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Original poster

taking children out of school for holidays is ILLEGAL

588 replies

zippitippitoes · 08/03/2006 10:03

interesting news report here \link{http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2075270,00.html\ High Court Ruling}

so will anybody still be taking those unauthorised breaks and days off?

Will schools get tougher

and does your school say no at the moment?

OP posts:
bigbaubleeyes · 10/03/2006 17:21

fob - I will be in exactly the same position as you in 3.5 mnths time - I'm dreading what state my room will be in. I started a new SOW lastnite (Am I mad?) cos I want to try an get ahead so i don't have to use after school time when i will want to pick up DS. They have introduce protected PPA's so I'll have to see how they work out when I get back. Are you nervous?

NICE: Teaching is a lot more than page numbers in a book, at the end of the day if we don't they wont achieved what they should and then we are accountable - you try facing an angry parent when their DS/DD just hasn't cut it cos they were busy doing other stuff. Unfortunately we do end up tutoring one to one.

For sime topics at AS level even miss 1 double lesson that encompasses a small topic but one which could still have a 10mark qustions on it in the exam and thats it they've had.

Blandmum · 10/03/2006 17:23

Fob, I now do a 4 day week(Three afternoons off a week) and it is a total life saver re planning and marking!

beatie · 10/03/2006 17:24

"School does have its place, but so does family time, and I think the way that the way society is going at the moment we ought to encourage more family time, not make it more difficult."

Perhaps you ought to campaign for a shorter school year for Primary School pupils. However, I don't imagine that would go down too well, particularly when you hear parents com[;aining about having to find childcare during INSET days.

Or is it flexi-time schooling you are suggesting? How exactly do you propose every child, including the children of teachers, gets more family time - in addition to the 13 weeks already granted?

fob · 10/03/2006 17:26

bbe - you are mad! put the sow away!!Grin

i'm not nervous, just know i'm going to have a lot of work to do!

oh well - easter holidays not long! ha-ha!

fob · 10/03/2006 17:28

mb - i'm already thinking about a 4 day week! i'll see how it goes for the summer term! i'm just enjoying ds soooooo much just now!

Blandmum · 10/03/2006 17:30

Re Inset.

I know the teachers all know this but I am going to post it anyway! Grin

INSET days came out of the teachers holiday! The kids always had those days off. They teachers go in for training. They are not days off for the teacher. They are days that the teachers work in their holiday time to get better trained......doubtless cue for someone to moan about how long our holidays are........

SenoraPostrophe · 10/03/2006 17:33

mb - are you still on this thread? I am worried about your stress levels...

SenoraPostrophe · 10/03/2006 17:34

and blimey, i didn't know that about inset days. so you only get the 12 weeks holiday then and not 13? Wink

Original poster
zippitippitoes · 10/03/2006 17:37

mb I don't think you are right about inset days they are part of contracted hours not teachers' holidays i'm sure

OP posts:
Blandmum · 10/03/2006 17:39

They are now but initialy they were taken out of the teacher's holiday time. It makes no difference to me, as I can into teaching after they were installed. But I have collegues who were taching at the time and they still grit their teeth! Grin

My point is that parents would always have had to find the extra 5 days holiday.....it isn't an extra day for the kids, it is a day less holiday for the teachers

niceglasses · 10/03/2006 17:43

BBeyes - I'm sure youre right, but I did say that what happened when I was at school.

jenkel · 10/03/2006 18:17

I dont want a shorter school year, I dont want flexi-schooling, I just want the chance to take my kids on a holiday for 1 week during term time if necessary.

I also dont mind if teachers take some holiday during term time, teachers are sick so take time off then, teachers take maternity leave so again take time off, they cope, the kids cope.

Perhaps one of the problem with the secondary school system is that the curriculum is craming too much in, surely the curriculum should allow time for sickness, etc and give the kids a chance to catch up.

But for me, I just have children that will start reception in sept and really cant see that taking 1 week off is really that bad.

I'm also not an academic type, I will encourage them to work as hard as possible but exam results are not the be all and end all for me, just for them to have done as well as they are able.

MaryP0p1 · 10/03/2006 18:46

Not having read all of this but think its a storm in a teacup given that 1 week here or so isn't really such a problem given that many will have that in sickness. Oh and by the way I'm a teacher, in Italy though. Kids often have holidays during the year and they have a festa because the sun is shining here.

However I'm think really the problem is that the holiday companies charge so much during holiday time that for many it means the difference between a holiday and staying in the rain!

It is my opinion that the holiday companies should be not allowed to do this. Also in the UK they introduced a system as they have in parts of Germany. The way I understand the system is that the each area has a different summer holiday period. The holidays range from the beginning of June to the end of September. I understand that package holidays are far cheaper in Germany partly because of this.

cutekids · 10/03/2006 21:47

JENKEL!could've written that myself!

cutekids · 10/03/2006 21:51

plus...!next year, no doubt my then 8yr old daughter will be expected to go on a 5 day outdoor activities trip. sorry, but i don't want her to! not only do i think they're expensive once you've bought all the required attire but..after all the news items about children getting hurt/going missing etc....i would rather she stayed in class.(who knows...maybe catching up on the stuff she's missed when we've taken her away on holiday!...joke!)

bigbaubleeyes · 10/03/2006 23:03

No MB dare I menton this.... the point about teachers holidays is yes i have 13 wks a year to do as I please but take out the unpaid revision sessions during half term breaks and at Easter, then add up allthe extra after school stuff I'm not contracted to do takes it down to 10 weeks.

THEN all the intensive weeks of 50/60 hrs it all averages out to a lot less.

HOLIDAYS during term time are just NOT acceptable. I cant believe anyone thinks otherwise. Shock

FOB: You know when you havnt been on teacher resource exchange for a while and you find loads of new stuff... its great Grin (I know its sad) MN'ers all think ive a pet pig now with the sow ref lol Grin

flutterbee · 10/03/2006 23:09

I haven't read this thread, but just want to add my two pennies worth.

I do not think that any children should be taken out of school for holidays, yes so you have to pay a bit more for holidays (I'm sure you would have know this when choosing to have kids)but so what, find a cheaper holiday, holiday in this country shock horror. Shock Or just don't go on holiday have day trips etc.

Linnet · 11/03/2006 00:14

Someone further down said that "surely nobody is in such restricted employment that they can't manage to take holidays during school holiday time" I'm para phrasing.

Where I work there are 16 people in the department out of the 16 only 4 of us have children. If someone is off on holiday or off sick someone else has to cover their work area so only limited numbers of people are allowed holidays at any one time. I noticed today when looking at the planner that the 1st of August has 3 people off and there is now no more leave allowed on that day or else we'll be too short staffed to cope.

The Easter holidays are a fortnight where if you don't get your holidays in quick you don't get. The majority of people who take the easter holidays are usually people who don't have children.

I'm not saying that childless people shouldn't take their holidays at Easter or in the summer but it can make it harder for us with families to get holidays during school holiday time.
Thankfully it's never come to the situation where I haven't been able to take holidays during school holiday time but the chance is always there that one day it might not happen.

Mytwopenceworth · 11/03/2006 00:15

what we should be up in arms about is the cynical holiday companies who exploit the fact that most people have to look for a holiday at this time and double or sometimes TRIPLE their prices!

MeerkatsUnite · 11/03/2006 11:06

Our school holiday terms changed last April so this meant that the first two weeks of April is now holiday time (regardless of when Easter falls). This has affected the rest of the terms also - our holiday times start and therefore finish a week earlier than most other education authorities.

Many families in our school took advantage of the "cheaper" deals which fell in April last year. Not so many people will be going away this year as the holiday companies have now cottoned on the fact that the Easter half term here is around a week earlier than in other education authorities.

One of my son's classmates in Y2 is actually having the last week of March off school to go on holiday. She has got permission for this but school do state that holiday absenses are not encouraged. Their SATs start immediately on return from half term and absense for holidays is not encouraged at all during all of Y2. The new Head has clamped down on both absense for holidays and illness - many parents have become annoyed to receive such letters with regards to illness.

I have seen a simiar sort of situation to what Linnet describes. This was a small building society branch with no cover when it came to holidays. I was childless at the time but never took Easter off and it didn't bother me in the least. My friend with children had to basically argue at some length with her manager (who also had children at school) her holiday entitlement when it came to half terms. Being the manager he was able to - and did - cherry pick his holidays. If she wasn't quick enough his holidays would inevitably conincide with the time that she wanted off.

MaryP0p1 · 11/03/2006 13:33

I've just noticed the point about surely everybody is able to take holiday during school holidays. Not in my DH case, ever. There is only him and hes assistant. She can't work because stay with the children, her husband can take schools off. She works from home so can work when the kids are at home. I don't see my husband as he works longer hours over the holidays. Lucky for my family we live abroad so plan our holidays when the differences happen. I.e. June and July is holiday time here. Before we moved and live in the UK, I would take the children on my own the our holiday home for the 6 weeks and maybe see DH 1 or 2 weekends!!!

pacinofan · 11/03/2006 13:55

Another family here who cannot always take holidays during school holidays. I am a sahm, dh works full-time and bids for his leave annually. Due to a recent promotion he is now the most 'junior' in his rank and therefore will receive last choice for annual leave. The company always try to accommmodate but very often cannot (Christmas will be a lonely affair!) so we will be faced with this problem when dd1 reaches school age.

My feeling at present? Although not ideal, yes, I would feel it appropriate to take her out of school PROVIDED we had explored every other opportunity to avoid doing so. Family life counts for a lot too, I don't regard one holiday a year too much.

spidermama · 11/03/2006 14:18

Another good point pacinofan.

Surely no-one, not even on this thread, would deny that all families have the right to holiday together. As has been shown there are many families who, for whatever reason, can't do this at the time dictated by the school calendar.

Does anybody really think that such families should be denied the right to holiday at all?

MaryP0p1 · 11/03/2006 15:26

My family did without my DH many weekends evening weeks etc very often. If I had lived in the UK still I would have no problem with taking my kids out of school so they can spend a relatively long period with their Dad

fob · 11/03/2006 20:07
Grin psml BBE at pet pig! OINK!