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.)

IMHO if they are missing out on learning they shouldn't be going on holiday (unless it's for a wedding of a close relative or similar). As a child I hated being ill because it was stressful for me to catch up with the work, but I think a week prior to the summer or Christmas holidays is not going to have this effect on a child as no work is done. In the middle of term it's different.
A week in Lanzarote isn't particularly educational, but a trip to a European city or a more genuine resort where you soak up the local culture, is (I have been to Lanzarote many times and it's basically fly and flop).

None of which affects my point. The fining system and the way in which schools are expected to administer it causes problems. It's a bad thing that schools and teachers are forced into this position.

The thing is, imho, that a weeks holiday with their parents is likely to be more of a value than a week at school.

Its the lying I don't like. Maybe making up an illness and the child has to go along with it just to get a few days off. The "getting one over" on the school even though they don't make the policy seems a ridiculous way to act. Children will mimic what they see.

Education has been important in our household and our kids both had good attendance records as we and they took it seriously. We had loads of brilliant "educational" holidays in school holidays which weren't in extremely expensive resorts or destinations. We just were thoughtful and researched options available to us.

having been a nursery nurse (pre-school) and a TA for a primary school, the teachers on here moaning kids are missing education for being out of school for 5 days are talking a load of bollocks.

There is no 'loss of education' for being out for a week in primary. Secondary, yes, primary, absolutely not, subjects and lessons are re done over and over, they don't just block a week for one subject, cram it and never touch it again, its part of an ongoing module... and ftr, the teachers aren't the one doing remedial work with the kids that haven't been in school, its the TA's doing it.

For the same reason you get more ice cream vans coming around in July than in November, or jumpers in the sale in spring while shorts are full price, or booking a meal out on Christmas Day is double the usual price (and then discounted in January). Supply and demand.

Airlines, hotels, travel agencies etc. are businesses, not a charitable service. If they were somehow forced to keep their prices the same throughout the year regardless, the industry simply wouldn’t survive in its current form. You’d have to offset the drop in profits in summer somehow, which would mean higher off-peak prices rather than magically lower ones for peak, and therefore less demand for off-peak bookings. In any case, how are you going to enforce this internationally? Even if the UK government could force TUI and Jet2 not to charge more in the summer, do you really think Spanish and Portuguese hotel operators are just going to say “Oh yeah, that’s fine - we’ll drop our prices to match what you can charge”?

I agree family holidays in school holiday periods are stupidly expensive but I don’t believe a holiday is a ‘must have’. So if parents want to take their child out of school then I agree there should be a financial penalty and the teacher should not do any additional work to enable the child to catch up/recap on what’s been covered.
If there were no fines and no trying to stop it then it would open season.

The primary reason for lies is to try and avoid fines, surely? Not 'getting one over on the school'.

Honestly pre Covid I wouldn’t have done it. But after months and months of being sent a couple of Twinkl worksheets a week and being told that was perfectly adequate, and then my children going back to school ‘exceeding expectations’ because I took it upon myself to spend an hour a day doing some proper work with them, I changed my view on it.

If you don’t think travel broadens your mind or teaches you anything then perhaps it’s more about you and how you experience things. Personally I think most children get far more out of a weeks holiday than a week in school

And you aren't alone.

I have very rarely taken my children out of school, only for the odd day when a flight comes back on the first day of a new term or we leave a day before they break up. However, I wouldn’t feel guilty to the school for taking them out. My children don’t want to miss school so that is my reason for not doing it. I have to pay for private tutoring for my children as their school education has been appalling at a school in special measures. If I took them on holiday, they wouldn’t miss much and I’d take full responsibility for them catching up.

I do think that the wealthy parents like to preach about less well of parents taking term-time holidays whilst they can afford regular trips in the holidays. I have had conversations with various parents about this issue and the well off ones are always commenting about how wrong it is, whilst they take their kids away for several weeks a year, as they’re lucky enough to be able to afford this. They clearly value their time away with the kids, the chance to decompress from school and work, the chance for children to experience new things (even just travel, going on a plane, swimming, hearing new languages etc) but begrudge those who can’t afford it in the holidays.

Most parents are sensible and it would be limited to a week per year of missed school or sometimes a week every two years. They deserve a break and for their kids to experience new cultures and see what the world has to offer. In fact, I’d argue these kids need it more to give them something to strive for, when they perhaps come from families who haven’t done much with their lives or experienced a lot. Our current system just creates another divide between the haves and have nots, with children from wealthy families being exposed to all sorts of things and the poorer kids having to go without.

I have children who have asd and adhd, very rarely take them out of school but have done in the past for a holiday.
Where is quiet in the summer holidays?

I have never taken my children abroad because they wouldn't cope but there really isn't anywhere during school holidays (unless of course going camping in the middle of nowhere).

YANBU.

When take their kids out of school for holidays this is the message it sends to them:

• school attendance isn’t important
• what you do and don’t learn at school doesn’t matter
• formal education generally isn’t that important
• causing disruption to your fellow classmates and the teacher doesn’t matter - your enjoyment/convenience/budget is what counts
• its fine to miss school if there is something more fun and interesting to do - a nice holiday, a family jolly, maybe just a day to the beach when the whether is nice? Or a duvet day with the iPad because you don’t fancy cross country in the rain?

There are 13 weeks a year of school holidays which is more than enough time for “cultural enrichment” (ha ha), seeing family and going on holiday. And if that means you can’t afford 10 days in an all-inclusive in Majorca then cut your cloth like the majority of people!

Is it any wonder that we have a persistent absence rate of over 20%?! That is not all accounted for by children who are ill or have genuine MH issues.

And this attitude will inevitably carry through to the workplace, if you don’t really need to turn up to school there’s something better then why go to work if you’re a bit hungover/feeling sad that you rowed with your girlfriend/would rather top up your tan in the park. So that bodes well for their future jobs/careers.

To the parents who do take term time holidays: my kids won’t see yours for dust as they’ll have had maximum possible school attendance and will have achieved so much more of their potential (whatever that may be).

They will also have developed resilience and a good work ethic and will have a world of opportunities open to them as a result. Just as I did as my parents (teacher and college principal) instilled in me the importance of education.

So best of luck to the kids of all of you who don’t care about education as they are really going to need it.

What, even if it's a week of lying on a beach? And that's not meant to sound snooty about beach holidays btw, they can be great, but they don't broaden the mind or teach anything in particular.

A week in Lanzarote isn't particularly educational, but a trip to a European city or a more genuine resort where you soak up the local culture, is (I have been to Lanzarote many times and it's basically fly and flop).

That says more about you than it does about Lanzarote.

Your child is YOUR responsibility to educate. If you CHOOSE state education then you abide by their rules.
Before you had a child this should have been carefully thought about if taking your child away in term time was so important. You could have home schooled or sent them to a private school where the rules are different / longer holidays apply.
One week off isn’t going to harm a non exam year child. But you are only considering yourself. The wider picture is that abscence is rife and has been increasing and increasing. The reason for that is many fold and not simple. But kids missing school is the number done reason for poor attainment.
Poor attainment and lack of education leads to bad outcomes for the rest of that persons life, which will affect all of us, right into our old age.
Education is at the very top of how successful a country / society is and how it places itself on the world stage.
So many people just thinking of themselves and their precious holiday to an AI.
Foreign holidays in a hotel when you have a family are an extreme luxury. Should be once or twice in a life time for most and until 20 years ago that was the case for the majority of people.
Now people expect to go on at least one of these a year if not two.
There is a lot to enjoy without spending thousands on a week in a hotel and kids can still have an amazing experience / family holiday at a fraction of the price.

You could argue that a teacher would have to recap their lessons, if their student is ill for the week.

Just for transparency, I also only take holidays with my children during half terms/summer holidays but I am fortunate enough to afford to do that, I know parents who aren’t.

I am in Ireland - our school tells us to have a great time and send a postcard.

I dont understand why you are being fined, is it to provide schools with an additional funding stream ?

Well I feel a great injustice was done and a generation need remedial opportunities.

(I do also feel you can get education not sat at a fornal desk as well - i'm governor at an alternative provision with no classrooms, but it is still carefully planned to help pupils progress and attain key knowledge and skills needed for adult life)

The UK makes such a meal out of this. Where we live we have always had the right to take our kids out for 3 days with just a note to the Head. Last year this was increased (in legislation) to 15 days with no more than 5 days at a time and you now technically need to ask for permission from the Head. The Head has asked parents to be sensible about this in matriculation years (so years 4, 7 and 12) when there is national testing - but then all of the kids are also asked to stay at school until 5pm during those years for additional lessons and revision on core subjects where needed.

The schools and the teachers are coping just fine.

No, makes it much harder for the teachers though, who have somehow got to magically teach them a week's Maths or Music with no extra time.

Those saying "they're my kids, I can do what I want" or similar are right, they are, and you can. But, you then either home educate or privately educate. A friend is a high school teacher and is sick of having to waste half a lesson most weeks in June / July catching up the kid that has just returned from their 2 week holiday. Every single child in that class is affected then. Or having a parent ask them to "just prepare some work to be taken away", because teachers have the time for that.

I have 3 adult DDs. We took them all out of school for 2 weeks every May throughout their primary education because of issues about my OH ever getting leave in the school holidays.

I know it is a pain in the arse for teachers planning lessons but felt our duty was to our children - we were able to provide them with opportunities and experiences that school were not able to offer and that would not have otherwise happened. All 3 have further degrees and professional qualifications.

Parents need to be free to make decisions about what is best for their chidlren.

To the parents who do take term time holidays: my kids won’t see yours for dust as they’ll have had maximum possible school attendance and will have achieved so much more of their potential (whatever that may be).

Strange post. You'd really need to know how many of the kids with worse absence rates are smarter than yours and how much so before making this kind of generalisation.