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Original poster

we have just been discussing the implications of unatuhorised abscence at our meeting

93 replies

poisson · 11/07/2006 20:58

adn our holiday thing is really gettign serious
its 94% - it shoudl be 98%

if it gets too low we can be identified as a failing shcool ON THAT ALONE.
aslo we can inform the edication welfaree officer.
bet some parents woudl find htat MORE shameful than a court summons

and STILl parents take theri kids way in sats week
if you agree witht ehm or not its hardly supporitve of the school

OP posts:
nutcracker · 11/07/2006 21:55

TBH the increasing bloody rules about time off are really starting to piss me off.

My kids have excellant attendance records and are doing really well at school.

We find it hard to afford any type of holiday at all, i'm not talking a fortnight in the south of france but a weekend in Blackpool type holiday, so if we get the chance to go and have a break for 2/3 days even if in a shitty caravan then I think my kids missing a few days of school is nothing, why ? because thats what childhoods are made of, fun holidays, where you eat chips on the beach and stay up until way past your bed time, and if my kids have to miss some school to get that then so be it, I certainly won't lose any sleep over it.

P.s, I don't ask for work to be set, my kids each make a scrap book/diary if we ever go away, and i also check what they would be missing before I confirm any break.

bayleaf · 11/07/2006 22:09

As a teacher I have to say here that I feel the problem is mainly one of the government making a big thing about it and making it a problem for schools rather than it implicitly BEING a big problem. I teach in a secondary school - so generally mroe 'intense' than a primary school- but apart from ks4 and odd weeks round exams I would say a couple of weeks a year were frankly not a big deal unless they were combined with a child who already had very bad attendance for other reasons. We have kids go off to the subcontinent regularly for 6 weeks at a time and that IS a pain - but the sort of amounts of time most of you are talking about and in PRIMARY schools are not such a big deal - especially when set against the incredible importance in a child's developemnt of the experience of going away on holiday - the excitement, the discoveries, the special memories... how much richer do they make a child's life than an extra 2 weeks in school???

nutcracker · 11/07/2006 22:11

Here here Bayleaf

have never said that in my life

Reginald · 11/07/2006 22:12

I agree with you bayleaf. These sorts of absences only became a problem with the advent of league tables etc it seems to me

jennifersofia · 11/07/2006 22:14

But in primary it can be a big deal if it took weeks for the child to settle and then they are taken out for 2 weeks...

nutcracker · 11/07/2006 22:16

Agree Jenifer but then I wouldn't take out a child who had taken ages to settle, although obviously others might.

Gobbledigook · 11/07/2006 22:18

I think authorised absence includes sickness because we got a summary of attendance with ds1's report (reception). It had absence logged on it - he was in hospital with pneumonia.

Aero · 11/07/2006 22:19

Slightly off topic I know.......We've recently had a visit from OFSTED and lateness has been mentioned as an issue. So we got the official letter home from the HT telling parents to make better efforts to get children to school on time. Made me laugh though as she is rarely there herself to open the gate on time to let them in!! Final straw for those of us who get there promptly.

Blondilocks · 11/07/2006 22:19

I have mixed feelings about this subject. In some ways a holiday abroad can enable the child to learn quite a lot about the culture etc & some families do do more educational things on holiday rather than just lie on the beach (for example).

However, I don't think it is good to encourage missing school & I don't agree with it in exam time, whatever age or exam the child will be missing out on.

I don't agree with people doing it just to get a cheaper holiday. I'm sure that they would complain if the teachers used that as an excuse!

I do think it is fair for everyone to have an entitlement per year to accomodate such holidays (although I know it is at the school's discretion).

I think also it's different for one holiday in several, but possibly almost every holiday is taking it a bit too far!

bayleaf · 11/07/2006 22:23

yes authorised abs does include sickness - basically at our school any absence that the parents has saidthey are aware of and 'authorised' goes down as such - tho if they admit to dodgy things like '' to go shopping to buy stuff for our hols'' ( we honestly do have parents who write notes saying stuff like that ) then it should be passed to an ewo ( educational welfare officer) to see if it warrents investigation ( ie if it is a 'one off' no - if it is part of a pattern of absence for dodgy reasons then yes.)

Gobbledigook · 11/07/2006 22:24

why on earth would you take your kids shopping for holiday clothes?! Jeez - it's 100x easier to go without them adn that's where school can really come in handy

alexsmum · 11/07/2006 22:26

the authorised abscence does include sickness.ds's report stated that he had had 11 days off.at least 5 of those he was in hospital.we had permission for him to miss a couple of other days at the end of the hols.
if you have asked permission and it has been granted then i don't see the problem.

Aero · 11/07/2006 22:28

Have to say it's a good thing we're going away in August this year as if we'd taken a holiday in term time my ds1 and dd's absences this year would be through the roof. They've has so much time off ill with pneumonia, UTI's, sickness bug - you name it, mine have had it this school year!!

Original poster
poisson · 11/07/2006 22:32

what DO you do all of the 6 weeks holiday if you are not on holiday imo

OP posts:
hub2dee · 11/07/2006 22:33

Cod, do you think the parent body clearly understands the implications for your school if this 'problem' continues / escalates ? Maybe just an editorial piece in a newsletter would help significantly ?

robinpud · 11/07/2006 23:19

I have had exactly the same discussion as the fishy one at my governing Body meeting. But, I totally agree with Bayleaf that this is a flawed statistic for the government to be measuring but they are obsessed withwhat can be measured, hence them now weighing kids at 5 and 11. How is that going to improve their diet fgs.
Some families cannot take holidays in school holiday time irregardless of the financial advantages. I think as a governor, parent and teacher that 2 weeks quality time for a family who don't get a lot of that for whatever reasons is more important than its implication for the attendance figures. As long as people don't take the piss, holidays during term time are fine. Protest to your local MP about the recording of such useless statistics.

nutcracker · 12/07/2006 09:28

Cod I'd love to have a holiday to break up the 6 week hols, infact I dream of such a thing LOL, but in reality it's never gonna happen here.

Dd2 was telling me where her friends are going and asked if we could go somewhere and I had try and explain to her that in the holidays it costs way more to go away and that we'd do other stuff instead, but I could tell sh was dissapointed.

We will do swimming, parks, etc etc, but yeah it dos get boring.

milward · 12/07/2006 09:34

Could part of the prob be that in the uk the schools are just 6 weeks. Over the channel it is 8-10 weeks - loads of time to travel, see family & just be with the kids.

brimfull · 12/07/2006 09:57

Dh is often unable to take time off during the school holidays,so the only time we can have a family holiday or visit my family in Canada is during term time.
DD is now in yr 9 and we stopped taking her out during term time last yr as they miss too much work.

nutcracker · 12/07/2006 09:59

Milward - I would have to leave home if they changed the hols from 6 weeks to 8-10

alexsmum · 12/07/2006 10:00

Cod that sentence could only be uttered by someone very comfortably off! I've a feeling that a LOT of people dn't go on holiday during the holidays! it's SO expensive!!!! Don't you get that?
Like most people we will be doing the park, grandparents,days out etc during the holidays.
What a shame we can't all book our mark warner hols for august eh?

foxinsocks · 12/07/2006 10:05

I have to admit (with 2 children in a primary school so I should know better ) that I didn't realise there was a target for attendance. I know it is published but didn't realise that Ofsted paid so much attention to it. Surely they were worried about the truanting when they came up with that figure rather than people taking their kids out and on holiday?

I wonder if a letter home to parents explaining the effects (as hub suggested) would be a good idea. Does your school not authorise any holiday absence in term time then cod?

NomDePlume · 12/07/2006 10:08

ggirl, the time off thing is absolutely spot on. So many working parents request time off during school holidays that it is often impossible to accomodate every application for leave. In fact gettting leave full stop for DH is bloody impossible

SlightlyFamiliarPeachyClair · 12/07/2006 10:11

Just change the recording system

My kids had a day off or holiday 9went a day early for Whitsun, DH's shifts) and days out for BIBIC attendance which were counted as holiday

And one day ill dfor ds1

according to absences they have 100% attendance

So just get someone shite to do the register, and hey presto! problem solved

(until a kid goes misinga nd register doesn't show them away.....)

foxinsocks · 12/07/2006 10:14

think as long as you write to the HT and the request is reasonable (well there's a list of what is considered reasonable on the 'request for leave during term time' form) then it can be recorded as authorised

I assume either cod's school doesn't do holidays during term time or they have parents who don't inform the HT that they will be taking their child out (nice!) and just go ahead and do it!

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