Holiday during term time

[MeerkatsUnite]

Just wonder what other Mnetters think of these passages which I have copied verbatim today:-

New Head writes:-

"Parents do not have a statutory right to 10 days leave of absense in an academic year. It is the school's decision that a leave of absense for holiday can be approved in exceptional circumstances to a maximum of 10 days.

Cheaper prices cannot be considered to be a valid reason. We have to prioritise education before finance. The cost of educating a child for a week far outweights the savings to be made by taking time out of school for a cheaper holiday".

On a personal level only this does not affect me as my son is going on holiday during half term next April but feel some disquiet at the above as I feel it is adversarial in tone.

The above has been sent to the parents of an Infants school.

Have to say I agree with it .

If parent are on a budget, there's plenty of cheap ways to do family holidays during the holiday time, so I heartily agree with that sentiment.

I totally disagree, especially in Infants school. I think it's more about making things easier for the teachers as they have so much non-educational nonsense to put up with these days, that it's very hard for them to cope with children's absences. My father worked abroad for much of my childhood, and we were forever following him around and missing chunks of schooling, especially at the beginings and ends of terms. It didn't harm our educations! But with all these SATS and league-tablings that teachers have to do nowadays, our travels would no doubt have been very intrusive.

After Infants then maybe it's a different matter. There's much more formal learning, and more for the children to miss.

I must say I agree with it too. Perhaps the Head's experiences have led him/her to feel that it really does have to be spelt out to parents.
I know this is a vexed topic on here and a perennial source of arguments but my personal view is that the parent/school partnership is very important. If you don't stick to your half of the bargain, you can hardly expect the school to go out of its way to help you when you need it. In general there seems to be an expectation that schools should do all the running where meeting obligations are concerned. Too many parents seem to stick only to the rules that suit them and then queue up in the media to criticise the education authorities when something is not to their liking.
Not talking about Mumsnet or Mumsnetters particularly here. Thinking of examples from my own education and already at ds' school

Ooh cod's bete noir !

Scaly klaxons sounding! Cod alert! Cod alert!

Our parents were very conscious of their responsibilites - we often returned to school ahead of our classmates as far as schoolwork was concerned.

but PC - I think in your case it would have been seen as a reasonable excuse. Likewise with the triplets at DS1's school, their dad works in the forces (not sure which ones - and how I admire their mother - looking after the 3 of them on her own!) and is often away for months at a time. They've already got permission (easily) from the head at the school to take a holiday during term time as that's when he'll be home.

Thou shall have a little fishy . . . on a little dishy . . .

Yes but you were travelling to be with your dad though, PC, which is a bit different to taking holidays that theoretically could be taken at a different time.

Not at all. Dad was generally abroad Mon-Fri and at home Fri pm - Mon am. But sometimes he would be at home more than Mum during term-times. Why should it have made any difference whether we left a week earlier or a week later to go on holiday in the country where he was working that month? Or to go stay with Mum's parents for the summer? I think my parents were very relaxed about certain aspects of our educations. We defintely didn't do this once we were in secondary school.

Frankly, I think it's all about SATs and OFSTEDs.

I think I agree here, seems fair enough and they will allow in exceptional circumstances.

When I was at school my mum had breast cancer and my sister and I were sent to stay with family up North for two weeks during termtime. This was because my dad felt it would be difficult looking after my mum (who had just left hospital), my sister and I and our toddler brother and sister.

While there, we had to go to school!!!!

My DSs' school is taking the same hard line now.

Personally I find it a relief as I was kind of putting myself under pressure before to sort out a holiday abroad during termtime for them as well as taking them away in the school holidays, iyswim. Now we just can't do it, so that's one less thing to organise and spend money on!

It is one of these things that is only okay if a few do it... everyone couldn't get away with it after all. It would be too disruptive. And that annoys me, why should some and not others?

I do agree that holidays shouldn't be taken in termtime. Having said that though, we took DS1 out for a week after his first half term in reception to take him to Florida and on 2 occasions he's missed a Friday so we could visit my in laws in Spain for a weekend. Our school has a more relaxed view about it provided you're not taking the p*ss! I would always avoid doing it where possible.

MaloryTowers, we used to regularly miss the last few days of term in Primary school and I hated it! Missing out on all that playing, dismantling, treats and chatting to friends about the holidays etc. Deep down I've never forgiven my parents for making me miss my last days in the last year at primary school

Where possible I agree term time holidays should be avoided although there are some circumstances where I feel they are justified - longer holidays to places such as Australia (need 3 weeks really and seasons don't match with our holidaya), visits to family who are far away and can't be arranged in school holiday time, and some once in a lifetime holidays - to places which are educational. I think if a parent can work with the school and put together some educational slant on their holiday - giving their child educational tasks to do (related to NC even as it is available for everyone to see) and keeps a record of it, and gives it school on return (not for them to mark BTW) then a holiday in term time CAN be just as educational beneficial as a week in school, possible more so.

However I do think you have to work witht he school on this matter.

And, for what its worth, I doubt very much a head will really go ahead and class term time holidays, within those 10 days, as unauthorised absence. They may rown on it, but they will still authorise them if you are adamanet. Reason why? It'd look bad on their own records! League tables and all that.

For young children I don't see that it matters if numbers of them go on holiday in the Summer term, it means that the teacher's time is split between fewer children in their absence and the absent children probably benefit in a different way from their holiday so everyone wins.

I was always taken out of school for the first week of every Summer term, and I detested it too. Once I got there, everyone knew each other, friendship groups had been made, work had been started and I never really caught up - it was easy enough to catch up with the work, but the damage was done with regard to not being able to make friends and so on.

It amazes me that we expect the schools to stick to rules regarding our children, and we expect that others will stick to the rules regarding such things as uniforms and so on, but won't stick to the rules when it comes to holidays.

I think it would be discriminatory to say only children who are going on long haul holidays or see distant relatives, because there could be plenty of other valid reasons which wouldn't meet those criteria and i can't see the school wanting to go through individual lesson/educational proposals for approval for every holiday.

I think it is a problem because it's made one.

At ds1's school the Head has made it school policy that parents have to write directly to the LEA for permission if they want time off for holidays. It doesn't affect me personally as we don't go on holiday anyway but I couldn't help wondering what the LEA thought about parents applying directly to them.

But zippi if children are all away at different times it would be extremely difficult for the teacher to know what he is teaching who and when surely!

I think exceptions can be made definitely, I just think as far as people can they should respect the rules... whether it is getting children to school on time or not taking them away during termtime.

I think there can be vaild reasons such as parents unable to take holidays due to work commitments etc, it is just difficult for the school to police the system to stop abuse