To think the penalties for term time absence is ridiculous..

[JKbowling]

I got this in my email inbox today, sent to all parents and guardians.

"Failure to safeguard a child's education" appearing on your DBS, really?

As for term time holidays. If a family can't afford to pay for their one measly UK break per year to be had during the 6 weeks holidays (because the prices are hiked right up and become unaffordable) how does school suppose said family is going to pay the fine?

Well you should because the outcome of this will be apparent in the wider community and it will impact you. It's already happening.

Have teachers suddenly started providing lessons all the way through?
I’m in my eighth year of teaching primary (at more than one school) and yes we teach all the way through! I wish we could watch films and play games tbh but it just isn’t allowed. There’s so much to fit in from the curriculum.
I do find it disruptive when children miss school. The worst is when parents ask what work they’ve missed - there’s no way I have time to put together a pack of work for an entire week! That’s a huge amount of work across a range of subjects.
The saddest cases are the parents who remove their child for the first week of September so their child always begins the year on the wrong foot having missed all that important stuff at the beginning.

They don't discriminate either. It could be a valid reason like a death in the family or mental health of the child making them refuse to go, and they fine and send to court. It's always the Mother too. Shocking and it doesn't happen in other places like Australia and they manage to function.

I don’t agree that it’s necessary for quality time as a family. Parents can take time off with their kids in the school holidays and do activities/day trips without an actual holiday away which would have the same outcome as you describe.

I do think holidays abroad have become a bit of an entitlement and do think irs often more about what the parents want than the kids. I’m not saying people shouldn’t have one but if you did a holiday abroad every other year and day trips/camping trips the other years you can still get holidays and experiences and not take the kids out of school.

If you genuinely have jobs that mean you actually can’t take time off in the holidays, then I’ve known people get them authorised with evidence from their employer as that’s a different scenario

As a teacher I think common sense has gone! The fines were originally for persistent absenteeism and truancy which these fines don't help or solve anyway but have now been used as a punishment to all parents.

I really see nothing wrong with kids having a week or even 2 off like it was mostly agreed before these fines came along! Holidays aren't a right but quality family time should be and is lacking in today's busy modern life for a multitude of reasons .

I don't see how the teachers needs to them catch these children up, most learning in primary is repeated! If they are off for a week with chicken pox etc we don't make them catch up on work missed! But I also can't see any harm in saying to parents we covered x and y in class.

Not everyday in education is important, our current education system isn't fit for purpose or for the children and is contributing to the mental health crisis in children, alongside many other factors. At adults many of us have the freedom to book holidays and annual leave when we need it, some companies have duvet days and mental health days to support adults when they need a break but we don't allow this for children as they have a lot of holidays! (7 and 8 weeks in a school is a long time to conform and listen)

U.K. seaside resorts are struggling with the now not constant stream of family holidaymakers from June to September- it makes the 6 weeks holiday even more important to you and if it's bad weather they are seeing enough people or trade!

not every day in education is important
Really?
How many days would you say, out of an average week, @itispersonal ? If you think the term is too long, how long would you make it?

Seeing each other at the weekend or evenings when there is still cooking / cleaning / daily stuff to deal with just isn’t the same. Many families only get one or two weeks out of the entire year to actually spend enjoying proper time together. For some families, if they can only take them in school holiday time they will never ever have a family holiday. For some people that might not seem like a big deal, for others it’s massive.

I call bs on this! I was raised by a single parent who worked two jobs and we never went on holiday because we couldn’t afford it. The idea that two weeks in Tenerife would make up for the loss of 50 weeks of ‘quality’ time is having a laugh.

Atleast 10 children are always absent last week of school in my DS class (11 y old).. My son likes to be in school though because they play games and do lots of fun things. No work though so I don't see the problem for those leaving neither do the teachers...

my daughters attendance was under 80% in year 9 due to ongoing illness and she walked out of year 11 with 12 x G9 GCSE’s. If I’d have taken her on a term time holiday she would have no doubt taken her books with her.

mine missed a few days here and there for holidays. No regrets, one was to see where their grandparents grew up, they learned a lot more there than the last week of term. Our school has been issuing fines since 2008, so nothing new for us

Or reasonably priced out of holidays and hiked in the holidays. It really depends if your cup is half empty or half full

Read the posters message to me where her first words in her post were 'fuck off' to me. Lovely.

Exactly this. I worked in a role that meant taking leave in school holidays was impossible. We would take a week abroad in June/july and both my kids did well in their education.

I'd love to see some stats on attendance and exam results 20/30 years ago to the present.

It doesn't mean that at all though.

As I said we don't have the fines here and the teachers wish us well. So the DC don't get the message that we're prioritising a holiday over school because teachers and parents are on the same page, just like we are the rest of the year. Anything that sets schools and parents against each other is worse for education than a week off IMO.

Like I said last night - no fines here, term time holidays are very normal (moreso at primary than secondary obviously), attainment is higher, teachers are happier. But none of the posters who support the fines seem to want to acknowledge that.

Btw, I'd also be delighted if teachers were allowed a week or two off in term time but I don't suppose the budget for subs will be there any time soon unfortunately.

I'd redo the curriculum first!

Not everyday of school education it's important if you take a holistic view of the child and play as education. Also education isn't just achieved in a classroom!

We don't say for children who are poorly a lot, oh no their education is ruined, and it's the same with a holiday! Privately educated school children have more weeks off at Christmas and the summer holidays - so ironically get the off peak holiday prices

Home schooling is soaring by a fifth current data reports due to mental health of children and SEN, there is a major issue to the state of school education

This would be very interesting, the stats I mean. I taught in inner-city London comps, mostly working-class intake, late 70s- early 2000s. In-term holidays had just begun in my last two years and were unusual, mostly associated with visiting family overseas, but always granted.

@BarbaraHoward your post makes a lot of sense and it sounds like my school, I don't think we have fined anyone and even with the new guidelines - it isn't instantly to fine the parents, as conversation etc can be still be had first our head told us.

We are a primary school with a high level of SEN, good relationships with parents and high level of attainment through hard work of the teachers, parents and children.
School would be working collaboratively with parents and the fines for holiday hinders this from both sides!

What are you so angry about.??
And while taking ones child out of school for a 'few days' may not affect that child's education, the disruption when back does affect others. And when it's 2,3,4 kids doing this, iy's really disruptive for others.
So it's a selfish, rude and ungrateful thing to do for a reason other then emergency.
As with everything, once something is free, it is abused to buggery

No, it isn't. It's realistic

Fuck me, if that's the attitude of a teacher, children don't stand a chance.
Factually incorrect too. Not all adults in work can choose when to holiday, and duvet days are very rare in organisations
If this attitude is being taught in teacher training, this country realky is fucked

You should have received stonking fines in both instances.

@ThePrologue did I say all adults or all companies! I am FULLY aware NOT all adults can choose their holidays, as im ONE of them!

If you think children should be in school everyday regardless of their mental health, illness etc then I'd suggest it's your side which is more fucked up than mine!

I'm primary and stand by this but I can see for secondary it is more problematic for children to be absent, but I see secondary education as unfit for purpose as many schools are run like mini prisons which are unhealthy for teachers and pupils!

One of the many benefits of homeschooling.

No need to shout.
And did I say all children? No, I said except for emergencies. A holiday is not an emergency. Illness or a mh issue is

As a secondary school teacher, I teach every single lesson, including those on the last day of term, regardless of what other teachers might do.

Parents don not understand how disruptive it is to a child’s learning when then miss even 2 lessons in a subject that has a lot of content.

Imagine a child missing lessons on bonding or photosynthesis - core knowledge that then takes literally years to catch up on.

And another one pointing out it’s not the teachers that fine the parents - it’s the local authority 🤦‍♂️

I’m strict on attending school. However I will pay the fine and have 5 days unauthorised absence for a family holiday. The price hike was disgustingly high £500 vs £1700. We all needed to just have a change of scenery bit of peace and tranquility it was wonderful. Couldn’t and wouldn’t pay the inflated costs. For context we went during school hols last week paid 689 for a chalet this year same accommodation same week 1700 hence went term time.
FWIW finally went to Eden project st Michaels mount etc