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.)

I don't think it's tacky at all! Our last abroad holiday was an all-inclusive to Ibiza (in school holidays so cost way too much). I'm just not going to pretend it's a rich educational and cultural experience because we all know it's not.

Holidays are important experiences, and everyone should be able to have a holiday, particularly in childhood. Holidays are important bonding experiences for families and there is so much more to life than school and work. It doesn't matter if it's a week in Lanzarote or a cultural week exploring the museums and art galleries of Paris - both/ either are life experiences for kids.

Missing a week of primary school is not going to damage most children's education in the long term.

But missing out on childhood holidays because parents can't afford them is extremely sad.

The whole thing also just penalises low income families, because families with higher incomes will be able to go in school holiday times with no problems.

There is no point in ‘ lying’ about the educational value of a holiday.

Whether you spend your week in Lanzarote visiting the volcanoes, the volcano museum, hiking up a volcano, doing the walk through the long underground lava tube, visiting all the fantastic Cesar Manrique architectural and artistic sites and visiting the cactus garden ( as we did) or sitting by a pool with water slides and never leaving your AI resort, the holiday fine is identical.

Most holidays will be a mixture, all bring some new perspective or new experience.

The initiative is about keeping school attendance up for kids who do lose too much school.

Is there any evidence that it works? For families that don’t actually place a priority on their kids’ education? The ones it was designed to support?

OP I'm taking my dd away in term time and have very valid reasons for doing it this way that will absolutely benefit her development and future. Some kids wouldn't be able to have these experiences otherwise and sometimes a bit of luxury helps kids aspire to aim high. You're tone deaf and clueless about what goes on in people's lives. Lucky you.

It's not the reason I give but I think it can be true. We're taking DS out 4 days early in July because it's much cheaper, we're going to Crete and have plans to go to spinalonga where he will learn about it's time in WW2 as well as as a leper colony, Knossos and ancient greek civilization, lassithi plateau and the alleged birth place of Zeus, Greek mythology. Last year in the last few days of term they watched films, wore non school uniform and had a water fight on the playground. 🤷‍♀️

If person A is allowed to go on holiday for a week to majorca, then person B who can't afford a holiday is allowed 5 days to stay home because their parent has a hangover and can't be bothered to take them into school.

Education is either important or it's not and policing how days off are used would be very challenging and could end up with all sorts of bias.

It's a bit rich that people are allowed to home school with no qualifications and minimum checks. Yet a parent isn't allowed to take a child out of school for a holiday. It makes no sense.

I think it's so wrong how the holiday companies hike the prices in the holidays, how are they allowed to get away with it ? Does anyone genuinely know why?

No, I'm just calling out bullshit.
We couldn't afford to go abroad last year, we can't this year. Maybe don't assume you know my situation.

Because they are businesses, not charities. They charge what people will pay.

Absolutely agree. Schools are becoming colonies for underaged criminals - petty uniform police, timed toilet breaks, focus on arbitrary rules over quality education... I feel so happy that I was schooled in a different country where I didn't have to go through the embarrassment of not being able to change my menstrual pad or being pulled up on not wearing a blazer when it's 30 degrees outside.

Agree with this point. I've just had my first baby and for years I've been the one who's never allowed an Easter getaway, or a trip during July/august, or days off around Christmas. We're expected to wait, so parents can use their leave at that time.

First post nails it.
If schools didn’t make you feel like the worst parents in the world for wanting an affordable holiday, parents wouldn’t lie.
Our Headmistress is very reasonable and understands the importance of dedicated family time, but her hands are tied sadly. It does mean that people don’t lie at our school though, as they know she won’t give them a hard time. We visited family abroad over Christmas and came back part way through the first week back. I was honest that we’d chosen those flights as they were considerably cheaper.

What are you talking about? Neither are “allowed” in England at the moment but people do it anyway. And either make up an excuse like it’s a trip abroad for religious reasons or hope to get away with it. Which they generally do though a minority of parents will get fined.

We took our children back packing when they were 5 and 6 years old . Went for 3 months and wish we had gone for longer. the collective memories are so precious and we wish that we had gone for longer. I believe that it shaped who they are now. I know this is not possible for many people but its an example of travel that enriches lives

What if parents can't get their annual leave in the school holidays? There's no way I could authorise all of my staff who have children to be off throughout the holidays even if it was staggered.

For those who are blaming the schools ......

Schools are under an immense amount of pressure to improve attendance. This pressure is coming from the government but has made the schools the bad guys.
Headteachers are just implementing the policy and thru e been told to tighten up on what counts as exceptional circumstances. They have no flexibility anymore.

You’re being classist.

Even if families have an all inclusive trip to Lanzarote, they absolutely are experiencing new things.

They’re learning how to navigate airports. Learning to swim. Hearing other languages spoken. Meeting people from different countries.

You don’t think prices should go up in the holidays because that affects you. You’re just being spiteful that you don’t have the option to go on holiday term-time because of your job. There’s absolutely no reason children shouldn’t be allowed to.

I was trying to explain why the rules are the way they are.

I just think parents should be allowed to take kids out and pay a fine, within reason. One week in a school year isn’t the end of the world. Holidays shouldn’t just be for the better off classes who can afford the massive price inflation.
It’s also difficult for me to have schools being super strict about it after Covid when we were basically left to our own devices and told we weren’t entitled to “childcare” via schools. Certainly my daughters school kicked up a stink about taking even key workers kids in.
Seems to undermine the argument that it’s not in the child’s interests for them to miss school.

@TheyAreNotAngelsTheyDontCareAtAll

education isn't free?

In 2018 I took my 3 kids out of school for a lush week in Majorca, every day I rang the school to report on their "chickenpox"....
We still fondly remember the holiday now, do I regret it? Not a bit. Would I do it again? Absolutely.
If that makes you spit feathers than that's too bad.

(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.)

You win the prize for utterly failing to understand the problem.

There isn't sufficient capacity in the holiday system for everyone to take their kids on holiday in the same week. If you did build enough hotels and other facilities for everyone to do that then those enormous buildings would sit mostly-empty for most of the year, completely wasting the concrete that went into building them. Not even taking into account the staff who can't pop into existence for school holidays then disappear afterwards.

It isn't possible for everyone to holiday at the same time. If we lived in a communist state then there might be some kind of ration system for allocating it. Because we live in a capitalist system it is instead rationed by price, and those who can and choose to afford it get to go those weeks. Those who cannot, get excluded.

There is no evil money-grabbing holiday company causing this. It is a built-in consequence of rigid time-slots for holidays. The holiday companies are no more in favour of this than the parents - they could take more people on holiday and make more money if the families weren't trying to hit the same weeks as one another.

I just wonder why do you think saying it's an educational experience is bulshit? Children speak a foreign language, visit zoos and see animals they never seen. If you are in a city/town, there are museums and sightseeing opportunities. I'm not saying all holidays are that, but when we go on holiday we always explore what's around and it is educational.
Also, to be honest with you i don't blame them. Half term prices are INSANE and everything is so expensive nowadays so between doing a term time holiday or never going on holiday I choose the first option.

I think it’s rather silly to take kids out of school for a holiday, but I don’t really care. However, I don’t think the teachers should ever have to do anything to help the kids catch up on what they missed. The parents should just be told “the week you’re away, we’re doing eg simultaneous equations , find it on a home schooling website and teach your kid about it. Because by the time they come back we’ll have moved on to something else”.