To think allowing holidays in term time for a bit would solve a lot of problems

[Babamamananarama]

Lots more people are going to have to holiday in the UK in coming years. Holiday spots will be swamped. Campsites in Cornwall are reporting 250% rise in bookings this year.

Given that we've now accepted that kids can miss a couple of weeks of school without the sky falling in, how about we allow term-time holidays for a bit?

• less price gouging
• tourist season spread over longer, so more job stability in tourist regions
• would reduce dangerous strain on rural services (Cornwall has one small hospital which can't cope with the influx each year)
• safer/lower risk of COVID spread as not so crowded
• easier for families to manage
• better for workplaces not to have all staff who are parents trying to take holiday in the same 6 weeks as we try to get back to normal...

Obviously it would also make sense to reduce the academic target setting for a bit and concentrate on a more holistic approach to the recovery curriculum with wellbeing at the forefront for a change...

AIBU?

@brambles1111

'Only if teachers are allowed to do it too.' , stupidest comments kids and families of service users whilst teachers are service providers

It really is. Whenever this topic comes up, there's always someone who drops this one in like they think it's clever. You can disagree with the proposal whilst still understanding how ridiculous this argument is.

I don't really have an issue with term time holidays for primary, and to be honest key stage 3 generally either. Exam classes, definitely not.

I had one or two weeks term time holiday every year growing up. Most people locally did due to factory shut down weeks, which were usually mid to late June, and not in the school holidays.

It was fine and pretty much we all coped with it. As did the teachers.

BUT parents didn't expect teachers to set and mark work done when away, they didn't expect teachers to catch up on missed work. The school might send a list of work done whilst you'd been away on first day back and it was up to you and your parents if it got done or not. My parents were fairly conscientious and certainly as we got older I remember having to sit and do homework writing out missed work from a friends book, etc.

For the majority of children missing one or two weeks of school a year will have little or no detriment to their overall learning.

What does changing the educational targets actually mean for GCSE and A level, and knock on for degrees if those courses do not produce the same level of attainment?

And the targets would have to be very low if everyone (including teachers) couid take their DC out for holidays, and there not be disruption from catching them up.

When a term of school has been lost, then having more time out of school doesn't seem like a terribly good idea.

i can see the appeal for families with SAHPs and young primary school age DC, but it couid be pretty difficult and detrimental for everyone else

Really good idea. Well being needs to be top priority now. There will need to be a different approach now anyway. It’s unlikely things will go back to normal. I hope they don’t. Normal people was shit for whole swathes of society. There needs to be thought about what to do to catch children up who are disadvantaged and protect those that are at risk of neglect. But I think that’s a top idea OP.

Try being in Scotland where - due to things not being open - most people effectively only have 3 weeks to squeeze any actual holidays in.

Having said that I cancelled a break the last week of holidays as they moved school start date forward, only to discover that he's only in on the Thu and Fri and only for a couple of hours at that. But I don't want him to miss a minute after over a term of minimal education and I'd like him to be in at at the same time as his year to see the changes to the school and their routine.

I think we need to wait and see what happens. If this all calms down and numbers don't rise again, great, but if not focus must be on DCs getting the education they need.

OP I love a holiday I really do, but it's not the time to be taking them out of any schooling they manage to get and teachers will not have the time to customise lessons for pupils who voluntarily absent themselves, as they have enough to be getting on with to get everyone caught up .

And the targets would have to be very low if everyone (including teachers)

I don't think people consider teachers really, it's just expected they would work through as always, rather than dare to also want some time with their children.

Planned staggered holidays might work - though people whose DC go to school in different boroughs would find it difficult - look at the fuss when Nottingham(?) tried to alter its dates between the central and the other schools.

Planned changes for factory fortnight are more withstandable than people just taking a week or two when they fancy it.

It's the random pattern of longish absences (in addition to the burden of sick and other exceptional absences) that is the problem.

There is going to need to be significant catching up over the next year - maybe longer if it's a tough winter - and I don't think adding to that requirement is going to help

I like it OP. But then I always thought it was insane that we had allowed the government to erode family life to such an extent that people were afraid to take their children on holiday!

Our school are now sharing what children are learning each day so those at home can follow what those at school are doing. There is no reason I couldn’t visit my family and do the 2 hours of home schooling.

Children need family, laughter, new experiences, physical exercise. Especially if their parents were keyworkers or working from home full time and had little time for them over lockdown.

I don't think people consider teachers really, it's just expected they would work through as always, rather than dare to also want some time with their children.

Well yes, seeing as how employers are allowed to dictate when employees take their holidays. The flipside of this being that some people don't get any annual leave outside term time, so unlike people who can have time off in the school holidays they don't get that time at all. Speaking of people who don't get considered but might still dare to want some time with their DC...

Given that we've now accepted that kids can miss a couple of weeks of school without the sky falling in, how about we allow term-time holidays for a bit

It is going to be really hard for schools to continue to take their previous hard line "no, if Sally misses a week of school then her education will be permanently blighted and she will never catch up" approach to permission being sought for a term time holiday isn't it?

‘I don't think people consider teachers really, it's just expected they would work through as always, rather than dare to also want some time with their children.‘

It’s part of being a teacher is it not? Not being allowed holidays bar out of term time.

Your kids have to have an education, I don’t think taking 5 days out of school a year for family bonding time, especially when it gets kids away from screen time and allows them to experience new things. Everyone needs a refresh sometimes, it’s harder to do that when holiday places are absolutely swamped during half term, not to mention the financial strain which could be better spent aiding your child’s learning/ materials. No?

In Ireland, there’s no issue about children having the term time holidays or odd days off at primary school.

However, the summer holidays are longer too as they start at the end of June. Our school will close as usual this Friday and we’ve already completed the school/homework for this year now. (Secondary schools all finished at the end of May.)

It’s part of being a teacher is it not? Not being allowed holidays bar out of term time.

And it's part of being a student to be at school during term time, is it not? I don't really care to be honest, just it's not surprising teachers are leaving in droves with people's attitudes towards them.

On the one hand we have people baying for children to go back to school NOW as they've missed SO much and on the other we have people who think they should make up for this lost time by missing more school. 🤷🏻‍♀️

@Sandybval

It’s part of being a teacher is it not? Not being allowed holidays bar out of term time.

And it's part of being a student to be at school during term time, is it not? I don't really care to be honest, just it's not surprising teachers are leaving in droves with people's attitudes towards them.

What, that teachers are employees taking a salary and children going to school are not? I doubt it. I think it's more to do with generally shit pay and ever increasing pointless workloads, not people who have correctly ascertained the distinction between being an employee and not being one.

I just think there is so much more to childhood than academic attainment. Education is very important but school isn't the only way education happens.

I think it's a good idea. I personally wouldn't have a problem with teachers having a week off in term time either. Surely it's not the end of the world to have a cover teacher for one week?

I'm sick to death of being told one week off will ruin education, but then 6 months off with a possible "blended learning" in sept for god knows how long is totally fine.

I, as a parent, can catch my child up from a week off. I can't however teach them 3 days a week, not properly because I have a job.

Education is very important but school isn't the only way education happens

I'm guessing here, but are your children still at primary?

I actually wouldn't care that much about having a supply teacher for a week either, it's just the idea that it's a great flaw in the argument not to treat employees and service users in the same way is stupid.

I don't agree OP. Holidays aren't a right. Kids don't NEED to go to Cornwall more than they need to go to school.

If your life is so terrible that you feel as though you NEED a holiday to keep going, change your life.

At the moment the home learning/blended learning etc is the same provision for everyone in a class whereas if schools are back, the children are mid-topic with end of unit assessments etc, it's far more disruptive all round if they are on holiday.

I do think though that there could be some grace days allocated by the school ie you can take up to X number of days from nominated days at the end of term. All days aren't equal so it's far less disruptive missing the Christmas lunch, Christmas jumper day etc than having a week off in late September.

Can't see how that would work for anyone other than the very well off. School holidays are around double what most parents get off in annual leave which already means around 6 weeks paid childcare for most. I certain couldn't afford to pay for more school holiday childcare which is what would happen if I took annual leave in term time.

Given how much school time has missed and how difficult it is going to be for teachers to do catch up and close the educational gap that will inevitably be even larger now, if anything, I think the government are going to come down even harder on term time holidays.

@Krong your life doesn’t have to be terrible to need a change of scenery and a break away from routine. Not everyone is lucky enough to be able to afford to be able to do this during half term.

Your comment reminded me of people who tell those who are depressed that there’s nothing wrong with their life and to cheer up.

Honestly, the lengths people will go to to kid people (and themselves) that they don't just want a cheap holiday. That's the real reason OP wants to go in term time.