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.)

But what does it have to do with you?

Yes, I got that. I read that as you acknowledging that you're able to benefit financially from the existence of the different English system and rules? If so, I respect your honesty.

My recollection of school was of endless tedious repetition for the benefit of the kids, who couldn't get it the first time, or the second, or the third, or the ......

A week out wouldn't have resulted in anything being missed.

I can only see a few things there that can't be learnt at home or in one's home country. And those don't seem so earth-shatteringly important that they warrant pulling a child out of school in term time, although I agree with those saying if the leisure industry wasn't so greedy there wouldn't be an issue as people could afford to go in the school holidays.

Not sure how beaches teach feminism or religion, though... 🤔

You surely don't think everyone is capable of affording a UK school holidays break? There are some people who are doing a weekday term time cheapo Parkdean or Sun, or nothing.

No, I don't. As I said elsewhere, there are some who can't even afford that.

I'm talking about the people who claim they can't afford to go on holiday in term time, but can afford to take their family for a week in turkey, the week before term ends. At the lowest end of the scale, a room only deal is going to cost you between £1,000-£1,500 quid. You can absolutely have a holiday in the U.K. during school holidays for that sort of money, and it doesn't have to be "cheapo Parkdean" (which is a really snobbish way to describe a holiday that many people choose and really enjoy)

You could have a week on the Norfolk Broads, you could book a cottage in the Lake District, you could stay in a premier inn anywhere. None of these are a sub-standard accommodation to the cheapest options in Turkey. People might not want to do that type of holiday, and that's fine too, but to pretend without going outwith term-time, these kids would be deprived any holiday is just not true.

And we become America

If schools did that, demand for that week would increase and then prices would too

I agree with this. That is happening already. We go in the first weeks of the Scottish holidays, before the English kids are off. In the 15 years of us doing this, the price gap between the two has got less and less.

And we become America

I'm that we never leave the country? I think that's a bit extreme.

The time at which you or your kids are at school is short compared to your whole life. Plenty of time to travel the world.

Not my recollection at all. Or my kids. Maybe that was just your school.

Because they claim that's the ACTUAL price and that it is heavily discounted in term time to try to sell more.

They know it's bollocks
We know it's bollocks.

Yet we all accept it.

Basic market rules. More demand higher prices, less demand lower prices. Pretty simple.

Holiday companies ‘get away’ with charging the price they do, just like any other private company does, because people pay it. It’s simple supply and demand. That’s what happens in a capitalist society.

This thread makes me sad - why so much animosity towards school staff; such an us and them mentality from some of you. The many lovely hardworking and caring teachers and school staff I’ve worked with are not judging you and aren’t the ones benefitting from fines for term-time absence.

As someone who deals with attendance, the one thing that really irks me is when parents lie (chickenpox, Covid, tummy bug etc etc). I was going to include here the tale of an utterly ridiculous lie which led to a welfare check and a huge waste of staff time but it might be outing. Let’s just say it involved a professional family who should be ashamed of themselves. Don’t teach your child that it is acceptable to lie. When they return, they won’t be able to share details of their lovely holiday.

I agree with OP that parents shouldn’t try to justify their holiday is cultural etc and argue why it should be authorised. I personally think a caravan holiday in this beautiful country or an AI in Benidorm are just as important and wonderful for that child (spending quality time as a family) as a week-long expedition to the Himalayas but just state you are taking your child out, not spout some spurious reasons. (Unless you genuinely are not permitted holiday other than that specific week and can’t use the 13 weeks of school holidays. If you have strong evidence, send it in.)

Struggling families shouldn’t be penalised, however, schools have their hands tied by the DFE. Our particular trust also makes it clear that all unauthorised holiday (of 10 sessions/5 days or more) will result in a fixed penalty notice. Under new DFE guidance, the second time of receiving a FPN will lead to parents paying £160 per person per child; the third time, prosecution… Why not just allow parents the option of 1 week a year. (But don’t expect teachers to help the child with what they’ve missed during that time.)

In our school, the ones who take (multiple) term-time holidays are those who can afford to pay the fine. Not the struggling families who truly can’t afford the inflated school holiday prices. That isn’t fair. We have had such fond memories of our family holidays and children are young for such a short amount of time.

Just don’t blame the schools. You are welcome to come and see what it’s like to work in them…

What is wrong with everyone why’s everyone so bloody stiff now? Just chill out. Teachers managed in the 80s and 90s without giving a damn and we’ve all turned out fine, better than fine, so why are you all stressing so much? Teachers were stricter then, you missed school they didn’t offer catch up and we managed, it wasn’t a big deal. Everything and everyone is just so PC now it actually makes me feel ill. You all need to get some perspective and learn to live a bit.

I was completely honest with my daughter's school. She would be off for one day as we were in London for a long weekend. 💯 attendance. Slapped with £120 fine. I won't be honest next time and she'll come down with a "migraine" or something instead 😞🤬

Perhaps parents that take their children out for term time holidays should accept the downside to this. Accept that it'll affect their childrens progress and not take up in-demand slots at parent teacher meetings. Because clearly, education isn't top of their list. So shouldn't waste the teachers time in those meetings and save the appointments for families that put education first.

Even a couple of days off sick can have a detrimental affect on schooling. I've seen it first hand in my DD. She missed a crucial bit of info about fractions, needing the teacher to give her some 121 support. Which is OK for sickness. But I can imagine it will gall teaching staff to have to do that to support after 2 weeks in Benidorm or at Disney.

Teachers already work 70 hour weeks and to add to their load for 2 weeks AI is taking the p*ss.

That's not really good for the child. Our 8 year old is autistic and struggles with multiple sources of noise and busy places, and we haven't taken him out of school for holidays, but avoiding situations completely would be worse for him than a child who doesn't struggle missing experiences.

We generally time things at quieter periods and plan days out to avoid the busiest times looking at time of year, choosing the "not ideal" weather to go, getting there as it opens so its quieter etc, and over time he's getting slightly more used to things. If we'd never taken him to places at all he wouldn't have developed any of the limited resilience he has now.

For a child who struggles more than our DC, or is harder to keep safe when trying to run when overwhelmed I can see why term time would make more sense.

The teacher work load wasn't the same back then. Those teachers spent lunchtimes in the pub. Not doing lunch duties.

Two different infant schools, junior school and the first three years of senior school. It only stopped in the last two years of senior school, when classes were split for different O-level subjects (I'm quite old).

Can't you stay with their Grandparents? Flights are pretty cheap in, say, February half term (We are actually going to Spain for February half term. Return flights by playing around with what days and when we fly were less than £500 for the 4 of us)

I think this post wins the award for most asinine “kids these days” argument, as well as most obnoxious use of the term “entitled”

5 of us, 1 of whom is disabled, plus 2 of them in their 1 bed apartment would be a struggle, I think.

1. Thing is that your grandchildren are probably not going to take exams in these languages.....
2. Will your daughter pay for a tutor to help your dear grandchildren catch up on the school work they have missed? Or are their teachers going to give up their lunch and morning breaks to give the children extra (unpaid) help?
3. Seems to me that the children could have made connections with children from other countries during holiday time, anyway.
4. And I know holidays are cheaper in term time, but teachers also have to take their families away during school holiday time! They don't get discounts because they are educators.

I agree with you. But it must be said: many of the teachers who have appeared on this thread do not seem to fall into the “lovely and caring” category. They have their reasons, but their evident contempt for parents and children does the profession little credit.

Understandable then. But our week in Spain, in Feb half term, is just under £1400 for 4 of us, half board. I would be surprised to find it much cheaper in term time. Is it right that because my kids are now over 13, I'm having to pay adult prices for them!

If the Grandparent is Spanish, they may be able to offer you their Spanish pensioner holiday towards it. A friends Spanish parent recently did that for their grandchild.