to think we should be able to take dss out of school on one Friday afternoon?

[vivie]

Hi

I requested Friday afternoon absence from school for dss (yr and y2) so that we could travel to see some friends who live at the other end of the country. We're all going to an event on Saturday that starts early and has cost a lot of money on tickets. I don't want to arrive very late on Friday night and have the boys too tired and ratty to enjoy Saturday - we're all very excited.

Anyway, despite both boys having excellent attenance and attainment records the request has been refused. We have never requested term time absence before.

I mean - come on! It's like 2 hours on a Friday afternoon at the end of summer term! Are they really missing anything that critical?

Anyway, what would it mean if we took unauhorised absence?

The school has been having problems with low attendance, which I appreciate, but my kids make their stats better, even with a half day here. I feel we are being penalised because of other families' behaviour. And that's not fair.

So what should we do?

If we'd lie and say they were ill we wouldn't be in this position. Perhaps we shouldn't be so honest.

Take it as unauthorised holiday. The school are prob in a position where they've been told not to authorise any hols, but you should still let them know that you, as a parent, have authorised their absence from school (so they don't have to search for your missing boys). Please don't worry about your DS's having unauthorised absence, it really is not a problem unless it is a session (am or pm) per week.

That's crap. Let's face it, if you'd not told the truth and said they had to go to the dentist or something, they'd have let them go. It really pisses me off when you get penalised for doing the right thing. This is probably part of the attendance problem - if other parents are requesting reasonable time off and being refused, they'll be doing it unauthorised too.

Really - take unauthorised leave? Honestly I'm such a rule-follower - nothing bad will happen??

Holidays are always refused. It just goes down as unauthorised absence but so what.

Live and learn, lie in future, let them take the whole day off due to hay fever.

Figures are being fiddled all over England. Headteachers would prefer us to lie to make their figures look good.

Fact - but I cannot reveal my source.

........and no you are not being unreasonable.

Schools would rather have authorised absence on their records, than unauthorised. You would have been better off phoning them both in with D&V!

Like Alouiseq says - live and learn! If you are completely honest and confident that your lo's are rarely off sick, then what does it matter.

The school simply has to follow protocol. If you have sent a letter, it will go on a file for OFSTED to find. The school has to tell you it will be unauthorised, to be seen to be doing the right thing.

The worst that will happen is that your lo's will have unauthorised recorded on their reports.

next time they'll have d&v! Yes, live and learn! Next time I won't be so honest

Up here they have every Friday afternoon - funnily enough the children don't suffer and the teachers fight tooth and nail to keep it free. Phone in sick the next time.

if you are going to lie and say they were off ill, make sure you tape their mouths shut so they cannot blab all about their adventures in show and tell or whatever!! I think this sets a bad trend for their adult lives TBH - that you can lie about being ill to get time off - you would not believe how many of DHs staff phoned in sick the other wednesday when england were playing at 3pm.

one day as you describe for pupils with excellent attendance, seems a bit mean, but ofsted judge a school by its attendance - how was their last ofsted report?

it never ceases to amaze me that our head allows people weeks off (even above the "2 weeks with permission" rule)

DDs school has authorised next Friday so we can take them to a festival. I would just go if I were you.

I have taken mine out on a Friday afternoon for travelling purposes. The secret is pick them up after the afternoon registration takes place. That way they are marked present!

The procedure at our school is to write to the head requesting your child's absence be authorised. Note you are requesting that the absence be authorised, not requesting the absence iyswim. Requests are nearly always denied (as directed by County Council, no doubt told by Central Government) but then you take your child anyway. Personally, I wouldn't lie as I think it sets a bad example to your children and makes you look foolish and untrustworthy if found out. The Educational Welfare Officer will not come knocking over one afternoon's absence I can assure you.

... although if they do... I said nothing

maisie, they have exactly the same number of classroom hours.

I'd take them out regardless, if you are worried of breaking the rules, don't send them in the whole day and ring and say they are unwell!

Even if you ring in on the day and say you are taking them to X, it will be fine!

Pointy - I'm not sure that they do. The day is 8.50 registration with 8.55 start to 12.30 and 1.30 to 3.25, with a 12.20 finish on Friday. Other schools which don't have Friday afternoons off in Scotland appear to have the same start/finish times. If anyone knows anything different, I'd love to know.

Just tell the school they won't be there for the day. I'm busting DD out of school next friday for a trip to the Nat Hist museum with DH. I'm certainly not going to ask permission to do something with my own child.

We went away last week end which meant my yr 2 son missed one day. I knew it wouldn't be authorized so i went in on Monday and told them we had been away and that i didn't tell them because i couldnt risk being turned down and they would have to mark it down as unauthorized ....i would never lie though because i wouldn't want my son to have to lie too.

Just take them out. It's two hours and the school are not going to do anything at all.

We kept my dd out of school for one extra day at half term. Our school rejects all holiday as a matter of policy so I find it utterly pointless them asking parents to fill in a holiday form to be denied. So I just wrote a note "telling" them what I'd be doing.

my ds goes to school in Edinburgh and has half day Friday [finished today at 12]
they tried to bring it into the borders about 3 years ago but had to many objections from parents Mon-Fri start and finish the same time.But varies drastically from town to town.

You're the parent. What YOU say beats out what any school says. Next time, don't ask...just tell.

What are they going to do - hit you?