To think children shouldn't be taken out of school for holidays?

[MidiMitch]

Just that really. An article today says four million school days a year are being lost by parents removing children for holidays. I am a teacher so probably rather biased on this but I think it's dreadful that children are taken out of school because of a cheap holiday. I definitely think that more needs to be done to stop the hiking up of prices in holiday time but I don't think the answer is to disrupt a child's education.

Yep I take my kids out of school for holidays, my husband can’t get time off during the holidays, and family time is really important to us. Tbh it’s probably on for a week at a time (per school year) but I guess I still would if it was going to be longer.

My kids, my choice. They easily catch up with their work and I don’t think they’re at a major disadvantage from missing a week. If you were to ask the kids, they would rather go on holiday and play catch up when they’re back.
And I also work in a school (not contracted so I’m able to take time off) 🤪

I have taken mine out several times, usually near the end of the summer term as they are not learning much during the last week anyway. My youngest has Autism and holidays during the school holidays are too busy and noisy making it a nightmare. Now they are getting older we don’t have much choice but to go in school holidays (dd1 going into first gcse year), prices are high so we stay in the uk.

I think parents should be allowed to take their child out if they have a good attendance rate.

YABU.

I missed a lot of school as a child; (including on foreign holidays)- teaching was hardly always excellent so I didn't miss much. I did a science degree and now study Dentistry so didn't do me much harm.

I've not seen a couple of students for 2 or 3 lessons because of the sheer amount of trips and interventions run at our school. When they finally deign me with their presence the gaps in their learning is obvious. They've missed a sequence of lessons and each sequence follows on from the other so prior knowledge is used in future lessons. So if you miss more than a week a kid is scuppered at GCSE level as it's fast paced.

My sister and I were taken out of school for the final month of the summer term every year between the ages of 4 and 14, and usually arrived late back in September as well. We lived in a hot country and my mother didn’t like being there in the summer, so she brought us back with her to the UK stay with family for the hottest few months. When we moved back to the uk we obviously stopped doing that but my parents always just took us out when they felt like it for holidays etc. 13A*s at GCSE, 4 As at A level and a First from Cambridge later, I don’t feel it’s harmed my education particularly.

My DS is due to start school in September, and as DH and I both have jobs where it’s difficult to guarantee getting leave in school holidays, we will be taking him out of school when we want to for family holidays etc, as I feel the opportunity to spend time as a family and travel is far more beneficial than 100% school attendance. That said I’d never expect a teacher to set or mark extra work, as that seems blatantly unfair. And if a holiday meant DS has missed something key and was struggling I’d make sure I did extra work to fix it for him. My parents always made sure they filled any ‘gaps’ for us. And I have not-so fond memories of spending my extended summer holidays doing projects on the Tudors etc as my parents felt we weren’t getting enough British education .

I wish they’d sort this ridiculous fine system out. Getting a fine for taking a term time holiday should not be a postcode lottery depending on which school your child goes too. It should either be mandatory (which I wouldn’t agree with) or we should go back to the old system where head teachers could authorise holiday requests for 10 days a year. What we have now is ridiculous.

@NewYearNewMe18 not many. Not many at all. I've never been on strike and I've been a teacher a long time! My school has never closed. I don't know any teacher who has actually been on strike. Most go in. There was one day last year I think but I don't know any schools it affected in my area. One day again in 2016... again...no schools round here affected. It's very hyped up in the media (of course...there is a Tory agenda to vilify teachers...are you aware of that? Thought not!) 🙄 But of course...you wouldn't even care much about WHY they were striking in the first place!

YABU, occasional term time absence doesn't harm the child's overall education.

Well maybe if the schools actually did anything in the last few days of term but sorry I'm not going to apologise for my child missing, watching videos, bring in toys and games from home and no homework for a week!

Leaving aside that a whole week of doing fun activities at the end of term is definitely not the norm in schools round here, it’s funny that a more relaxed timetable is viewed as a waste of time, but a week on holiday in the sun is justified because “it’s educational”.

I missed masses of school due to a combination of chronic illness and my immigrant parents not blinking twice when it came to taking me out of school to visit the motherland every year 3 weeks before the summer holidays started. Then we tried emigrating half way through my GCSE's so I missed three months at that point. Ended up with the top marks for a couple of subjects and top 5 for everything else in my year at GCSE. Boasting with a purpose here - just don't think missing school did any harm. I don't have pushy parents but I was academic and diligent when I was there and happy to catch up by myself as most things were taught from text books and I went over the chapters myself. Early travel to the third world at a young age meant I learned to speak my parent's language fluently and develop an interest in global poverty in adulthood went to uni and got a great job in international development. I doubt I would have done much better if I hadn't missed a day. If my dc were in the position of an amazing travel opportunity I wouldn't think twice.

and how do you suggest this happens? the only logical way this can happen is to spread the demand and allow schools to set their own holiday dates

In some cases that makes it even worse. I work in school, this October my half term and my DSs half term are different weeks as his school have moved the break “to make it easier for parents”.

As it happens it won’t make anything cheaper for parents who don’t work in school either, I checked the pricing of several holidays (UK and abroad) and they are the same price for MY half term AND for the weeks either side. It does mean that we won’t be having an autumn holiday this year.

Just got an extended leave certificate to take both my boys out of school to go back to the UK to see family. We do this most years but this is the first time that DS2 has been included as he has just started kindy.

I don't have an issue with it in Primary school. It will become more complicated when DS1 goes into high school but I doubt I will let it stop me - we go at Easter, so it's the end of term 1/ start of term 2 that's affected. The difference in price, travelling in March/April, to travelling in June/July or especially December is huge - we couldn't afford it. My Dad is 85 this year - he won't be around for much longer, so this is a finite thing - but it's more important for me and I believe for my boys to know my Dad, and to spend time with him, than to sit in a classroom. Since DS1 has received the academic excellence award for his whole year the last 3 years in a row, I don't consider it to be "time wasted".

I'm a teacher. In our school (private), the Head does grant term-time holidays when kids are in Y7-9 but doesn't grant them for Y10 and above. The parents seem to feel this is a common-sense approach and don't take the kids out when they are in Y10 or above.

The other rule we have is that the parents and child are responsible for getting the child fully caught up after the holidays. If a child is off ill, the teacher will put on extra lessons to get them caught up, but if its a holiday then the onus is on the child and family who made that decision.
How many of you who take your kids out on term time holidays actually take the responsibility to get your kids caught up? I don't think this should be the teacher's responsibility.

The Head would never authorise a term time holiday for any of the children in our school, yet the Governors gave permussion for a teacher to go on holiday to Gran Canaria during term time because it was her 50th birthday. Shocking.

My parents took me out of school for some amazing trips as a child - didn't do me any harm!
I think I learnt far more from exploring the world for 2-3 weeks than I ever would have at school for the same period (Safari's, Egypt, road trips in the US, Canada and Europe etc - not 2 weeks in Benidorm).
They stopped doing it once I was 13, but younger than that we did most years.
School was always supportive, I had to do a project on each trip and some homework. I never fell behind (although was always above average anyway).

The last week before the end of each term was always a load of nonsense anyway - so missing that is no big deal.

If I have kids they will definitely be taken out for trips if I want to do it - couldn't care less what the teacher makes of it!

I'm a secondary school teacher and actually think that family holidays have great value to them and for some people this is the only way they can afford a holiday so I don't blame them. However, there are certain year groups or particular times in the year where it is very disruptive so best avoided. What I do object to though is parents expecting me to provide their child with additional work/provide catch up lessons because they have chosen to take them out of school. The prices in school holidays are ridiculous. We haven't had a proper holiday for 4 years.

Also re the poster who said people would think twice if their dc were paying for education before taking dc out during term time. My dc are at a prep so paid for and one of the things I like about it is I can explain why we need time out and they aren't as beholden to Ofsted so are generally fine with them missing school to travel. I find it quite off that so many schools are pressured by Ofsted to keep absences down and end up making quite ridiculous demands (like people sending kids in to school with fevers so that they can get 100% attendance awards etc).

I have also never needed to do this as we always go in August, but I see why people do as they can't afford the £5000 plus to go in summer holidays. It may be the difference between affording a holiday or not going. Everyone deserves a holiday even children,

I'm not a teacher but I think schooling is a different ball-game these days with teachers' pressurised with SAT's and everything. It's fine for some-one like worried to come along and say I had many term-time holidays and still got 13 A* stars, that's them as an individual, you can't simply extrapolate that experience to every child in the class. If more than 5 children in a class go AWOL for a term time holiday, then catch up for the teachers is a nightmare. Obviously if you're a clever pupil it's not too much of a problem but what about those kids who are middling or struggle and haven't even gone on a holiday themselves. If teachers' and TA resources are diverted in helping holidaying children catch -up then the struggling or average kids through no fault of their own may fall behind.

I’ll be doing it if the cost of the trip is considerably cheaper, i’ll avoid important times such as start if terms/exams etc. I want her to travel and experience new places/cultures etc. We are looking forward to going back to places like Hawaii/Canada and New Zealand with her, show her bears, volcanoes and take her to learn about Maori culture for example

We are lucky enough to receive free education in the UK, it the least we can do to make sure the children attend. I think people would thing twice about removing there children from school if they had to pay for education by the term.

I do pay for my daughter’s education: it also gives us the benefits of longer holidays and the flexibility to take them out during school time for holidays.

I have done it once (for 5 days) and will be doing it again in a few weeks for 3 days. DD’s education hasn’t suffered and what she has gained from these experiences (which were not-movable) is invaluable

When I taught secondary, it didn't bother me unduly as long as I wasn't expected to take up classroom time catching up kids who had been on holiday - or even very much of my own personal time come to that.

I did object when a Year 11's parents booked a holiday for the week of his GCSE exam though. Made no difference - he still went. That was irritating as it impacted on my results.

Travel broadens the mind and there is more to life than can be learned at school

yes, 2 weeks all inclusive in Menorca... broadens the mind

Experience of airports, and flying and how air travel works. Travelling through another country, even if it's just the transfer bus, seeing different styles of housing and building, different flora and fauna.
Even in a hotel mainly full of brits with english-speaking staff, the local language will still be spoken, it will still be on signs.
Different foods to try, even the 'British meals' will taste different. Ice creams from international companies will be different.
Swimming, 7 days in the pool will go a long way towards the KS2 nat. curr. targets.
A week away from normal routine, gives a chance to explore a different way of living.
At the seaside? A whole coastal landscape to explore.
Go to the water slide park? A chance to face fears and push your physical limits.
Different currency, and dealing with exchange rates.

All of this is less important than the time spent with parents who are not stressed from a normal working week.

(P.S. I've never taken my children out of school to go on holiday)

Haven't RTFT but do you have children OP?! If not I highly doubt you'd feel the same if you did!!