Once in a lifetime trip - 3 weeks off school

[XMissPlacedX]

My daughter has always wanted to go to Disney world Florida, but due to funds I've not been able to afford it. She is 14.

Her aunty who is quite well off and has a daughter the same age (my dd's cousin ) goes to Disney world Florida every 2 years and has offered to take my dd next year for 3 weeks.

The problem is it's the first 3 weeks of the school term ( September 2024). I've asked her if there was anyway of going in the summer holidays and she said it would double their cost and it would be cheaper for them to pay the school fine .

What do I do ? Do I say yes or no ? I would love for my dd to go but am not sure how much the fine would be and what impact missing that amount of school would cause.

I'm really torn

1. Penalty notice is £120 per parent, per child. Reduced to £60 if you pay within 21 days. It doesn't increase with length of absence. Absent parents can receive penalty notices, as can step parents.

1. Some authorities are taking parents directly to court for prosecution without issuing a penalty notice, especially for yr11 holidays, or those at the start of a year. Don't assume you can just "pay the fine". Prosecution will result in a criminal record which could jeopardise future travel plans of your own, and employment.

Everyone will have their own anecdotal tales of what happened to them, but every authority works differently and every case is handled differently, so what happened for one isn't a guarantee for another.

Find out for sure before agreeing and booking or you may find yourself with a criminal record.

3 weeks missing GCSE work across all her subjects. That's a really bad idea.

Last time I worked in a school (20+ years ago) the standard fine in England was £60 per parent, per child per week, so 3 weeks would cost £360.
That's probably less than the difference in holiday price, but I would still say no unless it was the last 3 weeks of a school year.

Send her to Hell instead. The lines will be shorter, the humidity will be lower, and she’d meet much more interesting people. Seriously, missing the start of Y10 or Y11 is a bad idea.

My parents wanted us to go on a big holiday with them just before covid, but I was scared of being fined from school and said we’d go once the kids were older. Then, during covid my dad was diagnosed with a brain tumour and died a few weeks later. Now we’ll never get to go on that holiday and make memories with him. It’s my biggest regret to date.

If you don’t mind your daughter missing some school and her Aunty has offered to pay any fines I would let her go. You just don’t know what’s around the corner x

There's nothing that educates better than travel IMHO. Take every chance offered, pay the fine and smile. Do extra study over the summer holidays if it really worries you.

IF your school sets work online encourage her to keep up its some of it.. Will lessenthe effect of the gap at least.

3 weeks of DisneyWorld? Dear heavens.
3 days was about enough for my family.

But there are a lot of things that educate better than 3 weeks of DisneyWorld.

I'm in Belgium and no way this would ever be accepted. There's enough of a fuss allready about parents leaving on holidays 2 days before the end of a term. Keeping a grown child away from school the first 3 weeks of term (or whenever during school year) would probably end with the police on your doorstep and a court invitation. But you're in the UK. and maybe this is acceptable there? Pay a fine and be done with it? Really? Still, the school might hold it against you and your child for a long time to come.

😂

So a trip to Disneyland “educates”
more than two weeks of gcse level schooling? Heard it all now.

right?

Three weeks! 😂

Absolutely agree.

@beanontoast .. I didn't say tutor her .. I meant to explain what was expected..friends would do this anyway.. well mine would ..

For an educational trip that would give her an insight into the world, history, geography, culture, language etc I might consider it but for a trip to a theme park I would not. Disneyland is fun but it's big, full of queues, hot dogs, burgers and fairground rides and attractions. I just don't think it's worth it but it's up to you

I wouldn't even consider this. I would think she just couldn't go as she has school. A week at the end of term would be fine but 3 weeks in September when a lot of work gets done, no way.

i would let her go, she wouldn’t be learning much in those weeks as she’ll be thinking of her cousin and the missed opportunity, so her mind would have been else’s and not on the learning

I was going to suggest a week would be enough to do some theme parks, and at the very end of August/very beginning of September so I see you've agreed 10 days. But presumably not still missing school? Missing school in September is not a good idea.

Is the cousin at private school? I wonder how they can miss so much school.

Abbimae · Yesterday 20:28

Don’t expect schools to be lax for you if you moan they are off for inset:strikes etc

I hate this kind of approach from parents. Inset days are for training and to set up systems for the year that a school NEEDS. Strikes were to fight for better wages after ten years of no growth and teachers were not paid. It is not the same as choosing to take your children on holiday, if you do take children on holiday then you will be fined as per government legislation. It’s nothing to do with teachers or schools! So stop comparing holidays to strike days or Insets. Absolute ignorance.

Missed a whole year during Covid. Just saying.

I’d let her go yes would be learning towards gcse but it’s not exactly in the middle or too close to the exams so I’d say do it. :)

Disney world is not exactly “travel” and is unlikely to teach a teenager things in the same way a cultural trip might.

She might have changed her mind by next year. All that way for Mickey Mouse.