AIBU to tell you it is not illegal to take your child out of school to go on holiday

[Pseudonym99]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-34543101

I do also wonder what parents might say if we genuinely let their child suffer the consequences of being away and refused to offer any additional help after they returned. IME, schools often 'mask' the full impact of holiday absence by working to hard to 'catch up' a child after their return.

This is a good point. What would all of you here who are saying "it's my business if I take my kids on holiday in term time" think if this was widely implemented? Would you be content with that?

Does anyone else think that if its that crucial for a child to be in school that they cant take a weeks family holiday in term time without the school worrying about them having to 'catch up' then that means the schedule is too gruelling for them, that they have just too much work to do? Thats not right for kids in my eyes.

I understand its different when it comes to exams like a levels and GCSEs, but thing like year 6 SATs have become way out of hand work load wise.

I do think I education system is way too heavy.

in my opinion all schools should be allowed to set their own term dates (within reason).

They are. The law changed a couple of years ago.
Why have you chosen to send your DCs to a school that doesn't have term dates that suit your family?

I hate this ridiculous crap about not being able to take your kids out of school. It's up to the parents, others shouldn't interfere.

Tali of you don't want 'others interfering' then maybe you should home educate.

*if

Ollie, I don't think it's the 'amount' to learn that is the issue. It is the fact that in most subjects learning builds up sequentially, and that ity's not preduictable when e.g. column subtraction might be intriduced for the fuirst time.

OK, a child will return to the technique of column subtraction again during their school life, but that first introduction, getting every single stage right, working through concrete / pictorial / abstract steps, making sure that every child has all the skills (knowledge of right to left, place value, teen numbers subtract 1 digit numbers, the use of 0 as a place-holder) necessary, is really critical, and it is unlikely that even if content is taken out of the curriculum, the whole process will be done in that level of detail again.

Considering the disruption for the child's learning, not a good idea to take them on holiday term time. Apart from very early years when they tend to repeat a lot and go over the same topics.
If on a necessary trip, say a major family thing like a funeral, then I'd try to get what they were going to go through and take the books with them to catch up while away.

In any case, take kids away, just don't expect school to agree to it.

In any case, take kids away, just don't expect school to agree to it.

Exactly. And my preference would be for 'and don't expect the school to put any effort into making up what your child has missed', though in this age of 'every child must make X amount of progress, whatever happens', teachers will ALWAYS go the extra mile to minimise the effect on the child of their parents' decisions.

I'd like to see a policy implemented whereby the summer holidays are shortened by say a week, and parents are given 5 days to take children out during term time. Whether for day trips, or a weeks holiday. Even just up to secondary school level

I don't think anyone is saying they want to habitually take their kids out of school whenever they feel like it. There seems to be an assumption here that we're talking about missing many weeks of school. Fwiw, there was a phone in about this on the radio a while ago and an ex-Ofsted inspector said that he supported parents's decisions to take kids out of school in term time. He had been an inspector in North London and many children of Asian descent were sometimes taken abroad to visit family. He claimed that they returned to school full of enthusiasm and imagination and had things to write about. There are plenty of people within the education system who don't see it as a big deal, it's not us vs them.

I think that it is fine for a child to have a week off for a holiday (unless in exam revision time)

Actually, I think the opposite. Revision is revision, which means they have been taught the subject and need revising it, not learning. It's less damaging to skip revision then first learning and also to catch up. And also easier to take revision on holiday than new subjects.

And the assumption that anyone who doesn't agree with every single detail of state education policy in this country should therefore 'home educate' is downright ridiculous. It's not an option for most people, in the same way that private education isn't.

Very few people have a genuine choice about which school they send their dc to. Lots of peolke have one school in their town or are hampered by some schools being too oversubscribed to offer places to families not in catchment.

Damn
...than first learning...
FGS

And the assumption that anyone who doesn't agree with every single detail of state education policy in this country should therefore 'home educate' is downright ridiculous. It's not an option for most people, in the same way that private education isn't.

Having kids attending school is not a minor detail.
It's important for them.
And should we be teaching them that it's OK to skip something important to go on holiday?
Will parents who take kids on holiday term time be prepared to put in the hours to teach them the subjects they missed?

Parents must provide evidence that they are home educating.
Inaccurate, parents have no responsibility to prove anything to anyone when home educating. If you wish to home educate, you wrote a letter telling LA to deregister your child. They may get in touch but you are under no obligation to allow them in, to prove anything etc.

If you don't like it - don't use it!
I have an issue with this attitude. I wonder if poster uses this attitude in real life? Don't like job? Quit then, Car doesn't work how is like? Walk then. OH has upset me? LTB. Etc.

This sort of behaviour also sends a clear message to children that it is all right to defy authority, 'because I know best.'
So what message does a teachers strike send? That the teachers know better than everyone? That if you make life difficult for others you'll get what you want? Mentioning strikes, why is it that if intake my child to a theme park for a day, I get fined, teachers strike for a day but I can't fine them? What message does that send? Childs education is vital, unless we say otherwise?

*I also think what is missing here is an appreciation of the 'common good', as opposed to the 'desire of the individual'."
What about the good of the individual? Never mind the children drowning it work, getting stressed, under pressure to meet standardised targets that make no consideration that each child is different? Never mind kids, just drudge on in, keep that attendance score high, you can blow your brains out in half term.

Just on a point of fact: teacher strikes are usually in defence of preserving a good education for children, not in defence of a week in Marbella.

Hope that helps.

"Why should the teachers have to do it?"

Because what a child learned last week is necessary for what they are learning this week, in general. So a teacher, faced with a child on Monday morning who has missed the week when column subtraction was introduced, HAS to catch that child up immediately, because otherwise they can't access today's work, which is applying that new skill in the context of word problems....

It obviously depends on what they are missing. Can people not use common sense? Missing exams: no, almost certainly not on. A 6 year old missing a week of school when the rest of her attendance had been very good: almost certainly fine. You seem to be saying that it is not ok for children to miss school under any circumstances. The common sense view is that in an awful lot of circumstances, it won't do them any harm and has to be balanced against what is to be gained. That might be the chance to visit another country and experience another culture that the family would not have been able to afford during school holidays, or it might just be the benefit of having some quality family time that otherwise would have been difficult. And yes, some parents will be proactive about helping their child to catch up, and no, some won't. But I still think that most teachers are ok with it, as long as it's not happening all the time.

you can blow your brains out in half term.

I'd expect a child to struggle more if they have to catch up with their peers.
I'd certainly wouldn't want my child to go through that for the sake of a holiday.
And is the holiday really for the child or the parents? Do children really need a week or two on the beach?

"What about the good of the individual?"

Rest and relaxation is definitely for the good of the individual. Which is why the school year is broken up, with a week or more of holiday at least every 8 weeks, often more frequently, and 2 days out of every 7 not at school. Are you genuinely saying that more holiday than this is needed?

"most teachers are ok with it, as long as it's not happening all the time"

But just don't expect us to AUTHORISE it.

That might be the chance to visit another country and experience another culture

I'd be interested to know how much of another culture or of another country children experience on those holidays.