Taking DS out of school family holiday WWYD?

[Sleepregressionqueen]

Just about to book our family holiday unfortunately we have to go in September as otherwise it’s just to expensive. He has the same teacher and same people in his class so not much settling in really. He will be going into year1.

we either go at the start September 13th or the 27th. I said 27th to give him a bit of time
but OH says it’s probably best we go at the start as they probably won’t be learning many new things then.

WWYD?

Of course they will be learning new things! Personally, I wouldn’t do it at all.

I wouldn’t go at all.

I wouldn't take him out of school

I wouldn’t worry too much either way as it’s so similar to last year. Just get him to read a little every day and write a couple of postcards!

If you can’t afford to go in the holidays then surely you don’t go this year and save up for longer?

I think it’s really disruptive
yes it’s expensive to go in school holidays but that’s what most parents have to contend with once their holiday time is bound by this
the kids are learning stuff and settling back in to school during September and having a long break and then another one isn’t ideal
i am sure you’ll get plenty of opposing views as well

"won't be learning new things then?"
FFS what gives you this impression?

ideally I wouldn’t take him either, but we haven’t been on holiday since 2019! We’re all desperate for one.

so we are going I’m just not sure what date would be best for DS.

The transition from reception to Y1 is huge. You go from learning through play and carpet time to sitting at desks and having a far more structured timetable. The expectations are very different and they need time to adjust. I would to consider taking my child out anyway but certainly not in that first term.

If he was older and coming up to GCSEs or something I'd say not to, but year 1 (and assuming he's not struggling or behind) it will really make zero difference to his future or education so I say go for it.

I don't object to term time holidays but agree that September is probably the most disruptive time to take him. Agree with a pp that there is a bug transition in expectations from reception to y1. Could you go nearer to Easter or the week after the June half term instead?

I would probably go for the later date to give him a couple of weeks to settle in.

Don't think it matters much which date. It will be disruptive either way 🤷‍♀️ I don't think I'd want my kids to miss any time in September.

If you’re determined to go I would aim for October / November. Any date but September basically.

Are you taking him out for 2 weeks? That's a long time after a big summer break

If that's the case of just do a "less exotic" 7 day holiday in the summer

Ignore these nay sayers and go OP, I'd probably choose the 27th to give him the extra time

Can you look to go around October half term?

its not just the new teacher that makes it a transition point, I really wouldn’t go in the first few weeks I would rather wait a few months

There will be a lot of changes for the class to get used to. The Yr1 curriculum and methods of learning are very different to EYFS. The expectations for the children themselves will also be different.

They will be straight into learning their next phase of phonics, spelling, punctuation. There will be topic work to cover and the next stage of maths.

September is one of the worst times to go away on holiday.

I would pick the 27th. Better to have the first couple of weeks settling into the new routine even if the teacher is the same the routine will be different. He will miss out on some learning either way.

If you are determined to go in a September, I’d got for the 27th, so he at least had some time to settle in and you can see what the children are learning Y1 is a big jump from reception learning-wise).

Honestly, though, I wouldn’t take him out of school in September if it were me.

I'm a primary teacher and I would take him. In fact, we likely can't afford a holiday in the school holidays either and fully intend to take my own child out next year if that's the case. I don't think it matters which date you take him out. For both of those dates, the settling in bits will be done and the "learning" will have started so I'd just go for the cheapest or best weather option. He's in year 1, not year 11!

Unreasonable. Time away from work is important, but a holiday away is not some human right.

I'd be sympathetic if you were visiting an elderly relative or someone who is terminally ill, but not otherwise.

We’re going for a week, so he will miss 5 days.
i will speak to DS see what he thinks as he will know best.

I'm sure that it won't make a massive difference to his learning in the grand scheme of things. But it's pretty disrespectful to the teachers and sets a bad example to the children (both yours and other) to model just randomly missing school to have fun instead. There is a reason that people get fined for this.

Imagine if everyone did this?

I would choose the date with best weather/flight times/price it won't make much difference either way to school.