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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To take our kids on a 3 week holidays in term time?

152 replies

pinkdinosaur · 20/12/2016 21:35

Evening all

We have Totally messed up and booked our holiday of a life time in term time!!

We have just found out the october holidays have moved next year and instead of the kids missing 2 weeks of school which we checked was ok with the council education dept (we will be fined) now the third week we have booked is not in the holidays as we thought!!

Panic

So wwyd?? Take them out (all at primary) and sod it its our american holiday of a life time and vow renewal!! Or change the dates?? Costing 3k more!!

Has anyone taken there children out of school for that Long???

OP posts:
haveacupoftea · 20/12/2016 21:57

Missing one week and paying a grand more sounds like a good idea. You would have to pay fines anyway.

Original poster
pinkdinosaur · 20/12/2016 21:58

Thank you all preparing for a Long trip to the travel agents tomorrow to sorted out the flights

Hotels have been booked via expedia so will get the money back same goes for the here car so at least thats something

And a lesson learned never to booked before confirmed dates!!

OP posts:
Original poster
pinkdinosaur · 20/12/2016 22:00

God bloody auto correct on the phone!!

OP posts:
TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross · 20/12/2016 22:00

I can't believe you thought it was fine to take them out for two weeks, tbh, never mind three.

LagunaBubbles · 20/12/2016 22:00

We did it last year when our two were 13 and 8, took them on our holiday of a lifetime to California for 3 weeks and funnily enough a vow renewal to! Luckily we're in Scotland so didn't get fined, got a letter from the eldest school and that was about it. Don't regret it for a single moment, eldest in particular caught up really quickly when we returned. Fantastic memories.

LiveLifeWithPassion · 20/12/2016 22:02

I would do it and just make sure the kids kept to date with some of their work.

Why would it be an issue to ask the teachers what they would be missing and try to do some work on that? All the teacher needs to say is 'fractions, fire of London, rivers' or whatever.

Original poster
pinkdinosaur · 20/12/2016 22:03

Lagunabubbles you wont believe this but our trip is to california!!

We have planned this for 2 years and cannot wait

OP posts:
EveOnline2016 · 20/12/2016 22:03

Sats are not done anymore, every year has standardise test and that don't change in year 6.

Me personally wouldn't but that's because my ds is autistic and needs a lot of work within school and that would set him back months and months.

AgainPlease · 20/12/2016 22:05

I was a bit Shock at the OP thinking 2 weeks out of school was ok let alone THREE??

How will your children cope catching up on their schoolwork?

My parents always organised holidays out of term time and if they couldn't afford it that year, guess what, we didn't go. Even my school trips abroad were in our school holidays. No such luxury of taking time out of school for a jolly.

Poocatcherchampion · 20/12/2016 22:05

What is So special about the october? You haven't answered everyone else asking ..

I can't see much difference between 2 and 3 weeks off but I know my children would hate to miss out on that much time at school and with friends.

Original poster
pinkdinosaur · 20/12/2016 22:08

Sorry if i missed answering about the october We believed it would be more quiet in the parks and for the activitys we wanted to do as our yongest is autistic and our eldest has sen issues too

OP posts:
ImNotDancing · 20/12/2016 22:13

take them! find out what will be covered and go through it yourselves!

Those three weeks will be more valuble and I promise in 20 years when they're all done with education they wont look back and regret the trip one bit

bloodyteenagers · 20/12/2016 22:14

YOu say you wouldn't put it on the teachers for extra work.
You do realize that term holidays do exactly this? Who do you think helps absent children catch up wit their peers? Time has to be set aside when the absent child comes back to not only catch them up but teach the rest of the class new things? Stuff isn't repeated as a class. This work is usually done by a ta who is taken from elsewhere.

LagunaBubbles · 20/12/2016 22:17

Pink pm and let me know about your vow renewal! We actually started in Phoenix and did the Grand Canyon and Vegas first before we headed to California. We renewed our vows on a small beach in Laguna Beach, just perfect.

MaryBerrybeard · 20/12/2016 22:17

California???!!!

For the love of God, woman - GO!!!!

Stop listening to the "I wouldn't take my kids out of school even if it was on fire" lot.

Go and have the time of your lives.

I'm a primary school teacher btw and most of my colleagues would say the same.

LagunaBubbles · 20/12/2016 22:18

And my boys caught up no problem with any work they missed.

emben12 · 20/12/2016 22:20

Controversial but I think it's fine. We have a very cool headmaster (of a leading International school) who says it's not ideal but if this happens every now and then, the experience the child has is as important as the time they miss in school. Only in junior school though. From year 7/8 onwards there is no tolerance.

Teacher54321 - this whole "like teachers don't have enough to do" attitude really gets people's backs up. That person was saying the teacher might be able to suggest a few websites. That was it!! Not supply loads of extra work! Suggest a couple of websites!! We know teachers are busy. But so are millions of other very hard working people who don't get months and months of holiday per year. It doesn't go down well!!!

crumpetsforteaa · 20/12/2016 22:20

I'd go. I don't subscribe to the 'if you miss a few weeks of school your children won't fulfil their potential' school of thought.

Presuming their attendance is food normally obv.

HennaFlare · 20/12/2016 22:28

If the school isn't oversubscribed, deregister them so they are officially home educated for the duration. Take the full 3 weeks. Take a 4th for rest, recovery and reading. Then re-register. No fines, kids have an incredible experience they'll remember for the rest of their lives. I realise that as a home educator I might be a bit casual about this, but why would you let the school determine this for you? It's an option for education. It's not the boss of you!!

Mumoftwoyoungkids · 20/12/2016 22:28

Is the school oversubscribed? Technically they can be taken off the school roll if you miss more than 10 days.

ginswinger · 20/12/2016 22:29

Of course you should go! Travelling is part of a child's education and quality time as a family is important too. It's not as though everything is taught just once and then never again. Yes it will be a bit stressful for the school but you bring them a really great present back and breeze through it. Life is too short.

Emeraude · 20/12/2016 22:33

I would be pretty annoyed if any child missed 3 weeks of school in those year groups unless they had been hospitalised. They make a vast amount of progress at that time of year and it'll be like starting from scratch. Unless they're already ahead of where they need to be, they will probably need extra adult time to catch up when they return.

Fluffsnuts · 20/12/2016 22:36

The 2 younger ones wouldn't bother me, but year 6 is a bit different.

Emeraude · 20/12/2016 22:37

HennaFlare - if you're off roll then your place will go to somebody else. You don't get to pick and choose.

DailyFail1 · 20/12/2016 22:39

Depends on what kind of trip. No to the USA or short trups but would consider taking my dd on a tour of Asia during term time for a year if she learned a language.