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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

activities week

23 replies

wathy · 16/10/2015 22:12

my sons school is running an activities week next year, where the school take kids out of school for up to a full week on various trips...i.e. disney land paris, barcelona, a scottish manor and lots of other fun activities. i want to know why it is ok for the authorities to take our kids out of school in term time but if we were to take them on a family holiday we get a fine of £60 per parent, per child! seems a little unfair our children can have time from school with complete nobodys but cant make special memories with there families. what do you think? should we be able to fine the local authorities? btw im am all for my son having fun with his friends.

OP posts:

Iliveinalighthousewiththeghost · 16/10/2015 22:17

I fully agree with. I can't stand the Do as we say not do as we do attitude ".
What's good for the goose is or rather should be good for the gander.!

Original poster

wathy · 16/10/2015 22:19

thanks for ur support :) im thinking of contacting the local education authority and getting their take on it.

OP posts:

WhiskyTangoFoxtrot · 16/10/2015 22:22

"complete nobodys"

Yeh, right

Original poster

wathy · 16/10/2015 22:26

yes, complete nobodys as regards my kids holidays. their job is to teach and i have no arguments with the way he is educated.

OP posts:

ilovesooty · 16/10/2015 22:27

Because if they're all going on educational trips the class learning isn't being disrupted.

I doubt you'll get very far with contacting the LA.

Original poster

wathy · 16/10/2015 22:28

they are all non educational trips.

OP posts:

ilovesooty · 16/10/2015 22:29

Really? No educational benefit at all?

honeysucklejasmine · 16/10/2015 22:32

I think sooty means that the children are not missing out on learning as lessons are cancelled, whereas if you took a random holiday they would fall behind their peers. (Hope that's right sooty)

Fwiw I understand your frustration OP, it does make it difficult for staff too because it appears so hypocritical. I suppose some comfort is that, for some kids, these trips might be their only chance to go on holiday.

honeysucklejasmine · 16/10/2015 22:33

Ah, not what you meant. Apologies.

ilovesooty · 16/10/2015 22:34

Thanks honey that is what I meant.

mummymeister · 16/10/2015 22:36

wathy have a look at the other thread on this on AIBU. my sons school have 3 whole weeks throughout the year like this. I would like to take him out for these weeks and go on holiday or do something with him that he is genuinely interested in. not throw money at something he doesn't want to do. the kids who cant afford it end up staying in school doing "activities" which last year consisted of tidying up the library.

its the lack of consistency here that gets up peoples noses. Ok to go on strike, shut the school because of snow or elections or have these useless weeks but if you try to take a week away well that's disrupting education.

Original poster

wathy · 16/10/2015 22:46

the holidays are way more than the average family would probably spend..£450. for 4 nights in Paris, £699.00 for Barcelona trip, £365.00 for 3 nights in London. The less well off have a few options to do activities in school such as team challenges, arts and crafts,sports days etc. There are 744 places for these activities and 1257 pupils currentlly at my sons school, so 513 pupils will stay in school doing regular classes. That aside, my gripe is that i cant take my son on holiday in term time without getting a fine.

OP posts:

Original poster

wathy · 16/10/2015 22:48

Exactly mummymeister! money could be much better spent doing 'family stuff' :)

OP posts:

Original poster

wathy · 16/10/2015 22:51

Honeysucklejasmine i do understand the teaching staffs frustration, i no way hold them accountable, its the local authorities who make these decisions.

OP posts:

mummymeister · 16/10/2015 22:53

wathy go into school and say you are going to take him out and do something with him yourself that week. he wont be missing any lessons. there wont be any "important, cant be missed " work to catch up on so why not?

the head teacher will hate this. he/she will come out with all sorts of bullshit about the kind of learning that is taking place and will probably even make it sound a tiny bit convincing. but it isn't.

I have no idea really why schools do this and why they think that there foreign trips have any more educational value than the foreign trips their parents will take these kids on.

we went to Barcelona specifically to see the art, architecture and history. my kids loved it and learnt loads. a damn sight more than being in a group of 40 being herded from one place to the next with the obligatory naughty kid being a pain and the teachers failing to give the kid of one on one that family can give.

Original poster

wathy · 16/10/2015 22:57

I think my lad would be more than, if not happier going in the caravan with his brothers and sister to Norfolk or Filey tbh. lol

OP posts:

saucony · 16/10/2015 23:04

YANBU. I am horrified about lots of fun activities. Fun in education is unacceptable. Definitely write and state that you should fine the LA. After all parents have rights and must exert them harshly. As always in these sorts of threads, we must remember, it's about the parents and their rights!!

TheOriginalMerylStrop · 16/10/2015 23:12

Fun at a price, mind.
Weird set up with 700 kids out of school on paid trips.
I'd personally have no qualms about taking your DS out during that week not any old time when lessons are running though.

Original poster

wathy · 16/10/2015 23:16

Thanks. I really appreciate all of your input. i was a little nervous of posting this thread as its my 1st time on here. big thumbs up for ur advice. :)

OP posts:

saltlakecity · 17/10/2015 01:55

Before you go in with all guns blazing remember that it is the government who decided the no term time hols rule for parents. It wasn't the schools. Many schools don't agree with it. Many heads would have been perfectly fine with family hols for a child with decent attendance before all of this. Not schools decision but we pick up the flack of it from parents. Thanks Mr(s) Government.

Original poster

wathy · 17/10/2015 10:19

As I said previously, I do not hold teaching staff accountable.

OP posts:

Hulababy · 17/10/2015 10:33

'Complete nobodies'

You mean their teachers?
You do know that the teachers don't make up the guidelines regarding term time holidays, yes?!

Oh, and if only a teachers job was to just teach! I know many teachers who would quite like to focus only on reaching for a bit!

MrsBartlettforthewin · 17/10/2015 10:36

I totally agree wit this. I teach at secondary school and we have activities week which is a lot of fun but I've never got this whole kids have to be in school for it thing. If we aren't actually teaching them, though there is some value in the group/ team stuff we do, why can't parents make the choice to take their kids out for those days and do stuff as a family?

I never go on the trips abroad, I have small children of my own that I'd rather spend the time with. Though I do like getting to know the pupils who stay behind in a non-class room based enviroment. My department made a zombie film with the kids this year it was a lot of fun teaching them how to make the fake blood, skin and trashing t-shirts with them for costumes.

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