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

Ahh... I see the "You're just jealous" line has been trotted out. IMHO this line is only used when there is no coherent argument available. See also the response to any woman who objects to sexual harassment etc

Another illogical and not analogous point from you. Only this one is a little offensive too. Good show

Apart from the teachers and other children in the class due to lost time as a result of having to help students catch up? Even if additional work is not given then the teachers will need to go over work the child has missed but needs to know to do the next bit

This is always trotted out as a reason, but its idiotic. The class does not lose time because my child took a week off. All thats necessary is a word from teacher to parent "you might want to look at X as you missed it last week", if even that. It's not a problem anywhere but the UK, after all. Why do you struggle so with it?

I don't agree with any of your post dinosaur. So I won't bother to write a lengthy post addressing all your points.

I'm not going to vilify her - I'm doing the same in June - because we want a family holiday - somewhere warm and sunny

I may get fined £180 - but it would cost over £1000 to have the same holiday in term time

This will be our last one for a while as DD1 goes into year 9 next year and will begin some GCSE's (no need to stress about her 'catching up' as she's way ahead as is her sister)

I come from a large family of teachers and I work in education - I don't get the huge fuss over term time holidays at all - less that 5 days off - they all have 98%+ attendance

I'm looking forward to some quality time away (39 days to go )

This is always trotted out as a reason, but its idiotic. The class does not lose time because my child took a week off. All thats necessary is a word from teacher to parent "you might want to look at X as you missed it last week", if even that. It's not a problem anywhere but the UK, after all. Why do you struggle so with it?

And what about the children whose parent don't or can't catch them up on a variety of subjects (a lot of different subjects and material is covered in a whole week, let alone two). These students need to have the help in school.

It wont be just one child, many many parents take children out of school, it is cumulative effect.

Just because a point of view is different to yours doesn't make it "idiotic".

If people are so concerned about having a right to take their children out of school for a holiday, maybe they need to consider if state education is right for them, given one of the conditions is attendance.

The other options available to people have been pointed out on this thread several times.

If you wish to sue state education and take your child out for a holiday, you have to accept that you will receive a fine.

cost over £1000 MORE that should read!

but everyone has the right to take their kids out - only now the state has the right to fine them for it

I'm quiet happy to pay a fine rather than find an extra £1000 +

I have no issue with most term time holidays tbh, especially at primary. In secondary it is harder and I think she be avoided completely in GCSE/A level years, and around exam time below that.

Have been a teacher, now a HLTA and have worked in secondary and primary.

IME, it doesn't really make that much difference to MOST child's education if they miss 1-2 weeks of education in a year ime. More than that and it can be difficult though. It, ime, makes no difference at all to the education of the rest of the class. And, as I have never planned nor marked any work for a child to take away with them, it makes little difference to my own workload. Sometimes there is some catching up to do - but it is very rare for important things to be covered only once anyway.

I missed 1-2 weeks a year for a term time holiday when growing up. My dad's factory shut down was in term time, they couldn't move it. So it was then or not at all. Wasn't big fancy abroad holidays, was in UK and a range of places from camping and caravans to the odd rented house. I believe that family time, without the constraints of work, chores, etc. is very beneficial to all members of the family and ca be just as important to a child as learning some English and Maths.

I do think, however, she should have just paid the fine and forgotten about it thereafter. The parents I know who take term time holidays just include the fine as part of the holiday cost.

And if more and more schools and LEAs become more flexible with their holiday dates, so more schools/counties end up with different dates, it will happen increasingly.

It will happen increasingly once all schools are academies.

She should just have accepted the fine instead of whining to a rag like the Daily Mail and trying to claim some kind of moral high ground.

I suspect if she hadn't accepted the fine and gone to court she would have been aquitted. Child had 100% attendance same as case that dad won in Isle of white. She hasn't failed to ensure child attends regularly.

Lancashire holidays have been a farce this year.

Official holidays on council website had them off for 2 bank hols then off from 11th and only back in school today. Great if all your kids have those holidays, lots of people been away cheaply, centerparks £399, florida flights £195.

BUT lots of schools stuck with the traditional finish maundy thursday go back 11th so no overlap at all.

People using older kids for childcare of the younger were in a mess, I know teachers who usually don't need childcare were struggling and there was no holiday care when my DD who had early holiday was off. Out of school activities assumed kids were off later so if you did go away in hols you missed paid for classes.

There may be many reasons why a family in a tourist area like Blackpool/Cleveleys can't take a break in summer for work reasons.

I disagree with fines for parents taking children out of school for holidays at all. It should be up to the parents within reason (as long as the child generally has good attendance) perhaps with a reasonable limit of 10 days a year. Parents are the parents not the state. And whole issue has gone way too far with children being refused time off to go to family funerals and schools marking orthodontist appts as "unauthorised absence" and the like. Let's get back to a common sense approach and remember that parents are the parents, not the school/government.

As a teacher in secondary, I honestly can't say I'm all that bothered by kids missing a week off school due to the family going on holiday. I wish I could take advantage of discounts in the same way! On the other hand, I'm lucky that my SLT take the view that it's the child's responsibility to catch up on work missed: if little Jonny fails his assessment because he couldn't be bothered to catch up and his prents complain, they don't really have a leg to stand on.

If you wish to sue state education and take your child out for a holiday, you have to accept that you will receive a fine

YOU will receive a fine. I will receive no such thing. MY state education/government knows not to be so stupid as to try and fine parents for such things.
We're also not trying to turn all our schools into "academies" or driving all our teachers to leave the profession, so all in all I think we're doing just fine.

I am against the ban on holidays in term time for all the reasons that have been stated by other posters so wont be boring and repeat them.

I am amazed that there are still parents who are completely unaware of the ban and the consequences. I think she should just pay the fine and get on with it.

the issue of staggered holidays is Gove's Big Idea on how to solve the issue. there will be some poor souls who work in one school and have kids in 2 other different ones who finds that their hols barely cross once this policy really kicks in.

If you are lucky enough to be able to pay for unlimited child care and lucky enough to work in an environment or industry where you can take annual leave in school holidays then great. but there are an awful lot of us, me included that cannot take our holidays in school holidays. I wont let my staff do it either.

and in all of this everyone forgets the reasons why this change was brought in in the first place. to stop the feckless whose kids miss weeks and weeks off of school, always arrive late, have one day off a week "ill" etc. the changes have done nothing to deal with these persistent offenders. instead its hammering the 100% attenders whose only option is a week in term time.

had to laugh at dinosaursroar and the free education comment. it isn't free education I pay taxes and they pay for education.

It has gone too far I agree.

The rules were more for people taking extended holidays really, surely? And ime they haven't changed - they still seem too be happening. Infact, I don't think attendance in many schools have altered much - seems to me that the same parents are continuing to take the same holidays as they did before.

Of course people should be able to make their own judgement as to whether it is okay to attend a wedding or a funeral, and to attend appointments which cannot easily made out of school times - orthodontist ones are the worst for this: at many places if you are an NHS patient you are only allowed off-peak times. Hence why we are paying for DD's treatment despite her qualifying for NHS - I work in a school, I need to go with her, I can't take the time off - so its costing my a small fortune. So, why some schools insist on marking children down as unauthorised for such things is madness.

had to laugh at dinosaursroar and the free education comment. it isn't free education I pay taxes and they pay for education

Come off it. As if you pay enough taxes for all your childrens whole education, especially once you consider your taxes are also paying for your healthcare, your police, your street cleaning, and 1000 other things.....No way are you paying for all the education. I can't believe people think this is true when they say it....

go on Tigger - tell me how much tax I pay annually then?

and if its not taxes that pay for things that the state provides then what is it? fresh air?

I pay not only personal tax as does DH but employer contribution, businesses taxes, business rates etc.

what a staggeringly daft comment.

We're home edding

Fines indeed...

Doesn't matter how much, its not enough. Lets face it, you're hanging out on MN during the day, you're not paying massive tax, are you now?

and if its not taxes that pay for things that the state provides then what is it? fresh air?

Now this IS a staggeringly daft comment! It is taxes, but not YOURS, dear!

I hate articles like this.

Either obey the rules and don't jet off on holiday or disobey the rules but deal with the consequences privately and swiftly pay the damn fine don't go running off the DM bleating on about how unfair it is that you can't afford a holiday when all the kids are off / how the LA having different holidays for different schools affected your holiday plans.... its crass and insensitive. I read stories like this and think 'god if that is your only problem you are lucky'

I also 100% disagree with the message it sends out to the kids. There is a world of difference between someone taking their kids out, paying the fine and explaining to the kids it is a one off and in very special circumstances it's okay to bend the rules a little versus taking kids out and refusing to accept the punishment, thus teaching kids it ok to break the rules and be pig headed about it as well.

When I was a secondary teacher, I acknowledged that lower down the school, a week or so's holiday didn't seem to do any damage (depending on how keen the child was to catch up) - but higher up (years 10 and above) it could be catastrophic.

I have known parents who thought nothing of taking their children away for a fortnight when they were in the middle of CAs and a member of my form once had a holiday booked for the week of his first Maths GCSE paper.

Now, especially with performance related pay, I can understand why some teaching staff might take a very dim view of it.

sorry Tigger. I 'll just ask that question again then. How much tax do I pay?

and don't be so patronising.

this is a thread about fines for holidays in term time.

I don't care how much tax you pay. I just know that you don't pay enough to fully cover your child/ren(s) education AND every other service that you use from the state.

If you don't want to talk about tangents, don't start them. You're the one who said you pay for your kids education with your taxes. You may contribute towards it, but thats all.

The thing about this family is that 3 of the kids weren't taken on term time holidays. It's hardly the parents' fault if different local schools choose to set different holiday dates, & it's particularly nanny-state-oppressive to penalise them for going on holiday when 80% of their children were legitimately off school.

Maybe they should just be fined 20% of £60 for the one who wasn't