To not feel sympathy for this mum?

[imreadytodive]

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/mum-school-holiday-criminal-record-37163490.amp

a mum has been given a criminal record after taking her daughter out of school for two weeks to “see her sick grandmother” and refusing to pay the fine

Surely she realises nobody buys that excuse? If her grandmother was that unwell why wouldn’t she travel to Turkey in the 6 week school holidays leading up to September? I’m

Yet people can pretend to “home educate” and never get in trouble at all whilst their child receives zero education. For example see awful YouTubers The Ingham Family.

The summer holidays are six weeks long. Nobody is suggesting you never take your kids abroad, just that you don’t kid yourself that it’s a perfectly acceptable substitute for school.

Of course its not a substitute for school thats why its only a week a year

At school? 😉
It’s part of the national curriculum. As an argument for taking kids out of school during term time, it just doesn’t wash, does it?

What do they do during the six week holiday?

Not much because where working and I would never take a child to Greece or Spain in August its to hot.

They popped up on my social media today not a clue who they were babbling on about something. Was a photo of a bike.

How these kinds of people are famous is beyond me.

My step son’s mum took him out in term time repeatedly, including a week in Rhyl which would have cost about 20 quid more in holidays

he’s now 15, went from regularly late to school to not having been at all for 4 weeks
the attitude he has learnt is school only care about attendance, he doesn’t see the importance, they don’t care about him and he’s not going

Actions and attitudes have consequences

To be fair, the local authority attempts to investigate and will mandate a return to school if they're not satisfied.

How do you force a child into school
who refuses to go? Genuinely.

I had a phase as a primary child due to a traumatic experience where I had to be physically dragged into school kicking and screaming and given to a teacher to hold. I would break free and run out after the person dropping me off.

I can’t see that happening today at all.

But where does it say that they WEREN’T paying any more than the cost of flights?
People here have mentioned all-inclusive, but it says nothing about that in the article.
Turkey is a big country and it’s not all tourist areas.

I think it is hard to have a balanced opinion on some article from trash like The Mirror. I can guarantee they got half of it wrong anyway to get people clicking and frothing.

Over the years as an international family I have had to manage summer holidays with schools and grandparents (working) in two countries
Summer holidays days aren't the same around countries.

This year I have arrangered two weeks for me, DH, DS, DD1 and DD2. We are based in two countries. DH is a teacher and DD2 in secondary school. DS has fixed holiday this year. DD1 gradutes a master from a university with a fixed examination day. Great fun.

I asked Headteacher for DD2's school for two weeks off. DD2 has no exams this year.

As we relocated to Europe at Christmas and rules are different DD2s Headteacher wrote "Lovely to get the family together see X in August. Enjoy!".

In England I would have paid the fine and thought "oh well" because it won't add up trying to navigate school and work this year in two countries.

I find England ridiculous but I would have paid if I was this mum and thought oh well carry on.

Very true of course

If they have to travel alot for work when they are older yes it would help them in life.
i have yet to meet anyone who uses the periodic table or trigonometry yet though 🤔

I always ask this question
any savings would be negated for me by extra childcare costs in the summer, plus it’s a long old 6 weeks with no break
the answer is invariably‘I don’t work so I don’t need childcare, they are shipped off to GPs, or they do fuck all

How exactly can you “broaden your horizons and get your out of your everyday bubble” at home..? 🧐

Also Id love to know what you would deem a sufficiently horizon broadening holiday since you are so outraged by all inclusives.

The idea kids are still learning on holiday so it’s akin to school is absolutely laughable; I’m amazed people are actually making that argument without a deep sense of embarrassment.

Yeah, kids do pick stuff up all the time. Let’s not con ourselves that it’s any substitute for school.

Teachers cannot be the ones to lose out. To have increased work load (which they will) because some kids miss school for holidays. Yes- your kid only misses one week a year… so does half the class. Different weeks.

Teachers deserve the fine as a top-up salary incentive for the extra time, resourcing and intervention the little holiday goers will require. Or should the little cherubs just miss that part of their education and hope for the best? They would fall behind and stay behind.

Nobody has said a weeks holiday is a substitute for 12 plus years of education. Where saying one week will make no difference in a child that has good attendance and isn't struggling academically and they will gain more in that 1 week then they would just 1 week of school. What do you think happens when a child gets sick and misses one week of school do you think they never catch up and fail all their exams.

Here's a tiny violin just for you 🎻