To think this mother is right. Holiday in term time.

[derxa]

Normally I think children should not be taken out of school for holidays but this mother may have a point.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3559089/Mother-four-fined-60-truancy-taking-youngest-daughter-term-time-holiday-Government-free-meant-children-s-Easter-breaks-different-times.html

Good sad face as well

[ChemistryHunt]

So she may not be able to easily afford a £60 fine, just like that.

However these fines are well known about and widely reported, so she should have calculated this cost and put aside the fine money when she made the choice to take a child out of school.

[BarbarianMum]

If £60 is all that lies between her and destitution, then I would think a holiday in Ibiza was a luxury she couldn't afford. £60 is really a very small fine.

[SeekEveryEveryKnownHidingPlace]

I can afford a £60 fine, but not to take the family abroad for Easter! I would imagine that's more common tbh.

[RudeElf]

Can afford to take 4 kids to ibiza for a week but cant afford a £60 fine?

[mandi73]

Madness!!!!!!
I know there's those who have said she didn't have to go at Easter but maybe that's only time they could all go/afford to go?
No you're right children will survive without a holiday but it's nice in this age where everyone is working/school/busy to just leave everything behind and be a family.
I'm in Ireland and the rules are different, we just let the school know when the kids won't be in and that's that and the educational system so far hasn't fallen apart because a few children have missed some school.

[TiggerPiggerPoohBumWee]

Meh. I take my children on holiday in term time.

But I live in a more civilised country where the government doesn't try and run our lives for us or fines us for ridiculous things like this.

In her case I would just pay the fine and quit whining though, its not much money, and she must be able to afford if she can swan off to Ibiza!

[Clandestino]

I disagree. The rule in our family is no holidays during school-term. The only exception would be funerals of close family members or another emergency.

[Whathaveilost]

Holidays abroad are not a right or an entitlement. There was no need for this trip if she didn't want to be fined. If she wanted to still go you accept the consequences.

I was in this position a few years ago. I had checked on the council website for holidays for the Feb half term and booked a skiing break. However DS1 moved up to secondary school and although still in the authority was the only school out of all the secondaries and primaries to have their holiday a week later than every one else's. Nightmare as both lads were on 100% attendance and had a bee in their bonnets about keeping that level.

[ChemistryHunt]

mandi73 I think the fact is that its a choice and part of that choice is to accept you will need to pay the fine, which is part of the law in England.

Some people don't agree with speeding fines, parking tickets or litter fines. However they are in place and (provided issued by the correct authority not a private company) do have to be paid. If you choice to speed/litter or park wrongly you have to accept the consequence.

I wont take my children out of school for holidays and didn't even before the fines. However if others want to that is their choice. However you have to accept the consequences of your choices.

[YouMakeMyDreams]

I'll bet most of the people saying a holiday isn't a right do manage a family holiday of some sort most years and don't struggle with things like allocated annual leave.
No a holiday isn't a right but you know what I love our annual holiday. As a family we spend a lot of time rushing about and are very time poo . We all really look forward to our annual holiday. Exh got allocated all his holidays too so we went away when they were.
That aside I agree with the principal of the thing. I couldn't manage childcare for school holidays if the schools were off at different times it really is ridiculous. Holiday or not its a crappy state of affairs really.

[MuddhaOfSuburbia]

I bet a few years ago the HT would have just waved this though- unless the little girl's attendance was a bit off

this new 'system' (no time off unless DEATH) is fucking ridiculous- it should be left to the head's discretion

that said- I'd just stump up and shut up. Them's the rules, everyone knows them

TOP sadface though

[starry0ne]

There re always people on here going to say no to any holiday...this girl had 100% attendance.
I can only do term time holidays and regardless would not take my DC out of school this year as he has a series of appointments for various reasons So is missing hours here and there.

The people who object based on location what place would be acceptable ?

The a holiday is not a right drives me crackers..No it is not a right however.. It really is something I look forward too. I am going cheapest week of school holiday for us..

I think it is very sad the perspective on here by some people that education in school overides everything.. As previous poster said even with fine she is saving £800 which is an awful lot of money to some people. infact about as much as my holiday is costing.

[AugustaFinkNottle]

I think she has a point. There was never going to be a good time to go away.

Yes there was. There has to be a time during the six weeks of summer holiday when the whole family was off school and able to go away together.

[slug]

Oh yeah. She has a point. But only if she also accepts that if her children's teacher has children in the same situation then it would be OK for her to swan off to Ibiza as well.

[SeekEveryEveryKnownHidingPlace]

It's not about the location, it's the cost! It's really expensive to take a family of 6 to Ibiza: it's also not a fundamental human right, nice as I'm sure it is!

She can pay the £60 out of the £800 she's saved, can't she? And then draw a line and look over her lovely photos, and move on. She's done it, she's got away with it, it's merely meant that her savings are £740 not £800, but that shouldn't be too much of a shocker given that the rules are well known - and frankly all the whingeing about being 'morally right' is bollocks.

[Whathaveilost]

I'll bet most of the people saying a holiday isn't a right do manage a family holiday of some sort most years and don't struggle with things like allocated annual leave
I am one of those that say that but more to those that holiday companies have high prices during school holidays.
Years ago when the boys were younger I couldn't afford to take them to places my friends were taking their children to such as Florida, Spain France etc. However I knew I had to cut my cloth accordingly and not whinge about things I couldn't afford, after all it's not a human right to go abroad on holiday but it is a nice thing to do.
I just found cheap ways of having exciting holidays.
We do struggle with annual leave as I can only take two weeks holidays during school holiday time over the year (excluding Christmas Day , Boxing Day and NY) and of course other staff may want those times as well. Also DH is self employed so he he is on limited holidays and often his busiest time is the summer with periods of no work in the winter.

[TiggerPiggerPoohBumWee]

But only if she also accepts that if her children's teacher has children in the same situation then it would be OK for her to swan off to Ibiza as well

Not analogous at all, is it? One is a child, one is an adult. One is paid to be there, one is required by law to be there. Not remotely the same thing in fact.
Bit jealous of others getting term time holidays there?

[TiggerPiggerPoohBumWee]

But only if she also accepts that if her children's teacher has children in the same situation then it would be OK for her to swan off to Ibiza as well

Not analogous at all, is it? One is a child, one is an adult. One is paid to be there, one is required by law to be there. Not remotely the same thing in fact.
Bit jealous of others getting term time holidays there?

[Permanentlyexhausted]

I don't know why they bothered spending all that money going to Ibiza if it was going to make then that unhappy (see sad faces).

Clearly the lesson here is that mum and daughter would have been happier without a holiday.

[Permanentlyexhausted]

I'll bet most of the people saying a holiday isn't a right do manage a family holiday of some sort most years and don't struggle with things like allocated annual leave

Yes, assuming you're counting 2 weeks in a tent in the UK, whilst DH stays behind and continues to go to work, as a family holiday.

[ParanoidGynodroid]

I think it's pretty ridiculous that at a time when holidays during term time are being so brutally cracked down on, even for those with previous excellent attendance, there is now this flexibility for schools to set their own holidays, thus leaving many families in the position of having different holiday times for their children. It makes even holiday childcare difficult if Easter spans 4 weeks instead of 2.

Some are arguing that no one NEEDS a holiday. Well, nonetheless the vast majority of us go on them and have done so since childhood. How many of us would happily go without, just to fit in with these new ridiculous, impractical rules?

That said, in that mother's situation. I'd have paid the fine and shut up.
So glad I live in Wales, so don't have this problem!

[red333]

Am I the only one that laughed at her partners name? Rickie Lake!
Grabs coat and leaves by the back door!!

[GardeningWithDynamite]

A bit unfortunate that the holiday periods didn't overlap at all (and I don't call Friday 8th April until Monday 11th April an overlap - that's the weekend!). They could have ensured that all schools in the area had at least a 1 week overlap. It must be hard on people having to find childcare for 2 separate periods.

Taking the primary school child rather than the secondary school children out was probably the better choice too.

[Collaborate]

I love the line "after having 'little choice' but to take Amelia out of school."

Perhaps if she had attended school a bit more herself, the mother will have been a little more aware of the choices she did have - e.g. to go on holiday or not.

[00100001]

"little choice"
Except for ALL THE OTHER school holidays...