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.

[Sunshine1239]

Does anyone actually know anyone in real life who’s been fined for a day or is this one of those urban myths where someone knows someone etc?

I’m my lea and all my family members who live in various areas of uk it’s the same rule :

10 unauthorised sessions in a term (5 full days)= £60 pp per week

I honestly don’t believe it when people say they’ve been fined for a day

[OhDearGodLookAtThisMess]

I think it depends whether that single day pushes them over the threshold.

We had a family last year who phoned in that their two children had chicken pox. One of their TAs was in the early stages of pregnancy and was concerned as to whether she would have been in close contact with one of them. There office tried and tried to get in touch with the parents for clarification but there was no answer from the home phone (where one might have presumed the children were) and they kept getting a foreign ringing tone on both parents' mobiles. Of course it transpired that they were on holiday (kids returned with suntans and wanted to do a show and tell about their trip) but in the meantime that poor TA was really worried about a potential risk to her pregnancy.
But hey, none of her business, I suppose, continually?

[safariboot]

Lying about sickness will make it worse for your kids and everyone else when you actually do get sick. People "pulling a sickie" is why so many offices and schools have arsehole-level sickness policies. In turn this wastes the time of tax-funded doctors when the only reason the patient is there is because the work/school demands a doctor's note.

[Merrymumoftwo]

I sometimes wonder what is worse. The parents blaming those with genuinely ill children who are off for affecting the ofsted rating of their school or those that “pull a sickie” but parents seem to think that is ok. Sometimes these are one and the same people. Are these sometimes also the parents who complain their child has lied to them?

[Hollowvictory]

I was helping at school once when the teacher called the register. Teacher said 'Oliver?' all the kids shouted, 'he's gone to legoland'. Kids talk.
I've taken mine put for a week unauthorised absence every year. Never been fined but would just t pay up if I was. I always tell school in advance and never pretend to be ill.

[Sitdownstandup]

Obviously lie. Its unlikely to come back and bite you if you all use a modicum of sense. As for bad examples, teaching children that small lies are sometimes the optimum option when a particular rule is stupid, unevenly applied and unfair is no bad thing. Use your sense with social media, and make it something like a stomach bug that the NHS tell you not to go to a GP for.

[teyem]

There's a lot of tenuous links to support your view there Merry.

Can I play? I wonder if the same people who so rigidly follow the rules that they cannot contemplate a small lie to avoid a lot of fuss are also the same people who tell door knockers that they really are the homeowners and spend the next half hour of their life trying to shut the door?

[AnemoneAnenome]

I think Redhat has a fair point. If you can take them in for registration then remove them at 9.15, do that.

However I wouldn't pull a sickie unless you want your child to do it too in future.

[Soontobe60]

Please don't lie! You're asking your kids to lie too, and that puts them in a terrible position. We had a family that lied about both boys being ill but they came back with lovely tans and wrote all about a holiday in Tenerife! One of the children got very upset when his teacher asked him if he was feeling better, and told us that his mummy told him to pretend he was ill.
Putting your children in that position for the sake of a couple of hundred pounds is terrible.

[Hollowvictory]

Parents who make their heir children lie about sickness to go on holidays are seen as skanky charlatans by schools.

[teyem]

skanky charlatans

[ScarletBitch]

D&V requires 48hour clear from last bout before returning OP

[Merrymumoftwo]

Of course teyem

In your hypothetical situation I am sure they exist too. Is a small lie occasionally necessary I think so. Is it hypocrisy to judge a school on performance and ofsted rating while contributing to a the loss of an outstanding rating?

[teyem]

Well, it would be if the same person did that Merry.

Besides, don't people read the full Ofsted report rather than just the rating?

[Merrymumoftwo]

Some of us do others not so much from conversations I’ve had. Having a child off due to illness under multiple specialists means I’ve also been asked by a parent to apologise for causing the school’s overall attendance to be lower. This same parent took their child out for a holiday via the “pull the sickie” method. That child came back talking about their amazing holiday. So while I accept my child’s contribution to that part of the school’s review. I just feel that others should too.
I think the rule re term time holidays is silly and there should be flexibility but also think on doing this as parents we should not expect teachers to pick up the slack for missed learning which also happens. I’m sure you will agree balance is needed?

[teyem]

Yes, I think that's fair. I've only ever taken my kids out for a day's worth of holiday but that was years ago when there was a bit of bloody sense about the whole thing.

[TeenTimesTwo]

School aren't stupid. Don't lie. It makes you look daft expecting them to believe it. Politely inform the teacher and school office they won't be in.

Our old primary now has a policy to check with siblings schools if child is 'sick' next to half term or start/end of term.

[teyem]

It wouldn't be unusual to have a couple of children be sick at the same time. I love this idea that schools are playing some game of Columbo, checking their sources, knocking on doors, defying data protection acts to collaborate with nearby schools to catch the little buggers out.

It makes me want to be an attendance officer more than anything.

[BlackberryandNettle]

Call in sick.

[AnnaComnena]

teaching children that small lies are sometimes the optimum option when a particular rule is stupid, unevenly applied and unfair is no bad thing.

When your child thinks that your rules are stupid, unevenly applied and unfair, will it be 'no bad thing' when they lie to you?

[CarolDanvers]

Ring in sick. It’s one day and no one cares or remembers when the new term begins.

[CarolDanvers]

ur old primary now has a policy to check with siblings schools if child is 'sick' next to half term or start/end of term.

Really? How very Big Brother of them.

[TeenTimesTwo]

Carol They are fed up with parents lying to them. Attendance is worse than similar schools. This is one of a raft of measures to try to improve (some carrot, some stick).

[teyem]

If my children think that my rules are unevenly applied or Draconian and if they can see that there was an entity different set of rules only 10 years ago that worked just fine and the current rules were to obtain an arbitrary standard, we'll be able to sit down and talk about it.

[CarolDanvers]

Schools prefer you to say they’re sick? Where on earth did you hear this?

At my child’s ofsted outstanding primary when her teacher muttered out the corner of her mouth “it’s one day call in sick!” when I launched into an explanation of why I was taking my autistic child out for the day to go to Legoland as she’d never be able to cope then on a crowded weekend.