Unauthorised leave from school

[Wendy101]

What are my rights to take my child out of school to attend a pending legal case overseas? I also have a course i need to take in july in the same country so i don't see how i can return to the uk after the court date in june and then return in july. The school has referred me to the educational welfare officer and has threatened to take my child off the register and get fined. I have a week to decide on what to do. HELP!

How long will you actually be away?

Also what school year?

Is the court case related to the child? Otherwise I fear you are on shaky ground. Will your child miss more than a month of term? How old are they?

The case is regarding a property overseas. And yes i will be taking them out 1st week in june and they won’t return till the following term as i have course in july as well. They are in year 6 and year 1

If the school has a waiting list you may well lose their places over a half term absence. Presumably your year 6 won't be returning anyway.

You do not have any right to take your children out of school because you need to attend a court case overseas and go on a course. The school is absolutely right that you can be fined and/or your children removed from the register. You can avoid a fine by giving the school notice that your children will be receiving education other than at school, but the school will not keep your younger child's place available in that situation.

They don't sound like valid reasons to take a child out of school, but yes you can remove them and lose the school places if you want. What is their attendance record this academic year?

So your year 6 is going to lose the last two months of primary, all her high school transition etc?

Is their other parent in the picture at all? Do you have any family over here?

I think you might just have to accept that you're going to lose little ones place tbh and apply for your local schools Inc this one whilst you're away. You obv won't lose eldest place if you're back by Sept.

No idea on what the fines are like - do you intend to school them at all? Could you withdraw and home school them without it affecting the Secondary school place?

I do wonder though why you planned on doing a course in another country knowing you'd have to pull your kids from their own education to do it. It's there no other place in this country you could do it? Another time? Online?

You have a right to withdraw them from school and take them with you. You do not have a right to keep the school places when you are taking them out for 1/6 of the year.

This is potentially going to be really messy for your year 1 child. They may lose their place and you will have to reapply. Depending on if the school is oversubscribed, you may have difficulty getting a place in Sept. Your eldest will presumably be fine to go to secondary in Sept, although will miss out on the fun at end of year 6 and transition events for secondary.

It sounds stressful but can you shift things around or get them to stay with someone? I think if you go, it will cause other stress later.

eh?

Are you on the wrong thread?

You’re going to prioritise your course above your kids education? Thats really not fair on them.

you don’t have a keg to stand in legally. Take your kids out officially or don’t take them.

What course is so important you're willing to disrupt your child education. As others have said they won't deregister them for a week for the court case ( though expect to get fined) but no school will authorise a whole half term. That's a lot of learning to miss and in the case of the year 6 they'll miss all the fun end of primary stuff.