To take DS out of school for two weeks for holidays?

[DimplesEverywhere]

When Covid settles down and we can get into Florida without too much hassle. Hopefully later this year or early next year. We haven’t gone away for the last two years so have been waiting to do a big holiday.

He is starting secondary school in September but he’s well above average in all subjects so I don’t think it’ll impact him that much.

I’d also rather go on hols outside of school hols, as it’s less busy now, that DS is the only DC we’ll potentially get fined for (other DC out of school). It’ll be cheaper so we’ll save more than the £120 anyway!

Thinking of doing it every year from now actually.

Would it BU?

Of course it is unreasonable

Yes you are being very unreasonable and your child will resent you for it when he goes back to school and has missed out on 2 weeks interaction with his classmates and the dynamics have changed. Not everything is about money.

Why not go alternate years but in the holidays instead?

YABU
He can’t miss the first two weeks of high school! Seriously, that’s a really important time.

I know a few people who go during term-time and just pay the fines, like you say often works out cheaper.

I’d also rather go on hols outside of school hols do you not think we all feel like this?

YABU because you have 13 weeks of the year to take them on holiday when they are not in school.

Teacher here and I'd take DS out of school in a heartbeat.

2 weeks off for an average achieving child will have no impact

No absolutely fine. Going to Florida is way more important than getting an education.
Can I suggest May or June as a good time to take him out when he gets to Year 11?

He’s just starting secondary school???

That’s a big transition to make, it’s a lot about making friends and settling into a new routine.

Why on earth would you even consider it…

I wouldn't take a child out for a fortnight who had just made the transition to secondary school a few weeks before. It's a big step up from primary school and catching up requires a bit of motivation, especially say, if he will have just started a new language.

If you can afford to go to Florida, you can afford to do it during school holidays .
I can understand the odd day or two when the flights aren't compatible with school but 2 weeks? Not fair on your child or their teachers imo.

YABU

Kids have missed more than enough school why would you want him to miss even more unnecessarily?

YABU

I don't think it's unreasonable. Not everyone has the luxury of being able to afford to go away in the school holidays. When I was at school my parents always took us away in term time as that's all they could afford. It didn't make me resent my parents, nor did it affect me in later life with work etc. I'm the same, I work but don't earn a lot, I don't see why my daughter should miss out on holidays because I can't afford a grand for a caravan in the school holidays.
Too many people saying how we should be dealing with our own children, can't holiday in term time, packed lunch rules. It's ridiculous.
I'm sure your child will love a good holiday. I'd go and enjoy every minute.

If you do don't expect teachers to set work for him to catch up. If everyone did this it would be chaos .

Obviously we wouldn’t be going in the first two weeks of him starting secondary! It’d be mid November at the earliest.

In future years, we wouldn’t go around exam/assessment times either.

I have always hated going away in school hols, everything’s packed and more expensive but we had 4 DC at different stages so couldn’t take them all out of school but now we only have 1 school age child so what the hell.

I don’t think DS will be too resentful of going on nice holidays .

I would go. I'm in Scotland though and taking your kids out of school for a holiday doesn't incur a fine, just a note home that it will be recorded as an unauthorised absence and the school won't send work home.

Everyone is so weird and uptight about this on here but unless you are somewhat young, or went to school in another country where things are different, then you are old enough to have been in school at a time when doing this was a completely routine and normal thing to do by parents who could afford to do it. Only in the last decade or maybe a bit longer has there been this completely OTT reaction to missing the last or first week of school. Or is it just a MN thing?

My parents always took me out for foreign hols in secondary school.

And I agree with plodalong!

If his school splits the year into sets for the core subjects, he might find he's missed vital work/tests and slips down a set. His friendship group might reform without him. His Head of Year might not be at all sympathetic to any issues/complaints you have about his teachers/homework etc. Schools do not like unauthorised absences.

At the school my DS goes to he’s expected to get any work he’s missed from others in his class. The teachers will not have 2 weeks of nicely printed out notes for him! He’d go mad if I said I was taking him out of school during term time.

I wouldn’t. A couple of days fine. But two weeks? And maybe every year? That’s a hell of a lot of learning to miss. Maybe a whole topic in some subjects.

We take DSS out to go away. Our leave is rostered. We can't change it. So it's then or not go away

Yes it's cheaper but you've had 2 years to save for a holiday that doesn't impact upon your child's education.