Fine for taking kid out of school- 8 days?

[NeedToGoOut]

Just got penalty notice letters for DH and I.

We only took DC out of school last month for 8 days, first ever time. I didn’t think a penalty was given unless DC is taken out for 10 days?

DC had 100% attendance outside of that and is top of year. No effect on education at all. Had assessments the week after we returned and got 97-100%!

AIBU to be a bit pissed off the school ran straight to LA to rat on us?

How much was the fine ?

I’m guessing £60

How is it?

I've never known the parents who take the piss ever get a fine, because it's just random days off here and there when they can't be arsed.

Its not bullshit at all. Maybe your LA is hot on it and they all get fined, but they don't round here.

I'm expecting a letter, but will take it on the chin. It's fair enough. I knew the rules when I booked tickets. It was a family wedding, we had a great week, avoided exams and SATS and even if they send a fine it still works out cheaper than paying the airfare for all of us in the holidays.

Do you work in attendance or are you basing your opinion on what you’ve heard/assumed.

@Navigatingnewwaters neither, I'm going on what I've been told by the parents who essentially brag that they've never been fined.

Take what you hear with a pinch of salt. I work in attendance and it’s a huge job, we look at patterns of odd days off, stop authorising illnesses when they tip over the threshold and require evidence, we send out letters to people in this case and letters to warn people they are risking a fine before they get it, we have endless meetings to try and improve the hardcore non attendees. No one ever gets fined for one day off unless it adds up with other unauthorised absence to tip them over the edge, most people who take a term time holiday understand they are risking a fine but factor it in and we are obliged by law to follow the processes we do and apply them equally.

My nephew has additional needs and attends one of the poorest preparation in the north west. He is absurdly passionate about history. Loves it. Last month by sister and I took him to Rome for a week. He learned more about history in that month by praising by reading books, watching videos and then listening to the audio guides while actually EXPERIENCING the place , than he ever would have done in a year of history lessons in school. To that 9 yo boy, going to the colosseum and watching re-enactments and buying a replica helmet, going to the Vatican, the Sistine chapel etc was Ann ancient fabulous education and one he will literally remember forever. And it was a damn sight more interesting than a worksheet, drawing a picture and listening to his teacher ramble on with inaccuracies.

Education is very important but learning doesn't have to mean sitting in a stuffy classroom week after week and being bored silly.

@devonianBiatch

I doubt most the people taking their kids out of school were doing cultural tours of Europe. When mine were at school we would drive and went as far as Italy, Spain etc via other places visiting cultural sites etc. did they moan ! they appreciate it now though funny enough

Lucky boy ☺️

If you went for a wedding Barbie, that’s a fixed thing, whether it’s cheaper or not. I imagine you’d have still gone to the wedding, if it had been mid August.

There’s a story or an extenuating circumstance for many situations, but as Headteacher said, there is one rule and you just have to suck it up.

Probably not, but even a bog standard beach holiday can be very educational. Opportunity to see the way tides work, view wildlife, look at the impact of the sea on rocks. Mine learned what a jellyfish was while on the beach!

@ApplesandBunions

I totally agree. Years ago e and my best friend took our kids to Tunisia. My 4yo daughter was amazed that there was tiny little pipe fish literally swimming around her feet as she was paddling. She got really upset that she couldn't catch one, they were super quick. Then she wiped her tears away and announced that she would stand really still with her bucket and she would get one eventually . Me and my friend were laughing about it and like "naaaaaw, how cute is that". She didn't give up, she stood and stood and when she came over after 4 hours with 3 fish in her bucket she was so proud she pet much grew an inch taller. She learned to swim in the pool that week too. She went on to swim for her school in competitions and win a good few medals too. And that trip, she came home a much more confident and resilient child. And at 14 she still reminds me about how everybody said she wouldn't catch a fish and she caught 3!

I don’t take my children on holiday for any “educational purpose”!!!

It is about fun, sun, relaxing, chilled evenings playing cards in utterly perfect weather.

Education on holiday?! Even when we go in city breaks and do “cultural” activities - i do it because I think the children will enjoy. Not because I am delighting in the “educational” qualities of the activity

Totally separate issue and completely out of context of the thread.

You broke the rules end of...what would your reaction be if DCs teacher took a break for that length of time!

Attendance has an impact on absolutely everything to do with schools. Results. Ofsted look at it and report on it and ask what is being done!

Holiday's are important but taking the mick to suggest DCs school are in the wrong here!

Hope a cheaper break was worth it! Remember your children's teachers will pay more just to enjoy a small break before going back to prepearing curriculums for DCs and other children, just for you to get a discount next year of course!

Slight diversion, but all this attitude that children do nothing in the last week of term bugs me. I teach yr 4 and have lessons planned up to and including the morning of the last day (including a spelling test on the last day.) Trying to control 30 bonkersly excited children without any structure is much more difficult than just cracking on and teaching them!

In England and Wales children must get an education between the school term after their 5th birthday and the last Friday in June in the school year they turn 16.

www.gov.uk/school-attendance-absence

One of the teachers at my DTs school says openly she doesn't teach them anything in the last week!

She also made us properly laugh when we were collecting after a sports event at a different school and they'd won another trophy (very small school, do loads of sports events and all teams have done really well, lots of trophies won this year). We said she'd need to buy another trophy cabinet. She said nah, I'm going to start burning books to make room (and she's Literacy lead too).

My dc haven't done much formal worm recently. One of my (bright and academically able but can't cope in school environment) dc, in a different primary, is on about 32% attendance overall for the year. The LA are doing absolutely nothing to put in some education for her despite my multiple emails and ensuring they're aware she is not in school and not engaging in learning at home with us...

Yeah we had terrible problems with one child. Missed almost a whole year of Secondary due to SEND/unmet need/EBSA. We were lucky in that we weren't fined but when the LA , School and CAMHS finally got their act together after I threw all my Toys out of the pram she received one hour a weeks education rising eventually to 5 hours.

I was a teacher - 32 children in my final class. If each child had been taken out for 8 days that would mean 256 days of lost learning. Of course, they are unlikely to all be away from lessons at different times but even so....That would mean that either each child would lose what may be an essential building block of knowledge or that the teacher would have to give up lunchtime or break time to help the child catch up. So - do take your child off school for 8 days - but only if you are willing to pay for a tutor. After giving up teaching, I actually did tutor children. And, yes. I tutored children who had seemed to have caught up on the learning they had missed only to discover later that they had a great, gaping hole in their maths and/ or English!

Can anyone tell me roughly how long it takes for the fines to come through?

I have huge amounts of sympathy on this because holidays are important for children. To have that time with family without day-to-day pressures are a huge importance when growing up and are some of my most treasured memories as a child and a parent. School is really important as well and we are lucky at the moment as we can afford to still do it in school holidays. But many can't and I I would likely make the decision that one week off and a fine would be preferable than having no holiday (not for gcse kids though). But yabu not expecting a fine and being pressed and childish about getting one. Suck it up and treasure your memories.

The main issue for most people is the cost of holidays in the school Summer holidays.

I don't think it matters that your child is too of the class OP, do you think only the most able children deserve a term time break ?

I do agree holidays can be educational, and whilst I'd be looking for a new school if I believed my child to be in a "stuffy, boring class", I know some children benefit from a much more hands on approach to learning .

The modern primary curriculum expects a massive amount of learning to be stuffed into the day and I personally think it"s simply too much for many children.

That's debatable, education and schooling are not always the same thing. There are many ways to create an educated human being. Which the op seems to be doing a fantastic job of.

I'm a teacher, and I'm not overly bothered about term time holidays. It think that's the choice of the parent. However, I did once have a dad come in after school report day to ask why their child was not working at age related expectations. I explained that his attendance was a contributing factor, and he genuinely said " I don't think 3 weeks spend at our house in Spain is going to be the reason he can't read. We'll, translating that to phonics classes that is 15 different graphemes he has missed being introduced. With 30 children to 1 adult I can't see how he thought I was going to reteach those sounds to him, taking into consideration that his child was not the only one who had missed school that year.