Taking kids out of school for a term

[Whenthechipshitthefan]

Possibly the wrong place to post- if so sorry!
Has anyone had any success in taking their kids (legally!) out of school for a term or even a half term. I want to take 2 x DDs (Yr 4, Reception) to my mums country for a long stay. They don't know the culture and I'm aware that we are all losing that connection. The flights are expensive, and it takes at least 24hrs to get there. Its a big country so that if we go over I want them to see a lot, experience a lot and see everyone.

Has anyone applied and been successful? Is it just headteacher opinion that matters? What can I promise to keep their place and not get taken to court. Happy to pay a fine!

They won’t keep your space, you will be removed from roll. However, if it’s not oversubscribed you can reapply on your return. They can’t ‘hold your place’ as they won’t receive funding.

Half a term is 6 weeks, could you take them during the long summer holidays?

I think that's a lot of school to miss, and the head would be within their rights to take them off roll. Whether they actually will depends on how your headteacher is and your relationship with them.

I'm guessing it's Australia or similar if 24 hours away. Do your children have citizenship in that country and could they attend school while there?

that is a lot of school to miss - you will probably lose the place.

What I had heard was anything more than half a term would mean de-enrollment. So a half term (plus holidays) would be sensible.
Summer holidays is the worst time to go as much of the country will be inaccessible for weeks at a time

Not Australia- more of a multiple flights required to get to/culture shock type country

You can be taken off role after two weeks of unauthorised absence

Because schools are judged so harshly on absence by OFSTED, I don't think they would keep a place for half a term if they have another child on the waiting list for that year group. It's a big risk that your children would have to go to another school on their return.

Might it be a better idea to wait until next summer? You'll hopefully be able to get the required 6 weeks then.

Where are you travelling to and what term ?

They'll take them off the role because of attendance stats. Is the school over subscribed?

We can take chn off roll on the 20th day of absence.

Depends how popular the school is and whether there are spaces in their year.

I'd deregister them, to homeschool for a term, and then re-register them when I arrived back. However, you run the risk of them having to move schools.

I believe they only have to hold the spaces for you for 2 weeks.

Hard to say is oversubscribed (people have joined and left for a year in the past 2 years) but the headteacher is very hot on absence sadly

We would go near Easter or near Christmas. Summer is hard time to go weather wise

Why don't you just say what country? Its hardly outing and you might get more specific advice.

I cant figure out which country is inaccessible for weeks at a time in summer, it's driving me mad 😁

I'm not sure its relevant... and due to the country and my other posts yes it could be outing. Its not exactly Spain or USA. No direct flights or even one stop over to get there

Friends did it with the blessing of school, but they went to school in the country they went to for a whole term, then had to re-apply for their school places… it was all fine but depends if there’s a waiting list at your current school. They won’t hold your place because parents do this and sometimes don’t return…

If there is a waiting list for your child’s year group then they will take them off roll much quicker than six weeks in order not to deny another child an education. You would then have to re apply for the place on your return, bearing in mind that if the school has more than one class per year you risk them not going back into the same class. You also risk there only being space for one of your children meaning you would have to appeal to have the other place reinstated.

After 20 school days the school will remove your child from the register and notify the local authority that they children are no longer in the UK. You are likely to have to provide evidence to the school that you will be out of the UK such as flight tickets. Once you return you will need to reapply for their place. If you're lucky you be able to get them straight back in, if not you face being allocated a place at a school with vacancies and they might not be in the same school. Some towns and cities have populations that will take the kids back to their "home/ancestral country" a lot and my team at work deal with this day in, day out. The school absolutely should not be keeping their places open or worse keeping the children on roll and marking them absent.

Head Teachers have very little say in it these days. Attendance stats are measured very closely.

It was a great experience by all accounts but it was a post Covid decision as they had t seen family in 4 years…

If you ensure your kids are still at school on census day (mid October) school
might be more agreeable as they won’t lose funding. But you can’t assume the places will still be there when you get back.

Someone I know was adamant that her kids would get back into their school after a year in Oz. Not only were their places gone but they had also missed the deadline for applying for secondary school…

We have never taken them to see my family. In eight years. Its would be a once in a lifetime/childhood trip as we wouldn't be able to go again.

I'd just go for it I think. The older the children get the more tricky it becomes.

You will lose the places but you can reapply upon return.

Intrigued as to what country - but it sounds like a fabulous opportunity for you and your family.

You just have to be aware of timings re getting them back into school in The UK. But as others have said why not just go in summer maybe leaving 2 weeks before term finishes giving you 8/9 weeks there???