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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To call into school sick when actually on holiday?

199 replies

RosieLancs · 28/04/2021 08:43

AIBU to lie to the school and pretend the kids are off sick when we are in fact on holidaying?
In a rash moment I booked a caravan holiday for me and the kids the week before half term.
It has been a long year and I feel like we deserve a little family break.
I would normally go in school holiday time but it was over triple the price for the half term week which took it out of our price range.

I know I could land myself with an £120 fine here and if that happened then so be it but would I be unreasonable to just ring them in sick for that week?
Has anyone else done this and gotten away with it before?

If its relevant - after a recent parents evening both of their teachers said they were still very confident and well adjusted after the lockdowns of the last year and both are working at 'Greater Depth' for their age group so I don't feel missing 5 days of school will harm them in any way.

OP posts:
Dishwashersaurous · 28/04/2021 09:22

Don't lie. The kids will let slip.

Simply tell the head that you got confused about half term dates and that you will be taking them out for that week.

Roszie · 28/04/2021 09:22

I'm a teacher. The kids always tell us.

loveheartss · 28/04/2021 09:24

I don't think I would lie but I do understand the temptation. Is their dad on the scene? I think it is 60 pound per parent per child isn't it?

Just something to also bare in mind.

LagneyandCasey · 28/04/2021 09:24

@3scape

£60 per parent per day for each child. Great if you can afford it. But I guess it will get some needed funds for LAs to enforce these a lot now that budgets are facing even more cuts.
Per holiday period. Not per day!
ForgedInFire · 28/04/2021 09:25

I've done it. If my DD let slip then nothing came of it.

Mumof1andacat · 28/04/2021 09:25

Fill out a holiday form and just pay the fine if you have too. A lot of it is the LA choice. In my area they look at over all attendance, could the holiday be taken in the holidays. Some ppl are fined and some are not.

SardineJam · 28/04/2021 09:25

Yes, agree with PP, £60 per parent per day where we live
Tell the school, we always did and no issue

MadeOfStarStuff · 28/04/2021 09:27

YABU

Just tell the truth and pay the fine if you get one, still cheaper than going in school holidays. Your kids will blab and you shouldn’t be teaching them it’s okay to lie.

GreenFingersWouldBeHandy · 28/04/2021 09:27

Why are you so scared about being honest? Fess up and face the consequences. Or cancel the holiday if you can't afford it.

Also, don't bring your kids up to think lying is fine.

It has been a long year and I feel like we deserve a little family break

We ALL feel like this!

Mummy1608 · 28/04/2021 09:31

It has been a long year and I feel like we deserve a little family break

That's what school holidays are for... sorry op, I think yabu

LagneyandCasey · 28/04/2021 09:36

@SardineJam

Yes, agree with PP, £60 per parent per day where we live Tell the school, we always did and no issue
Not per day. This is total rubbish.
stopringingme · 28/04/2021 09:36

I have just checked in Lincolnshire it is £60 per parent, per child if paid within 21 days, £120 if paid between 21 and 28 days and after 28 days they may prosecute.

UserTwice · 28/04/2021 09:39

Particularly bad to lie about being ill at the moment. Everyone's heads will jump straight to wondering if your child has Covid.

Batteriisincluded · 28/04/2021 09:42

I hate all this using Covid as an excuse... we all went through it and some suffered much more than just not going on holiday.
Anyway - I don't think you should teach your children to lie.
So be honest with the school. Really I think it's a shitty thing to do. School staff have just got all the children back in school. Assessments are showing massive learning gaps due to the variable application of home learning. They are working their socks off to try to deal with that. Then parents take their kids out for a week...

Original poster
RosieLancs · 28/04/2021 09:45

Okay so thankyou for all the replies.
I didn't really think I was going to get away with it, I know my kids will tell on me.
I was never going to ask them to lie so please calm down on that front, I wouldn't put my children in that position.
I've just looked at the info for our own LEA and it is 5 or more days unauthorised absence that results in a fine so I will fill in the forms for Monday afternoon onwards so I am under the 5 days and whilst I may be told off by the school we should hopefully escape the fine.

OP posts:
TheOrigRights · 28/04/2021 09:45

Just tell the truth.
The more parents lie, the more sceptical schools become and parents then need to provide truck loads of evidence when a child is genuinely ill.

ilovesooty · 28/04/2021 09:45

@LagneyandCasey

Take the fine. The children will blab and make you look like an arse.
And you're modelling lying to your children
Spied · 28/04/2021 09:46

Both kids off sick for a week? I'd be concerned we'd have the school welfare office knocking at the door and taking things further if there was nobody answering the door...

Sparklfairy · 28/04/2021 09:47

There's lots of things I feel I 'deserve' OP lottery win why are you special and more deserving than everyone else?

CornedBeef451 · 28/04/2021 09:48

The children will blab!

Just be honest and pay the fine if you have to. It'll be much easier and less stressful than lying.

We took ours out of school for 3 days and just called in sick. One of DDs "friends" (she had been bullying DD) told the class we were on holiday so we came back to a letter from the school and had to prove our fake holiday dates.

I just changed the dates on the flight confirmation email so it matched the lie.

Not proud of it but we had all had enough of that school by then and DCs we're just about leave so I didn't feel bad about lying.

They hadn't dealt with the bullying at all, DDs ongoing health issue treated as a joke despite being under the care of neuro team and headteacher basically accused me of lying about something else so I really didn't care about lying to them by that point.

However, if you like the school and will have to keep going there, just tell the truth!

notaknob · 28/04/2021 09:48

Kids blab. Just tell them

Flowerlane · 28/04/2021 09:50

I always pay the £60 if it’s a holiday for a week. If it’s 2 days I phone in sick.

We are also booked to go away the week before half term. Enjoy your break Smile

LagneyandCasey · 28/04/2021 09:52

@RosieLancs

Okay so thankyou for all the replies. I didn't really think I was going to get away with it, I know my kids will tell on me. I was never going to ask them to lie so please calm down on that front, I wouldn't put my children in that position. I've just looked at the info for our own LEA and it is 5 or more days unauthorised absence that results in a fine so I will fill in the forms for Monday afternoon onwards so I am under the 5 days and whilst I may be told off by the school we should hopefully escape the fine.
Yes the fines only kick in if the unauthorised absence goes to up to 10 sessions/5 days per school year. Lots of parents do long weekends etc to stay under the threshold.

Some parents have successfully appealed if their child has an exemplary attendance record. Most just pay up though and look at it as part if the holiday cost.

OnTheBenchOfDoom · 28/04/2021 09:52

Ours is 4 1/2 days no penalty, 5 days you are fined.

Because of this lots of parents get a morning registration, let their child have their lunch at school, get the afternoon registration mark and pick their child up 10 minutes later and drive to their holiday that afternoon. I used to do this when Ds2 was at the eye hospital every few months so in school records he is "in".

The week before or the week after a half term or a term is quite obvious when we have only half a class in school and some have rang in "sick".

Hopikins · 28/04/2021 10:00

Children have already lost to much schooling, not a good idea.

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