Taking kids out of school to avoid isolation?

[LKC8191]

Our two DDs have had 3 periods of 10 days isolating due to close contact at primary school over the past year. We’ve just started one right now and the previous two were near the end of winter term and spring term.
They also have a trip away with their grandparents booked in the summer- it starts just 4 days after the end of term and will be third time lucky if they actually go because it has been cancelled and rearranged twice from last year.
I will be absolutely gutted if they have to isolate for 10 days near the end of summer term and it f**cks up their chance of going away again.
So, I’m seriously considering not sending them to school for the last week of term. Keep them at home and safe from the threat of bubble breaks.
What are people’s thoughts? We never normally take them out of school for holidays etc- they have pretty much 100% attendance records.

Have they had the virus, you also need to take that into account?

Do it. I’m in the same position but our holiday was next week. Twins now in isolation due to a positive case and we can’t go.

This has gone on long enough. DC have missed so much school will one more week at the very end of the school year make a jot of difference at this point?

Take them out and enjoy your holiday amongst this absolute joke of the shittest shit show of this shitty earth .

Ever .

Just for clarity, they have never had symptoms or had positive tests (and neither have me or DH). The isolations have all been from teachers/TAs/other pupils in the bubble of 70 testing positive)

I would. I bet everyone needs the holiday versus another 10 day isolation.

I would personally have a lot of sympathy with any parent taking their child out of school in this situation. OP, if the grandparents are elderly there is also another aspect to this, which is that reducing your DCs' contact with others in the 10 days or so before seeing their grandparents will reduce the risk that your DC are incubating Covid at the point when they meet up with the grandparents. I assume grandparents have been fully vaccinated for some time, but it is still possible to catch Covid when fully vaccinated.

I wouldn't blame you, and I think you wouldn't be the only family doing this. Schools address going to be pretty quiet on that last week or so I think...

I wouldn't take them out of school, but I would take them on holiday. My kids have had numerous isolations from school and have never caught anything so it wouldn't bother me. I'd maybe just test them before they went.

@LilyPond2

I would personally have a lot of sympathy with any parent taking their child out of school in this situation. OP, if the grandparents are elderly there is also another aspect to this, which is that reducing your DCs' contact with others in the 10 days or so before seeing their grandparents will reduce the risk that your DC are incubating Covid at the point when they meet up with the grandparents. I assume grandparents have been fully vaccinated for some time, but it is still possible to catch Covid when fully vaccinated.

Totally agree, reduce risk to grandparents

@LilyPond2 G’parents fairly young (mid 60s) and fully vaccinated so all things considered we’re not too concerned about their health in that sense but yes, keeping the kids off school would mean my parents are safer too.
The main thing for me is it’s the first time they’ve taken the kids away on holiday- just them and my two DDs. Something that I used to do with my grandparents when I was a little and I loved it, so it means a lot to me that they will have this special time together.
I just wouldn’t dream normally of taking the kids out of school during term time (DH was a teacher and term time hols were a total Pet Hate of his) but, having followed every rule to the letter, I would just be so pissed off if the holiday had to be scrapped again.

I’ve heard of loads of families who are going to do this-I don’t blame you at all! Loads did it the week before Christmas as well.

I would take them out of school, I think that's a sensible approach.

I wouldn't think twice about it.

I absolutely would

If you would adhere to any isolation requirements, then yes, taking them out of school to avoid it is sensible.

I wouldn’t but slightly different as I want them not to miss more school. But then my view on isolation due to school is changing anyway.

I’d not considered this at all until this week and we’ve been isolating and the girls have missed several things and been very disappointed.
The thought of having to go through all that simply for a random possibility that some unknown person that they may or may not have actually come into the tiniest bit of contact with fills me with dread and pisses me off.

I would normally be no way.

I mentioned it in passing to DH and thought he would be no way!

Today he suggested what we would say to the school

We never take the kids out of school............

I would. We did it before Christmas.

Can the date of trip be changed? I work in a school and am going away with a group, two of us work at schools, that's why we're going on day 11 after we break up.

We're on summer holidays already and had lots of classes isolating in the weeks before end of term.
Headteacher pretty much sanctioned keeping kids off the last week

Tummy ache. Diarrhoea?

I did it before Christmas and I'm contemplating it again. We are due to go the day after they break up.

A bubble of 70 is fucking ridiculous.

I would be testing but not necessarily isolating.

I’m considering the last two days of school that would leave us 14 days clear.

They may have introduced just using lateral flow every day by then (after 19th), which but I don't know how that might impact on isolations that have started before 19th.