Parents need to stop lying about term time holidays

[Ljcrow]

If parents want to take their kids out of school for a term time holiday because it's cheaper, I wish they wouldn't give the bullshit that it's an "educational experience". There's an article about this on the BBC today, but working in a school I've heard it all before. Can we not pretend that an all-inclusive to Lanzarote or similar is a rich cultural and educational experience?! If you want to take your kids our because it's cheaper that's up to you but don't try claim the moral high ground, no one's falling for it. (Fwiw I think holiday companies shouldn't be allowed to hike their prices up in school holidays, it's disgraceful, and as a parent myself I have no choice but to pay those inflated prices. It sucks.)

parents will stop lying about it when schools stop making them feel guilty about it

a week off during school term is not going to wreck a childs education

This is one of many reasons we home educated DD. Cheap holidays and no fines!

Most of our holidays are educational (we do lots of museums, historic places etc) but I am glad we get to do Disneyland next week without worrying about fines and that nonsense.

I read that article and this struck me:

It means Sarah has to choose between avoiding popular destinations, or visiting them in the quieter periods during the school term.

The obvious choice if someone in your family can't cope with crowds is surely to 'avoid popular destinations' whether you're going in school holidays or not.

You re right it wont wreck a child education if you re narrow minded enough to only think about your child.

if you do open your views then you ll see that a week away in term time is very disturbing for the class: the teacher has to recap what was done, if groups or pairs must be made one is away, when the teacher recaps the others wait, or if there is play then said child is away, etc.

i think term times holidays the most selfish biggest entitlement possible. “I owed a holiday”.

it is of course different if you re going to see family as there is an event outside of your control AND if you fully expect to be the one - not the teacher - to do the recap to your child.

yes before you ask. I pay holidays during holidays time and if i cant afford to go as to expensive then i find somewhere cheaper or i dont go at all.

simple.

Or maybe flip it to say schools need to stop judging parents who take their kids on a term time holiday. So what, who cares. But this is why parents lie because of the bullshit rules and judgement.

This. Maybe some parents have to lie even to themselves because they are made to feel so guilty about it.

I don’t ‘owe’ the government or education system the child I grew, birthed and raised, 6.5 hours a day 5 days a week.

the control over our children is absolutely insane and I can’t understand why people aren’t in more uproar about it.

I get that they want people to be educated; but there has to be a better way.

we are no longer parents, the first September after they turn 4; we are babysitters for the governments children. (That’s my one tin foil hat thing)

That BBC article ticked all of the Katie Hopkins boxes. Child called Tyler. Child has ADHD and Autism. Holiday in Turkey. Claiming it's "educational". If Tyler hates crowds take him somewhere quieter.

Mmmm but education isn’t just food, culture and so on, education is or can be swimming or walking or a different climate.

I do think a lot of ‘term time holiday makers’ clutch at straws though.

The topic of annual leave has not been mentioned in any of these stories of parents taking their DC out of school for holiday.

In order for parents to go on holiday in school holidays, they need to book annual leave with their employers during these weeks. If everyone on their team or department has school aged children, its going to be impossible for everyone to book a week or two off during school holidays.

I have always tried not to book much annual leave during the school holidays to enable my colleagues with school aged DC/DGC to book the most demanded weeks off. I have about 3 days off for my DM's birthday which is mid August as her, DF and myself have a few days away or day trips. The schools round here break up a month before DM's birthday and majority of colleagues have been holiday beforehand.

Agreed. They're my kids, school can fuck off.

It's time with family. It's childhood holidays, whether you think their choice of destination is tacky or not.

When ones parents are dead and gone you remember the childhood holidays with youthful able parents and those childhood holidays become more precious and valuable than ever.

What is life about? It is important.

You are being very unreasonable.

The parents of the removed child think it's not going to affect anything.
Except it does. The child is playing catch-up (then usually gives up), and the other class mates are disrupted because the teacher is repeating stuff to catch up the absentee child.
Then multiply that by 4/5/6 kids and it's a mess. But each parent only sees this 'educational opp' in terms of their own world rather than the cumulative effect on the school.

I never lie.

im in Scotland so no fines here. The schools wish us a lovely holiday when we tell them we are going.

and our holidays are wonderful family experiences that our kids will remember all their lives

My friend took her DC on holiday the week before their school broke up for holiday as they don't have any lessons. They just play games, watch DVDs etc.

My personal opinion is that there should be an allowance of a certain amount of days per year and then fines.

But holidays arent just about culture... its about time with family, new experiences and just relaxation. Some children don't get that in school holidays for various reasons (which is why Military personnel are allowed term time holidays, its an exemption)... but other industries have similar working patterns.

Some parents do take the piss... there was one recently where they wanted to take the child to multiple weddings and family parties abroad. It was the volume, not the occasion as such.

I do it but I don't lie. My opinion is 1 week of school missed is not detrimental to their education when kids are primary school age. Noone seems to get fined here though.

Said with the superiority of someone where education is free. If one had to pay for education, or if it was one's only way out of poverty, one would have a very differentcattitude.
Watch any programne about developing countries and you'd realise how valued an education is.
Sadly, as with the health service, it's now free, so people feel free to abuse it.

I don't agree that each parent only sees things in terms of their own world.

But many parents can't afford to go on holiday in school holidays when prices are much, much higher.

And others don't get much choice about when they take their annual leave.

In my view parents should be discouraged from taking children out of school during term time but not penalised for doing so. Though the fines are small compared to the savings they make on paying for the holiday so pointless really.

As an ex teacher, I 100% support kids going on holiday the week before the Xmas holidays (as they do absolutely nothing then) and the week before the summer holidays (again, no learning is taking place then).

Other times of the year they would definitely be missing out on learning which is then very annoying for the teacher to have to catch them up (and sometimes they are never caught up fully, so just have gaps in their learning).

This x

Could parents lie to the school(s) saying their DC have an illness? Then they would need some explaining to do if the DC return to school with a tan?

Doesn't really matter if you call it educational or not if you want to take your child in term time then do it? I would never lie.

Asked for 2 days last year to go to Europe to meet with 90 year old great great aunt of my child who had come over for the last time ever from Australia, we will never be able to afford to go there so it was emotional seeing her for last time. I asked school said no I went anyway 🤷‍♀️, would have like it approved but it wasn't 🤷‍♀️

Yes, parents do feel “entitled” to give their children a once-in-a-lifetime experience, even though they don’t have as much money as you.

I assume you’re a teacher, so maybe think about the words you’re writing, rather than just allowing them to spill onto the page sight-unseen.