Holidays In Term Time

[adam030380]

Hi All

I have a query about some new legislation coming in from the 01/09/13. Where heads cannot authorise the usual 10 days anymore. Anyway i booked a holiday last year for this coming december for the week before xmas and was oblivious to this new legislation they holiday is for 7 days but would only take my children out for 5 days but they have excellent attendance. My questions are can i still take them out, will i get fined, should i cancel the holiday or should i just say we're going whatever.

I think it depends on your lea, but i cant find any definitive guidlines!

it seems silly. the debate has always been there as to whther or not its 'right' to take your kids out of school. i feel if they are keeping up with work and would not fall behind there should be no problem. a child could be off school with a broken leg for 6 weeks but they cannot authorise a holiday for 2/3 days?! wheres the sense in that?

do you think this still applies to children of other nationalities? if a muslim family want to go visiting family for a month do you think they would be turned down because it's during term time?

One Mum from Doncaster has set up an epetition about the fines. It can be found on
submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/49640

She is hoping to get 100,000 signatures - currently has about 34,000.

Now my eldest is at senior school, we are confined to school holidays but when all 3 of my children were at primary school we did take them out each year to go skiing ( usually beginning of Jan so they only missed 3 days of school). Like many people have said, our children had good attendance, we didn't take advanatage by taking a 2 week holiday mid term.
The issue would be less of a problem if the schools holidays were more staggered depending on the county so the half term weeks varied rather than all being the same week. In France for example, there are 3 areas which all have different holidays.

Why would being Muslim matter? I'm foreign and it's being foreign not Muslim that creates headaches.

I have been told informally that fines are very unlikely except for repeat offenders (phew).