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Original poster

School says I have "No right to take my child out of school during term time"

197 replies

Easy · 24/06/2004 11:42

Okay, first I understand that school is important, and I don't necessarily intend to take my ds on holiday during term time but .....

We have just received the bumf from school regarding ds's first term next Sept.

In amongst it is a section on absences which says "You do not have the automatic right to take children on holidays during term time. The school must agree to this beforehand"

Now I feel that the school does not have a "right" to tell me when I can have access to my own child, I find the wording somewhat heavy handed, to say the least.

I'm not disagreeing with the principle involved, I just feel that the way it's being done is wrong. Is it just me who feels the 'Nanny state' interfering here.

OP posts:
clary · 24/06/2004 23:11

What an interesting thread. Agree with Sophable that Frogs' eloquent post says what I think. However Easy I think you agree really. Just wanted to add that where I live there is a sec school where the head will not authorise ANY absences! Not sure how well it works but good for him I say My parents were teachers so I would never take the children out of school. But of course lots of my friends do so have to be careful what I say (in RL, not on MN!). Holiday companies - of course they put the prices up because they can! If people will pay what they charge you can't really blame them for charging it, supply and demand etc.

suedonim · 24/06/2004 23:40

I was staggered to learn tonight that a friend is taking her 14yo twins out of school for eight weeks next year and the school has sanctioned it!!! How on earth is it going to be able to enforce the rule for other parents??

Tortington · 25/06/2004 01:09

i wouldn't be a teacher i hate kids and i think they deserve every penny they get. i too never signed the home agreement it reminded me of prelim anti social behaviour conracts we give to kids where i work!

are those twins going anywhere nice suedonim?

bloss · 25/06/2004 01:17

Message withdrawn

lavender1 · 25/06/2004 02:36

Also agree with the school. If you had your own business and said to the boss that you'd booked time off to go on holiday, without his/her consent, I wonder what the reaction there would be.

Teachers have a very hard enough job to do without having to worry about pupils who are missing the subjects they teach because they are on holiday...If 6 weeks in the summer isn't enough time to go away for a break, then I don't know what...we always had a month away when we were children, every summer, never taken out of school unless ill, rules are rules and if we didn't have them every thing would be topsy turvy. Think parents should respect school wishes as they are doing so much for our children these days, and why not just do what every other parent does and use the long Easter/ Summer/ Half terms to take your children away and Christmas, which = over 12 weeks a year, personally think this is enough time to find the time.

cazzybabs · 25/06/2004 08:01

I haven't had time either to read the whole thread, but you child has to attend school for a set period of days. And you don't have the right to take your child out as and when you please. You are all educated women who value education, but some parents don't send their child to school and take frequent holidays in term time because its cheeper. That measn that child is missing vast amounts of school and it is going to affect the quaility of education he recives. Imagine if your child turned round to you in 20 years time and said "I have a crap like on the dole because you didn't send me to school so I could get good grades." If a child is in and out of school they simply will not be able to achive to their potential.

And don't forget you are going to be affecting the school's league tables. Also I think the wording is standard, ie something schools have to write.
But it should be a problem for you to take your child out as long as their attendence is not below 85% over the year and if it the school will probably send round the eeducational welfare officer (again another legal requirment).

cazzybabs · 25/06/2004 08:02

erghh - wish I had gone to school more - replace should with shouldn't last line.

JulieF · 25/06/2004 12:28

Just to refer back to Beetroots posting about SATS. Has anyone ever, or known anyone who took theor child out of school during SATS (either because they disagree with SATS or for another reason) and if so what happened.

I am weighing up the options of either sending dd to a private opt out of SATS school or boycotting them.

Dh is a teacher by the way.

codswallop · 25/06/2004 12:35

what age?

hmb · 25/06/2004 12:59

We have had children taken out of school during the KS3 sats where I teach. Don't know why and don't know any outcome.

Snugs · 25/06/2004 13:18

Have only skimmed through this thread and don't want to get involved in any arguing but how about this for irony .....

DS1's school are doing a project with Barnaby the Bear. All parents are requested to invite Barnaby on a family holiday, keep a holiday diary, send back postcards to the class etc. HOWEVER - Barnaby is only available for such holidays DURING TERM TIME!

Hulababy · 25/06/2004 14:04

That is madness snugs!!!

I think if a child misses his/her SATs they are just recorded as absent, and obviously do not get the assessment level from the exam. I assume they still get a teacher assessment though.

Original poster
Easy · 25/06/2004 15:21

I knew this would happen.

If you READ my first posting you'll see that I don't disagree that kids should be at school during term time.

OP posts:
hmb · 25/06/2004 15:40

Easy, having just re-read the thread and, as an aside, the school I am in at the moment has a disabled teacher. She is in a wheel chair , has an adapted lab to teach in and a personal assistant to help with things that she cannot do because of mobility issues. The rest of the school is adapted with self opening door and lifts etc, first rate stuff. No-one, repeat, no-one gives this teacher any shit! I would love to have a fifth of that womans class control.

donnie · 25/06/2004 15:59

well, if kids in my classes go on unauthorised holidays I am very reluctant to either set extra work or to mark it when they return. Why should I?I have enough to do as it is. This topic has come up a few times before and I am loathe to contribute as it can get so heated ( and has done before) but I am with Coddy on this one.And to suggest the school is dictating when a parent can have 'access to my own child' is just melodramatic .If people don't like the rules, home educate.

suedonim · 25/06/2004 16:19

Custardo, they're all going to New Zealand. Their mum works for the NHS and can have 8wks paid Parental Leave so thats what she's doing. I think at 14yo the children will miss a heck of a lot of work.

Any other comments about kids taking 8 weeks off school? How will the school enforce the No Holiday rule from now on?

catgirl · 25/06/2004 16:29

re the 8 weeks: I would guess (and it is just a guess) that if it is authorised leave the school would set work for the child to take? Happened at my old school when a pal's dad got a 3 month placement in Australia.

hmb · 25/06/2004 16:31

If these kids are just going into y10 (which I would expect is the case if they are 14) missing 8 weeks will be a vast amount of work for them to catch up. In science this would mean missing 1/6 of the double science sylabus (which counts for 2 GCSEs). They would miss a similar amount in each of their subjects.

Unless the children are very bright and equally hard working, I doubt that they will catch this work up. It is possible that the parents intends to home ed while they are away, but my previous experince of this sort of thing leads me to doubt that. I can't see many parents going round the world on a holiday and then spending 5 hours a day doing school work with the kids.

And this gives the kids a dreadful message about the importance of school!

I honestly have no problem over people thinking that the school system doesn't suit their kids and chosing to Home Ed them. But it sticks in my craw to see a school being used as free child care in this way. I think that it sends a very bad example and the school has been very foolish to give them leave to do this.

tallulah · 25/06/2004 17:57

JulieF, we took our DD out of the 11 yo SATS (to go on holiday!)

Our DD had passed her 11+ but been denied a grammar school place thanks to the actions of her headteacher so there was NO WAY she was contributing to the school's results.

codswallop · 25/06/2004 18:12

barnaby bear is the most cliched lesson plan ever in primary education.

our deputy head ( ex early years adviser) says that att he niagra falls he saw three of the effing things/

hmb · 25/06/2004 18:14

Showing my ignorence, what is Barney Bear and how does he fit into a Primary lesson? Dd has never mentioned him and she is in Y2 now.

codswallop · 25/06/2004 18:14
beetroot · 25/06/2004 18:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

codswallop · 25/06/2004 18:21

they have these vodeos and the bear has to go away and you take photos of it

sisters dh otook him ont he plane he was flying and humilated himself by taking photos of it and going down ont he drinks trolley!

codswallop · 25/06/2004 18:21

competitive holidaying really{}