Schools giving blanket "NO" to time off during term

[twelveyeargap]

DD1s secondary school has sent a letter home with every student to say that they were not permitted to authorise any time off during term time. They gave a link to the LEA/ council website for info on what punishments parents could expect for taking their children out of school for holidays. Funnily enough, the council website also stated that it was "up to the head teacher" whether a student was allowed to take up to 10 days of any school year off.

We also received a letter like this when DD1 was in primary school.

I am hugely frustrated now, because Australian relatives, last year booked their wedding for just after this Easter, in order that their family in England (some of whom are teachers) can come in the holidays. Lo and behold, our LEA have decreed that the Easter holidays won't be at Easter, they'll be two weeks later. We'd already accepted the wedding invitation and planned the trip before the holidays were announced and since DD is only in Year 8 and not doing exams or anything, I don't see why this isn't an exceptional circumstance.

However, I don't feel like I would be given a fair hearing by the head, given the wording of her letter and now we're considering phoning and saying she's got glandular fever or some other illness that might take her out for a couple of weeks.

We've since heard from DD that "so and so has been out sick for the last two weeks" and that "her sister is out too".

Is it just me, or does it seem that the school want parents to have to lie about where their kids are? Presumably since "illness" doesn't show up on the league tables, but authorised and unauthorised absences do?

Any thoughts?

That sounds encouraging - for future reference though, what can the schools/staff actually do?

I agree with Twiglett. Highly unlikely anything will happen unless she already has a poor attendance record.

I had a girl in my form whose atttendance fell to less than 30% before the school did anything beyond phoning parents to ask why .

I think you should be honest, it is after all exceptional circumstances.

Incidentally, DD hasn't had any other time off since starting at this school in Sept 06. She hasn't even been sick, iirc. She's only ever been late once or twice.

We have to apply for holiday to take our boys for the non- NHS autism therapy they receive twice a year.

I just drop the authorisation forms / letter in through the school door now as we drive past on our way, with holiday in the title scribbled out and therapy put in its place - nobodu ahs ever said a word. They have the forms, know where we are, but its too late to cause a problem.

FWIW I dont necessarily agree with random holidays (have ahd the odd day and once acidentally screwed up a booking and needed two bt had intended bank holiday) but a wedding or family event is so different i think.

As a parent - I can understand where you are all coming from on this issues - but as someone who was taken out of school for a couple of weeks every year for family holidays or 'occasions' - I hated it and it does affect the child, their work and their confidence. I really can't see what the problem is with being expected to keep children in school during term time.

the worst they can do is send an EWO (education welfare officer) to talk to you

We're going to be out for the day before half term and the day before the easter holiday. I think I'll ask permission for the latter because I'm going to see my mother but the former is just a holiday. Everyone tells me to call in sick-- but I feel rotten doing that.

Independent school, if it matters (does it?) and she'll still be 4 yo for the half term day we miss.

I completely understand when people ahve relatives a llong-haul planr trip away - and you did intend to fit this trip into the hols, 12YG - so explain all that to the Head and go. imo.

But generally - it does bring out my inner cynic when people fret and fuss and compete about getting into a school on the basis of an Ofsted - and then give not a second thought to how that ofsted was bumped up by low unauthorised attendance!

Remember - a bad ofsted could send your house price plummeting

Just a couple of things to consider.

If the school are suspicious that a child isn't ill they don't have to authorise the absence. They can ask you to provide a sick note. If you can't the days can count towards the 20 (I think) sessions after which they can start the beginning of court proceedings.

School can deregister a child if they are on holiday for a long period. They don't have to keep the place open.

We are going to SA from the middle of February until 1st March this year, to visit some friends who have emmigrated.
My dd1 is 6 in June and the Headmistress had to go to the Board of Governors to get permission to miss effectively 7 days of school.
Luckily they have said yes BUT DD1 has to make a "diary" with photos so that she can talk about it to the class when we get back.#
More likely i'll be doing the diary, but this is a once in a lifetime trip and if you can't do it when your kids are 5yrs old, when can you??
AB

OK, so here's a draft of what I thought I'd write the head. Does this strike the right note or not? All comments/ suggestions/ grammar corrections welcome,

Dear Head Teacher

With reference to your memorandum dated 8th January 2008 regarding term time absence; it is with some regret that I must inform you that TYG The Younger, will be absent from school for 9 days from Tuesday 25th March, to Friday 4th April.
The wedding of a close family member in Australia was arranged over 18 months ago for this Easter time, in order to fit in with the usual Easter holidays in England. Whilst this suits our family working as teachers within the Leeds LEA, we have unfortunately come up against the unusual arrangements in Camden this year.

Whilst I am sympathetic to the attendance targets of the school, I?m afraid we had already accepted the wedding invitation before being made aware of the unusual holiday arrangements. I feel that as we need the time off to attend a family event that is such a great distance away, this should hopefully fit the Camden Schools Directorate guidance on exceptional leave.

TYG The Younger has an other wise excellent attendance record, well above the school target of 92% and is, we?re told by teachers, an excellent student. I believe that this time off will have minimum impact on her learning, especially since we have found over the last year and a half, that most classes/ teachers ?wind down? class work in the run up to holidays. TYG The Younger is prepared to catch up in her spare time on any work as seen fit by her teachers.

Should you still decide that you are unable to authorise this absence and feel obliged to refer to the Education Welfare Service; I would be happy to discuss our circumstances with them.

TBH I imagine with the silly Ester situation this year your DD will be one of many.

Our school and many others managed to organise themselves properly abround Easter, I don't see why some failed so dramatically.

Ditch the last paragraph- suspect EWO wouldn't be interested, with DD's attendance rates AND the Easter sit thsi year.

i am on maternity leave at the mo but normally teach y3. our school is plagued by low attendance and it really does count when it comes to OFSTED, we are always marked down for this while our teaching and learning etc is great. we are in constant contact with the courts and parents do not like it but it is not the schools fault we have to do it. i agree that taking a child out for a couple of weeks is not the end of the world and our head will always authorise a family holiday, but this is not the problem at our school its all the random days off here and there. funny how so many children are ill on their birthdays but back the next day. one child in my class last year NEVER did a full week in the whole of the school year. it is a complete pain to try to organise lessons and a class if you dont know who will be there each day. i even had one mum shout and swear at me in the playground because her daughter had not been included in our class assembly that day. She had been away for another two weeks on a second holiday that year and had told us it would only be one week! how can you rehearse a play/save a part/make a costume for someone who isnt there and you dont know when they are coming back! sorry! rant over v. hormonal!

Okey dokey will take out EWC bit. You don't think the bit about the teachers winding down is too cheeky? (It is true though.)

Good letter, but I would lose the penultimate and last paras - except for the line about making up work.
Too much 'special pleading' weakens your case, and the 'winding down' bit sounds as if you're saying 'it's not important anyway' which might get their backs up.

The first to paras say everything you need to say, imo.

Sort of agree tudor rose, but people would respect the system more if it had some flexibility- so for a wedding abroad that fell within what would have been Easter normally, or in our case BIBIC therapy for the boys autism. Rule systems that meet poeple halfway are so much easier to enforce aren't they? And of course, poeple may be more honest then which makes it easier for all.

And swearing at a teacher NEVER acceptable!

Don't put in the bit about teachers winding down! Of course we do it but we dont want our heads to know that!

I agree with you tudorrose. A day here or there must be infuriating.
If DD wakes up with a scratchy throat, I check her tonsils aren't up and then send her off with a packet of lozenges and an anti-bac spray. With a cold, she is given Lemsip in the morning and a packet of tissues. She has to be unable to get out of bed before she gets time off sick.

Done and done on the changes. Thank you all. This has been really helpful.

Peachy - i am used to parents swearing tbh its that kind of school but its soooooo hard not to swear back! and this new easter holiday/spring holiday is causing nightmares. Its supposed to make life easier by making each term the same number of weeks but its a joke! it doesnt work.

Apparently there was a parent swearing at a teacher yesterday in our school (emphatically NOT that kind of school)- Dh was going to intervene until he realised that the parent was narked that that kid hadnt been despatched yet so his dd could have the place (THAT kid being our child who has autism and who we are as keen as anyone to get a place at Unit for, but statement review isnt until march).

It's totally unfair on the other kids though-

don't undertand why anyone would lower themselves, esp. in the playground.

no cant understand it either! swearing gets you nowhere fast (especially with teachers we do the opposite to what you want if you threaten us!) but its standard where i teach. and you get immune to it which is awful, but hearing the children say it to each other in the playground is just sad. but what a horrible thing to hear somone say about your child! some people are just vile!