How are schools allowed to take pupils on holiday in term time?

[Cab65]

Last year my DD was fined for taking her DS out of school on holiday for three days during term time. This year the school is taking him and his class on holiday to the Isle of Wight for a week during term time. How can this be allowed. I have never seen a better example of don't do as I do do as I tell you. Why aren't more parents fighting this injustice.

Unless your lea is very different to mine, you wouldn't get fined for taking just 3 days out of the whole school year. Did you make that up?

Salmon that sounds like more fun than the school trip!

I run a trip to France, the students hear French spoken, see it, even speak it; they learn about the history of the area (1066; 1944!) - cross curricular links; they have a bit of independence (for some a first trip away); they work together and form new bonds; and yy to giving disadvantaged kids a chance.

I will never forget one year three youngsters who had certainly never been abroad before; school had funded their places and on the last day they said, miss, do we have to go home? It's been so brilliant. I could have cried.

at OP

Oh dear OP!
There's a whole world of difference between a family holiday and a residential educational trip!
Whilst it is meant to be fun, it's certainly not a ' jolly', especially for staff who are on constant vigilance the entire time!

My school has an Activities Week, during which the main residential trips are run. Some of these are prohibitively expensive (£600-1000) with support funding only available for a small number of pupil premium kids. These visits are not all educational (watersports in France, a jolly to Italy etc) and are only in reach of the very wealthy or a couple of very poor kids. There are some educational and more affordable ones (London museums, Lake District outdoor activities) but even these are £400 and not in reach for low-paid working parents who just about break even every month.

Those who stay in school are charged £15 for school-based activities (think knitting, make-up, trash kites, bake-off), run by the normal teachers, and this is compulsory not voluntary with anyone who doesn't pay up being hounded twice weekly then daily for the money. Attendance is also compulsory as it's during term time, meaning that for that week we have to pay to send our children to school.

I do think that's a rip off.

My school does an end of primary school reisential.
Kids look forward to it. They learn all sorts of things, they meet up with the kids they are going to high school with from other schools and make friends.
They learn to be away from home for a few days.

The teachers and other staff spend ages plannning it, doing all the paperwork for it, and spend 3 days away from their own families to take them. They are available 24 hrs a day for the kids.

Yes lets start a campaign to stop the free holiday grabbing, skiving off school, lazy bastards eh?

I think it's a reasonable question Cab65!

Not all parents want to sun it up in magaluf (can't think of anything worse myself, not my cup of tea at all) and do actually have holidays that are educational for the kids.

I guess the difference is they are all off at the same time if they go with school, so it doesn't disrupt learning. Whereas different kids being off at different times all year round must make it hard on the teachers.

Our high school informed us they will fine after just 3 days! I believe it's 5 days for the primaries in our area.

Harriet, that's something you really need to take up with your MP. That's pretty divisive and excluding.

Can they legally charge you for having your DC in schol for the week, mind? Someting else to ask your MP. Even if they're Tory.

There's a huge difference between a school residential trip and a family holiday.

Yes family holidays can be educational depending on what activities you do but generally that's not the the main purpose of a family holiday. Generally the main purpose of a residential trip is to aide their learning in a particular subject or subjects. You could argue that it also gives kids who may not get the opportunity to see places outside of where they live for what ever reason and to broaden their horizons which is a learning experience in itself.

I find it hard to believe that anyone genuinely couldn't see the difference.

Why are we feeding the troll?

Wow I've heard it all now. A school trip is a million miles away from a holiday a school trip is educational a holiday during term time is a ball ache for teachers not educational and just a chance for mum to top up her tan at a time of year when it's cheaper. Why not ban school holidays it just means disadvantaged children who's parents can't afford to take them on holiday won't get to see places that they have never been before. Get your head out of your ass and stop chatting bubbles you idiot.

I don't agree that's always the case deleteordecay. If you take a yr 6 residential trip for example, the kids go to the next county and spend 3 days canoeing, climbing etc. Just them. I don't think it's any more educational because school take them, compared to if we took them, and it's all stuff we would do on a holiday together. You can get family holidays doing the same things as the kids do on these sorts of residentials. It is a different experience with school, but not any more educational imo. The kids who stay behind, last year they did baking, friendship bracelets etc. Nothing I couldn't do at home, but I wouldn't be allowed to do it at home, even though they wouldn't be missing anything educationally and it would have no effect at all on the teachers if I took them out for those few days.

My dc went to see a play recently. Fab experience for them, but I guarantee if they hadn't gone with school, I wouldn't have been allowed to take them, even though it would obviously be the same excellent experience.

I don't think the 'its not educational if it's a family thing so that's why school are allowed and parents aren't' argument is always a valid one. Sometimes its true, but not always. The 'it disrupts learning too much' argument however - that's probably always valid.

Peanutphoenix, why on earth would I take my dc on a cheap holiday to top up my tan when I could send them on residential and top up in peace because obviously that's the only reason anyone ever goes on holiday

Our trips in term time are educational (field trips, exchanges) except for the cricket festival (which we host 1 in 4 years). Our 'jolly' trips are in the holidays. Before DS I used to go on the bi-annual PGL trip to France. Hard work but very enjoyable.
The school activity week mentioned above does seem to be taking the proverbial though.
The secondary school I went to did activity week after internal exams. It was cross curricular projects in school with a day trip. Including the Cambridge 'shopping' trip that was actually trying to encourage us to think about university.

I think the op has a point.

On each of the school trips my DC have been on in secondary there weren't even places for all children. The first one although lovely was to a country they weren't studying in languages to visit sites they weren't studying. No better than our trips to France.

The second has even smaller numbers and I know loads who can't go because of cost. Then there is the skiing trips of £1000 the maj can't go on but but those that can are getting the Friday before half term to go on.

I think there needs to be strict legislation. Proof trips compliment the curriculum,have places for all and are affordable to all.

Don't have a problem with the cheap day educational geographical/drama/ museum field trips if places for all and cheap enough for all. Incidentally the only away trip I went on in 7 years was a Geog field trip to Devon,staying in a skanky hotel. It was cheap and cheerful and everybody went. I managed to get a degree.

Really OP?

Good grief, OP.

Taking 30+ children on a residential school trip is no 'holiday' for the teachers, believe me. It is utterly exhausting, both mentally and physically and the level of responsibility is enormous. We get no extra pay or time off, despite being effectively at 'work' and 'on duty' for 24 hours a day for the duration of the trip. But we do it for the children.
Sometimes the trips are educational, sometimes purely fun, but often they're a mixture of both. The life skills, independence and social interaction skills that the children learn during these 'holidays' are invaluable. When we get back to school we weave aspects of the trip into the curriculum, diary writing, story writing, knowledge of local geography and history etc.
Residential trips are an important part of their learning and development. It is absolutely not the same thing as taking little Johnny out of school for a week in Spain.
These trips have to be done in term time because we wouldn't get half the kids to attend if we did them in the holidays because then parents would complain that it encroaches on their 'family time' Also, you wouldn't get the staff to volunteer to go during the holidays and, quite frankly, why should they??

But not everyone goes on these trips. Ds didn't do the Pgl week in year 6 he had the week off. It was a choice of joining another year or staying at home. Ds was the only one not going as he wasn't at the school when it was arranged

You're absolutely right OP.
The schools should be fined and teachers too come to think of it.
Teachers who take holidays with your children (and 40+ other children) during term time should be stopped!
Their educashun MUST come first.

Its a school trip ! It will be educational ! Having said that next week the School has two in service days and we are taking the kids out for the remaining three and going on holiday. The kids will learn stuff im sure !

I think there needs to be strict legislation. Proof trips compliment the curriculum...

My DC have been on lots of residential trips. Disneyland Paris being the latest one. They have developed many skills whilst away from home...
Independence
Resilience
Organisational skills
Social skills
Empathy towards others
Teamwork...

School is not all about Maths, English and Science.

My DD just came back from France.
Whilst there they saw the Eiffel tower, went on the Seine and visited a French market. The spent one whole day in eurodisney. In fact it was exactly the same trip and excursions that I would have done if I had taken my DD to france. Except I would have been fined
65 kids went out of 250

I fail to see how a trip to eurodisney is educational is ok for them but not us

Why does it matter if it's not 100% educational? Just going away without your parents but with your friends is a very good experience. It's the first step of having a real life outside your family. Associating schools with fun cannot be a bad thing.
I am not sure why anyone would call it a holiday for the teachers though.