to have booked this year's summer holiday before school published holiday dates

[alana39]

Feeling I might have been, but we were only given term dates for 09/10 so I knew summer term will end 23 July and just assumed it would be a 6 week break.

Therefore I have already booked what would have been weeks 5 and 6 of the holidays - only to overhear the secretary telling someone else who has booked their holidays that we'll be going back on the 2nd or 3rd Sept so actually the holidays will only be 5 1/2 weeks.

I've already paid a big deposit and DH can only get those 2 weeks off work so really don't think we can change - I'm a bit miffed at school because surely this is the time of year when people start to think about booking holidays. Last year I didn't do it until mid-Jan and of 25 places I called only 1 had a vacancy at the right time (just renting small gite in France).

I got the impression the school secretary was quite apologetic and understood, but now have to go and talk to the head and I'm really embarrassed because I am very against people taking their kids on holiday in school term.

AIBU to be pissed off and can I say that to the head or should I just be mumbly and apologetic?

alana - chill, go and enjoy your holiday. Your kids' education isn't going to be adversely affected by missing a couple of days of school and your DH deserves his two weeks holiday.

Depending on their age the children probably won't miss algebra but may miss out on the settling period e.g. choosing who to sit next to, finding out when PE is, making tray/cloakroom labels and other less academic activities that won't affect their GCSEs in time to come but help the teacher to set the ground rules and expectations. Lots of schools do someting along the lines of aims/goals displays that are the result of the work done by the children in the first couple of days.

It's not the end of the world if they miss the start of a new school year but if I had to choose between having my whole class present at the beginning or the end of the year then I'd always choose the beginning as so much is achieved in those early days with a new class.

I usually check the website thats normally got the next couple of years provisional dates on it but are term dates usually give a return date for august.

YABU

A straw poll would be interesting...

Is it acceptable to complain about schools closing due to snow and buggering up childcare and work arrangements for parents but on the other hand take a holiday in term time?

School holidays for my county published on county council website up to 2012.

One thing I do think is amazing reading this thread and the ones about snow and schools closing is how many parents have absolutely no idea what an LA is and that they might have useful information about pertinent stuff on their website etc!

Pluto I'm not saying it's reasonable to take time off during term time (as I mentioned above I don't, which is why I'm feeling pissed off that I've made a mistake)- DCs have only ever been off due to chicken pox, hospital appointments that couldn't be moved and 1 time sent home after an accident. Have just been thick not to realise the LEA would have determine dates as have always got the info from the school website and am now suitably admonished.

Not sure how snow etc is linked to this - I don't see this as some kind of trade off. Will be off now as I think it is going to take about an hour to push the buggy back to school through the snow

Our school always starts on Thurs and fri before and has those as TT days. Is this a possibility?

Alana, don't feel bad because LA dates aren't accurate, which some posters don't seem to realise. Schools will make their own decisions about when to take their five inset days and it would be quite normal to have two at the beginning of the autumn term.