH, I don't remember doing much at primary school that required 'catch up' when we got back. In fact I'd go as far as to say, we didn't do any catching up, we just picked up wherever the class was at that point. I was a very good student, and it never had any negative impact in my education. The holidays obviously stopped when I got to about 13 and GCSE's came into play. I think if I'd been struggling at school or had other absence issues, perhaps term time holidays would have been a bad idea, but in the context of a competent student, I don't buy the idea that term time hols have any impact on other students in the class?
All this 'catch up' work required sounds more like it's a knock on effect of the extra pressure on schools to provide academic results, SATS etc. How can the children be doing anything so crucially important that a week or two away a year results in a manic rush to catch up and lots of extra work for the teacher? What kind of pace have they got these kids working at??
I agree that education is v important, but I'd like to see parents allowed more autonomy in deciding what's best for their own kids.
Also, someone mentioned up thread that it's unlikely the repeat truancy offenders (e.g. the ones who keep their kids off a day a week or more) are being fined under this system, as it primarily being used on parents who take off a week for holiday's
Surely that's not right? I bet any further analysis on the figures would find that it's not the kids missing a week or two a year that are causing the problems with results anyway?!

Just as well teachers are generally more responsible than OP, and don't save money by taking their children on holiday during term time, isn't it?

Helping a child to make up missed work takes time and attention and othe children lose out. There is no excuse.

They can eventually take you to court if your child's attendance falls to a critically low level, and you and your DP continue to not give a shit.

? Very big leap there worra?

I think a lot of what we argue about on these threads (details of holidays, how many days is too many, etc.) is incidental fluff (I'm guilty of it too).

At base, I think this is about whether the rules/fines offend our sense of freedom/choice. Whether it offends us when other people don't choose to follow the rules we do. Whether we should follow rules because they are rules or take each instance on its own merit. Also whether academic education trumps other things. That sort of stuff.

Glad I am in Scotland. Never heard of fines. Our school has many international students, you might lose your school place if you miss more than (some number of weeks longer than I would travel) due to extended visits to relatives during term time, but I have never heard of fines.

Just as well teachers are generally more responsible than OP, and don't save money by taking their children on holiday during term time, isn't it?

Not really. They'd probably get a decent substitute in.

And anyway, perhaps teachers made that sort of decision when they took the job. You know, like how nurses know they'll have to work nights.

Most of us don't really have a choice to make when it comes to schooling.

lies, damned lies and statistics. nothing has been done to deal with the serial offender parents whose kids are off one day a week. these figures mask the fact that the real issue of kids whose parents don't give a monkeys and keep them off for many more than a few days a year hasn't changed. what has changed is that reasonable and responsible parents aren't taking their kids any more in term time.

yes of course.