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?

6 weeks until half term and some won't be in until the week of the 15th. Let's hope they recover from the illnesses that have hit so many of them just as they were due to be back in the UK and they don't succumb to the week before Christmas illnesses that the poor things coincidentally have every single year. And then there's the night before school disease that hits them every April. Terrible luck.

I wonder if they'll see an improvement in their health fortunes after the new law starts to impact things?

What do you think they are doing the last week of summer term that is crucial to their education?

I’ve never actually had the kids out of school in term time but mine were variously having a funday at the beach, school music festival, end of year assembly/awards, watching movies and taking in games to play with friends. It seems ludicrous to suggest that’s unmissable stuff.

so you're basically putting words in other people's mouths

Apologies, I assumed you were speaking from actual experience not entertaining hypotheticals…

My kid certainly wasn't watching films all week. Nor were my classes.

"Context is relevant.

Absent from school because they / the parents couldn't be arsed to go / take them.. is a problem.

Absent because of a holiday which every child should be able to have isn't a problem, in my opinion."

As long as you are happy for me, the teacher, to just not turn up for 2 weeks at some point during the year so that my children can have a holiday with their family, then yeh I'm all for it. Holiday prices suck, but supply and demand. I haven't had a holiday abroad since having kids, because I can't afford it. That's just the way it is.

Very true.
My dc had no work in the first lockdown and not much in the second.
What did my dc do?
They signed up to lots of free learning, attended leadership workshops, got certificates for raising money for the DEC, read "worthy" books and gained CREST science awards.
Education and learning is important to me.
Why shouldn't I be able to take them on a term time holiday if I want to?

The problem is you can't decide who is worthy and who is not so there needs to be a blanket rule, surely that's not hard to figure out. Quite frankly if you're letting your kids miss out on school to save some money on holiday, that doesn't sound like very good parenting

That's irrelevant because if they just experienced it once during school term time, they're still getting fined 😳

Honestly, you crash into every thread like this and start typing at the speed of light, rather than actually stopping to breathe and think about what you're typing.

Maybe take your time and relax?

Well if the government shouldn't be doing anything to try to stop taking kids out of school to go to Majorca when they should be in lessons, then that is making education optional, isn't it?

On that particular week I actually don't think it's a problem. My kids were at school and they weren't doing any essential learning, it was mostly Olympics themed activities (sports/art)

Is it optional in those countries where they don’t fine the parents if they take the kids out for a week to go on holsl ?

ps. I’m Spanish. They don’t fine you if you take the child away for a holiday despite education is compulsory. I’d say that the absence levels are higher in this country from what I can see between my British friends and Spanish friends than what they are in Spain.

If there were no penalties for children being absent then even more people will go on holiday that last week of term (lots using "they don't do any work anyway" excuse). How long until the higher holiday prices creep forward a week? Then people start going on holiday a week earlier, or take their holidays at other times, and the disruption continues to schools of always having one or two children absent from every class. There is no answer that suits everybody.

So you don't think travel is educational. Language, culture, food, swimming, even things as basic as what an airport is what flying feels like. That beaches in different countries have different oceans/seas different wildlife/fish. That water is a different colour/ temperature abroad. Watersafety/sunsafety all these things that seem so small and unimportant kids are soaking up.

Maybe then skive work while your kids are skiving school ?!

This attitude is why British kids are so thick compared to children from other countries that actually value learning

Maybe you shouldn't be so patronising and consider that telling a teacher that it doesn't matter that kids are missing millions of hours of school so that their parents can take them on a cheap break.

Teachers generally tend to think that school is important.

Possibly because there is a curriculum and educational milestones to be achieved during the term. That's what schoold / education is for. It's not a holiday club.

As long as you are happy for me, the teacher, to just not turn up for 2 weeks at some point during the year so that my children can have a holiday with their family

Teachers are off school for all sorts of reasons all the time - sickness, family illness etc - I personally can't see an issue with a two week holiday once a year, especially as it'd be planned in advance and easier to cover for 🤷‍♀️

I’m really genuinely surprised so many people support this fining situation!

I would expect a good school would know who the vulnerable children are with genuine attendance issues and act accordingly.

The government set this policy and headteachers can decide who to authorise and who not to. They can also mark an unauthorised absence and not issue a fine. It’s their decision. If they decide a fine is needed they instruct the local authority to issue it.

it is madness, but I sent my children to schools that were sensible, my DH had a job that was difficult to get time off in summer holidays so we took our children out every year (bar exams etc) and each and every time we got a lovely letter from the head saying that they were very sorry that they couldn’t authorise it but to have a lovely time and no fine!

And I’m surprised nobody has mentioned the 2 + years our kids couldn’t go to school!!!

Private schools don’t charge fines ….

Can someone explain this to me.is there a time limit to the ‘3 strikes and you go to court’ rule? I.e is it if you take 3 term time holidays EVER you go to court or does it reset each year?

My DS' special needs school has no problem with it and is very supportive of these yearly trips as he really benefits from them, as do the rest of us as a family including my DD who is deemed a young carer.

It's her school I am expecting to have a problem with.

I have a feeling my DD is going to come down with a D&V bug next year 🙂

Maybe stop striking at every slightest inconvenience then and we would

This attitude is why British kids are so thick compared to children from other countries that actually value learning

Then maybe schools should teach in those last weeks instead of filling them with crafts, sports and films?