Taking kids out of school for hols - unauthorised absence or ring in sick

[SPARKLYSTARSHINESBRIGHT]

So we have a holiday coming up which will require primary DD10 and secondary DS14 misssing the last day of term at Easter. DD hasn't missed a day this year, DS has missed about 4 registrations due to dentist appointments.
Should I ask for permission to take them out, (unauthorised absence) and risk a fine or should I ring them in sick on the last day. Do schools actually prefer you to ring them in sick as the figures look better than unauthorised absences? I've never taken them out before.

Lou898 that’s all well and good but someone at our primary had just been sent the fine for ONE day tagged on to a weekend so that the child could visit a grandparent who lives 6 hours away. I’d be seriously p’d off to get a £120 per kid fine for that.

Our primary would fine so ignore those saying can’t fine it’s rubish and not accurate. Our senior would look at attendance and if above 96% would allow the absence. So I would be honest with the senior and lie to the primary. That’s for us though you know your schools but you could and may get fined if your honest.

Tell the truth. Teaching children it’s ok to lie to avoid “trouble” isn’t a good approach

Don't tell the truth. It goes down as an authorised absence. Sickness goes down as an authorised absence.

Schools cannot approve holidays and it goes down on the system as a holiday. Whilst you won't get a fine unless you drop brow a certain percentage, it's not worth being under scrutiny for a day.

I think there's a couple of things going on.

In the schools where I work and in my LA, they don't fine for a one-off one day absence where attendance is generally good (above 96%). Can't speak for other LAs.

If you ask the staff who deal with attendance (usually office staff) they'll tell you they'd rather have "illness" on a child's record than "holiday" (which would usually be marked as an unofficial absence).

However, the child's teacher will tell you not to lie, because the kids usually blab their mouths and then have to deal with knowing they've betrayed a parent or carrying a lie and either is horrible for the child.

These points have been made by PPs.

I've just got one other thing to say... We choose our children's schools based on loads of things, but a big one is usually the OFSTED report. Generally, most of us want our DC to go to a school where the report is positive.
Schools are graded on attendance.
So, it's a bit mean/low to chose a school based on a good OFSTED and then play a part in making their next inspection more challenging by doing things like taking them out of school for your convenience which will feed into their data on attendance.

There's a part of me that feels that you chose the school based on their OFSTED, so it's not very fair that for reasons that makes your life convenient you do things that makes their next inspection harder.

I don't expect to be agreed with on this point.

I totally agree with your point about choosing a school based on a good Ofsted but then contributing to low attendance RedHat.
I don't agree that Office staff would encourage or prefer to mark an illness as opposed to a holiday. Utter nonsense.

All the posters saying to take a sick day are encouraging some pretty bad habits in their children and giving them pressure that they shouldn't have.
Why encourage your children to lie in order to save your blushes?
Pretty pathetic really and embarrassing as children will slip up and when school staff find out they will criticise you, think you daft and question your parenting.

Act like a grown up. Request the holiday and then nobody has to be made to pie for you and you don't have to look like an idiot.

Redhats I actually agree with you and dont agree with taking kids out. But on the other side of the fence I have friends who can't always get annual leave in the school hols. We are taking a long haul holiday which we have saved for 5 years, it will be a one off, with travelling we will only be there 12 clear days, ideally we would have gone for 3 weeks.
As Tulip has said, if I asked the school, I'm sure they would say ring in sick to help their statistics but I don't feel comfortable asking them.

DD10 has already excitedly told friends about holiday, hence I've told her we are going a day later, not great, but I don't expect her to lie.

SadSackStruggling

I totally agree with your point about choosing a school based on a good Ofsted but then contributing to low attendance RedHat
I don't agree that Office staff would encourage or prefer to mark an illness as opposed to a holiday. Utter nonsense

Why don't you agree with me? And what are you basing that on? Why is what I'm saying utter nonsense?

Not trying to be combative, just don't understand the point you're making.

FWIW, in the schools I work in, attendance is a HUGE deal. Absences are graded (nationally) as official and unofficial. Illness is official, holidays are not.

I'd call in sick

If your daughter has already told people about the holiday it will be pretty obvious you're lying if you say they're sick.
And your children are old enough to take I board the message that lying for your own convenience is justified.
Having said that it's high time for policy on term time holiday absence to be applied consistently nationally so that people know where they stand.

What does "illness is official" even mean. An absence is an absence. Seriously OP don't lie, it'll come out and you'll look like a liar. We find people out all the time and it's embarrassing for them. No one will judge you for taking them out one day early but they will for lying.

Google your LAs penalty notice code of conduct and it should tell you their PN criteria (eg. Our LA says 8 sessions in a 10 week period).

The thing that maddens me is that they come down on you like a ton of bricks for an 'unauthorised absence'; but then the schools can happily decide to close at noon on the last day of term; and after Y6 SATS, plonk kids down in front of videos day in, day out for a fortnight as 'their job is done'.

I am aware that a link has been made between poor attendance and academic achievement; however, tarring everyone with the same brush- where some parents are completely disengaged with their DC's education, but force unwilling DC into school to avoid a fine, and in doing so, wreck lessons; and an involved, motivated parent taking a well-achieving DC out of school for one day- is unfair.

I believe the vast majority of head teachers feel the same way. Their discretion has been overruled.

Thus I'd happily lie.

Their discretion hasn't been overruled - schools can still authorise absences where they feel appropriate.

I'd just lie and say they caught a bug on the flight home.

I don't think it's a good idea to teach your children that it is ok to lie when it is easier/more convenient/to get what you want. Very poor example to set, in my opinion.

If your DD has told everyone she's going on holiday on the saturday, it's more than likely that everyone will guess the truth anyway.

Also have to agree with the poster who said "the child's teacher will tell you not to lie, because the kids usually blab their mouths and then have to deal with knowing they've betrayed a parent or carrying a lie and either is horrible for the child."

I think it's unfair to expect children to lie for you. Or worse, feel guilty if they accidentally let it slip. Not worth it, in my view. If you chose to take them out early, and I don't think a day is a huge deal, then you take the consequence of that choice.

Just a question if one of your children skips school one day or a session of school and is marked absent but lies to you about it would you be okay about it? I asked because I understand both sides and wondered what your come back would be when they respond in typical teen/pre teen fashion with well you did it so we can go on holiday?

For 2 consecutive years i took my daughter out of school the last 3/4 days in july to go on holiday. There was a £200 price difference between going early or waiting until school finished. Nothing happened either year..didnt call in and didnt get fined

I have just had this to deal with OP...For Xmas my son kindly bought me,my husband and my daughter a holiday to spain.He checked on the calander and knew we were breaking up on the 24/5/ so he booked it.He.however didnt take into consideration the travelling time needed to get from home to the airport.Si I politely wrote a letter to dd's school to ask for permission for her to have a half day absence and explained why.I did stress this was a one off and an exceptional circumstance for our family.bearing in mind my dd has consistantly had outstanding certificates for attendance anyway I got a flat NO.I was informed regardless it would be marked the 2.5 hrs I needed as an unauthorized absence and truanting.I was mortified and disgusted by the schools attitude.and I am expecting a fine.So my advice would be to not be hinest,cos like most things it doesnt pay to be,Ring in sick with a virus .I am still angry about mine and it genuinely was just one of those things.I will pay if I need to because the holiday is much needed and it was such a fabulous gift from my son.

honest not hinest! sorry typo!

Everyone wants their kids to go to an Ofsted outstanding. But once they’re in there always a reason why their family has to be an exception. I don’t know why you’re asking really. You’re going to do whatever you want anyway. Mean old school for wrecking your 5 years in the planning holiday.

As a teacher, it really pisses me off when parents so obviously lie about their children being off ill, when I know damn well they've buggered off on holiday early because the child has told me so; plus all the siblings are also off. Am I expected to collude in that obvious lie by saying I hope they're feeling better?
Show some respect, ffs. If you go on holiday, fine. Just own it.

My daughter missed three days in Nov. I put the holiday form in. When we had parents evening it was on her attendance as unauthorised, even though we hadn't yet gone. I let her teacher know we weren't telling her until the Friday night, (she was off Mon to Wed) so she would concentrate the week before. Telling them she was ill for three days wouldn't have worked. I would have felt guilty, she would have told everyone where she had been when she went back and wouldn't understand why I was telling her to lie.
I know someone who phoned in sick when her son was travelling to a match. The teacher saw him in close up on the TV, and asked the next day if he enjoyed the game!

I am a teacher and my advice is, to tell the truth, your daughter has good attendance and tbh four days for your ds is not unreasonable anyway these things have a way of coming out I have seen many students lie about being ill when really they went on holiday friends find out and let it out then everyone is embarrassed and lying is not a good look, it is only the last day of term IMO after ten years of teaching not much happens on the last day many schools have celebration assemblies or some sort of suspended timetable (not all I know) it is just one day but generally taking time out of school is frowned on not saying I agree but that is how it is.

**OhDearGodLookAtThisMess as a fellow teacher I know how you feel the kids always let it out so no point in lying all their friends tell you they are on holiday anyway "miss he is not ill he is in Tenerife"

Why is it any business of yours ohdeargod?