To take my kids out of school for three weeks

[scratchingheads]

We have an incredible opportunity for a once in a lifetime trip with family next year. It would mean taking my kids out of school for three weeks. They are 4 (reception) and 5 (year one).

It would be one week at end of term and two weeks at beginning of the next term.

Has anyone done this, what are the chances of the school going for it, and what else do I need to consider?

This exactly!

My son's school authorised a trip to Florida for 8 days just a few months back in October. It could only be those dates in October for a very specific reason and it went down as exceptional leave I think it was called or something similar.

How can you work in ‘attendance’ and give advice like this?
Of course harm will be done, which may or may not outweigh the perceived benefits. The 5 year old will miss 2 weeks at the start of term, which is a really important time for settling in.

Don't do this. No need to lie and potentially put a 5 year old child in a position where they have to lie too, if anyone asks. Appalling parenting and a very disrespectful way to treat the school in which you partner for your child’s eduction.
Go if you want to, but at least be honest.

Incorrect.

Now who’s talking out of their arse?

Then you will also know the difference between children who regularly attend but also have parents who manage to grasp that experiences outside of your classroom (and take that opportunity for their children) are equally important are a world away from the kids of parents who allow lateness and persistent absence. You know that. As do we all.

Do you know who else doesn’t always know best? Teachers.

Missing 30 consecutive sessions (10 before term break and 20 after)? It is possible that they skip the fine and go straight to court. The rules allow this. For a trip that in 10 years time your children will have no memory of? Why does it have to be now?

There are six weeks every summer to experience the world outside the classroom.
Most parents take advantage of that, so stop making out that op is conferring an enormous advantage on her child by taking them on holiday on term time, it’s ridiculous.

They are extremely unlikely to remember anything if a "once in a lifetime" trip at that age. Pay the fines and take them out but please make sure you cover anything they will miss while away yourselves. Your holiday shouldn't affect the education of anyone else in the class when you return.

4 and 5 year-olds aren't going to be having "life time experiences".

I'd respect people who take their kids out of school more if they admitted that they did it just because they want to instead of pretending that it's "educational"

Honestly I can’t think of any trip genuinely educational or once in a lifetime. The benefit of the usual suspects (safari/ pyramids/ grandparents in Nz) is debatable and I can’t think of these trips that would genuinely give these benefits as opposed to just cultural or interesting.

I didn't say I knew best, but you're the one who answered a question which wasn't actually meant for you, as if failing to understand something quite basic. (On top of the very simple, regular present tense of the verb 'to sit', which is taught in primary school - ETA: Maybe you were off that day?)

You interjected just to argue. As stated, I was interested as I would expect an attendance officer to be of the opinion that attendance is important and was surprised to see otherwise. What a demoralising job if you don't even really care about tying to improve this problem in the face of everything against us.

However, it's not just persistent absence that's a problem. And despite being a secondary teacher, I don't ascribe to the idea that only exam years count and early years aren't the foundation.

I worked in school through the COVID lockdown with vulnerable kids who needed school and could not be subjected to the alternative at home with their families - offensive as that might be, we determined this to be the case as professionals and made provision for those who would have been seriously disadvantaged without it. I also tried to offer for other kids some of what they normally experience online and note that many opted out. Most seem generally fine for having a few weeks' pause, because everyone else did. Many still are really not. And few would cope with losing out while everyone else continued ahead of them.

I mention this because, in general, for lots of our families it was a wonderful extended summer with parents at home and playing in the garden, largely without financial worries. But the kids coming through each year are still noticeably behind academically and lacking in social skills. So whatever was being 'kept up' with or 'caught up' on by well meaning parents clearly wasn't working as well as they thought.

And PP are right to say that the length of time, and across two terms, might not be a simple fine to be factored into the cost of the holiday; it might be that the children are deemed to have been missing from education and not accounted for over a prolonged period. Parents saying they're 'my children' doesn't mean other adults don't have certain levels of responsibility.

It’s the common misconception that it means less due to how young they are but brain wise they are doing more learning now then for the rest of their lives. They are also much less likely to remember the experience aspect of it than if they were older. It would be a memory for you and the wider family which could also be important.

And even with our common sense approach and lack of total nonsense around attendance in Ireland, the educational outcomes for Irish children are generally better than those of English children.

Nope the revised regulations in 2024 DO give LA the power to go straight to prosecution they don’t often but they can

anyone suggesting calling in sick last week of term a 5 day absent end of term for two children is likely to trigger needing medical evidence to authorise - it will go down as unauthorised anyway

yes it really is that bad

I don't know if this has already been metioned but this happened to a poster here that took their DC out for 3 weeks. It affected their employment as it comes up on DBS checks.

There are very few “once in a lifetime family trips” that require you to be away for a whole month …..

If it’s for disney YABU

Why is it unreasonable? What would you deem acceptable?

You do you. But whatever fine or letter you get at the end of it you take on the chin.

Countless threads on here of mums who knowingly took their kids out are now seeking to vent or asking how to appeal fines / prosecution letters.

I won’t judge if a parent does this, but I will judge the CF attitude when consequences follow.

Reception is a tricky year group to catch up on, both socially and with the learning, is it only available at that time? X

Is your school full? If not, I’d be inclined to deregister them, then apply for school places again when you are back.

They might make them start after Xmas though rather than join mid term and they’d be out of school for 4 months

It will 100% be unauthorised and probably lead to a fine but that’s your call.

As a teacher I take massive umbrage at the idea that the 4yr old ‘won’t be doing much’ 🙈

also- please don’t ask the teachers for the missed work. We don’t just hand out a worksheet every hour so just giving you a copy of each written activity doesn’t work without the input to go with it. I suggest daily reading and writing a diary of what you’ve been doing.

that said, I absolutely do see the value of experiences outside the classroom and understand why parents might choose to take children out in term time.

I’m reading all these messages and genuinely astounded at the number of people totally outraged, even going so far as to suggest the OP should de register their child from school. This is absolute madness. 🤣