£1,000 fines per parent per child to be trialled in Lancashire

[mummymeister]

Aibu to think that this will disproportionately hit poorer families, those not in private schools (where fines don't apply) and those people with jobs where you cant just take time off in school holidays.

Not sure how many people have seen this news item but it was pretty inevitable that the fines would go up massively to deter days off in term. The trial is for £1,000 fines per parent per child - so £4,000 for a family of 4 making it less attractive to take the odd day at the start/beginning of a holiday.

www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/parents-to-be-fined-%c2%a31000-for-taking-children-on-holiday-during-term-time/ar-BBSuKFY?ocid=ientp

If they were truly exhausted /run down, wouldn't you make sure they had early nights and eatung healthily? If still truly exhausted (not just tired), I would suspect a virus and keep them in bed for a day which is illness/authorised absence. So this isn't even relevant to the holuday/unauthorised absence debate. Unless of course you think the parent has ultimate authority - they don't over school attendance and this is ultimately to give all children a better/more equal chance at an education.

i do think whatever the outcome should be the same for every LA

No, its not fake news. people need to be a bit more politically savvy about these things. government put out "ideas" they then wait to see what happens. its a tory council. they have clearly spoken off the record to the school, the school has reproduced what they have said and now they are back pedalling.

they have clearly spoken off the record to the school, the school has reproduced what they have said and now they are back pedalling.

You're just making stuff up, now.

That's not how schools or councils work.

Heads are obviously reporting it in as a problem though, the statement from the council says as much.

So what’s the solution? A massive fine, that’s rigorously enforced, would probably work as a deterrent, to be honest. Not sure what other ideas would work?

its how governments work. its a tory council. you can believe its all made up if you want. just wait and see where it goes in a couple of months time. I remember the consultation when the fines came in originally.

dangly, the solution is to hand the whole thing back to the heads. they know their school, their pupils, whats going on in their lives etc. they are the people who know the families. they get paid a good salary. so why not let them make the decision.

I do think that it's absolutely ridiculous that families in England and Wales ( and N Ireland? Not sure) must put up with this nonsense.

Here in Scotland, as a PP has said, it is very understanding of families' individual circumstances and people are not fined. I think there is no issue at all with few days off of school at the end of a term until they're in S3/ Year 9, and I'm a teacher.

Poor people can't afford holidays, it's a luxury for the middle classes, unlikely to trial in Lancashire anyway, we are poor up here.
Should try it in the rich areas down south.

It’s not true , it the court that could fine £1000 not the penalty notice .

A week or two week family holiday is not an entitlement though. Plenty of familes can't afford one, in or out of school holidays. If someone works in an job where they can't get time off in the holidays, there are still options for long weekends using INSET days at other times of the year. It is really divisive and disruptive to other children in the class ( who might be struggling in with illness, school phobia etc) for other classmates to disappear off for a fortnight in Thailand every year. In our school it's almost as if money and far flung destination legitimises this and the child gets a lot of attention before they go and when they come back. I've never heard anyone say they were taking the children out of school for a week in Llandudno or wherever. So, if this fine were true, I would see it as a positive step.

Fines for taking children out of school are stupid, regardless of price

MyDc the trial is to change the £60. what you are thinking of is the current system. this is about looking to change it.

clearly Romany Lancashire must have a lot of middle class families because last year the council gave out 7,575 fines for unauthorised absence.

I actually think it would be fairer.

At the moment plenty of my dc's friends pay the fine as they can afford it. Several went long haul over Christmas( 2 to Oz) and came back late.

Doubt 4 k would seem so attractive.😏Why shouldn't wealthier families be priced out of term time holidays? Poorer families are.

BlueWonder My parents also were not allowed to take annual leave during school holidays. We were taken out of school to go to Butlins a few times. Otherwise I would never have had a holiday as a child at all.

I think the most effective way of reducing such absences would be either to have INSET days as a block, not the same for all schools in an area, or for primary schools a more drastic option of unauthorised absence being taken into consideration in priorities for secondary admissions. People are prepared to exaggerate or fake their faith for years to get a good school, so I am sure they would be prepared to have modest holidays in school holiday time if they thought their child would not get their favoured secondary school.

The problem with letting heads make the is that they could understandably think no harm will be done by family A taking a term time holiday, but it could be a very different story for family B.

Family A are genuinely only planning on a cheaper, term time, foreign holiday once throughout their children's school years, whereas family B do it at least once a year. Family A support their children's learning at home by doing reading, homework, educational activities, and they have high Ability children who would catch up on any work they missed relatively easily. Family B's children struggle academically and are behind many of their peers, and the family are unsupportive of the school with things like reading and homework. These children need all the time they can get in school, certainly more than they need a week by a swimming pool.

Why should head teachers be expected to discriminate against families because term time holidays are more detrimental to some children than others?

They shouldn't imo, it needs to be the same rule for everyone, and families should prioritise their children's education during term term.

holiday companies will increase the cost of holidays in school holidays dramatically if no children from England go on holiday in term time.

this will be the knock on effect. family friendly resorts, cottages, hotels, attractions will all have to increase the costs of their services in school holidays to offset the further loss of income in term time. So even more poorer families wont be able to take breaks not only in school holidays but bank holidays and weekends. if you restrict the number of days that there are to trade like t his then the prices when you can trade will have to go up to counter act this.

I prioritise my children’s education but I’m not going to forgo a holiday until the eldest has left school. I book the holidays for when I consider it to be less disruptive of their education and the busiest times of year.

I'm not against this idea. The only people I know who take their kids out of school in term time are the very wealthy families going to 5 *Dubai, Australia etc where they save literally thousands of pounds going in term time. The 'normal' families like mine just go on a normal holiday during the school holidays to a place we can afford.

Teachers discriminate between their pupils all the time. its their job. They decide who does the extra homework because they need stretching. they decide who sits in which group according to ability or the needs of the child. they decide who goes to after school clubs and training.

its not a pleasant thing to do but I would sooner trust a head who knows my family to do it fairly than some blanket ban on holidays which benefit those in jobs where they can take the time off when they want to.

howonearth - that's fine if you are in a job where you can take school holidays off. many people work in a situation of allocated holidays, or in industries where you cant go in school holidays like tourism, police etc. if you work in an office of 8 and only 1 of you can be off at a time, it stands to reason 2 people wont get a week in school summer holidays. this is the reality of it for lots of people.

and its not just holidays, its unauthorised absences.

Thats not really discrimination, that's just catering to individual needs. There's a big difference between doing that when the benefit is for the child's education and when the benefit is for the parents bank balance.

My siblings and I had a term tome holiday most years (not at GCSE). We’ve all managed to sit A levels, get degrees and hold down professional jobs. Occasional Term time holidays do not have a long term detrimental effect on education

Fining parents for the odd holiday does not do anything to target frequent and persistent truancy, which obviously is problematic. It is a nice little money maker though...

My DCs school are reasonable; I’m limited to when I can book holiday and although they mark the absence as unauthorised they do not refer to the council for a fine.

I just don't agree with term time holidays. What message does it send to the children about the importance of school? Bit weird to be at school doing your maths and English when your friend is sunning themselves on a beach somewhere! There are loads of weeks to go on holiday too. 6 weeks at summer, 3 half terms, 2 weeks at Easter. Not just limited to summer.