Taking DD out of school for holidays - been unauthorised.

[Bunch]

Me and DH have booked a 2 week holiday for next May. DD is in Year 4 and DS in Year R. DS headteacher has authorised his 10 days but DD's headteacher has not. We realise now that we should have had the school authorise it before we booked it but its too late. Apparently it is the week that they have their QCA tests (whatever they are). I know it is Sats time but not until Year 6 so I didn't think it would be a problem. What would everyone do?

You have decided to take your children out of school for a holiday.
You are their parents; don't let anyone make you feel guilty about your decision.
It's two weeks - their entire educational future will not be jeopardised.
Have a lovely time together.

as i said, cost is a factor for me
but on the other hand so is education
i just go on cheaper holidays

Wow! We're choosing to take them out during term time because of leave restrictions in mine and DH's jobs. As a child I went on holiday every May because my Dad wasn't allowed 'summer holidays'. Dare I say, it never did me any harm!!! I still have respect for most rules and laws.

I don't think it is bad for the children to know that their parents have a bigger say over their lives than the school.

Although I can't see any reason why the children have to know about the fact that the absence is unauthorised in the first place.

Good post Teslagirl.

I'm just waiting for DH to get home from work to read this. When we heard that it was unauthorised we had long discussions over what we were going to do and he said can't you mumsnet it? So I have!

really don't think that kids should be taken out of school for holidays. Of course, discretion should be used for example children who are from another country who can afford to travel only at off peak times etc. Am sure that there are plenty of other egs.
It is sending the wrong message to kids and teachers that a week or two in Disneyland is ok in school time; how does one square that with being responsible and punctual (both child and parent).

I work in education for some years and this really buggers everything up, child comes back with suntan but is behind in coursework needs extra help in lessons but parents moan if you ask them to assist with extra homework etc. Aargh!

what is your problem? I'm not taking yours out of school?

er, no

but the rest of the children in the class will find their time with the teacher reduced by children who've missed stuff so it impacts everyone

I really don't see how much they are going to miss in a week or 2?

Will it have a detrimental effect on the rest of their lives?

What is all this bolleaux about sending out the wrong message to the child?

I must have the most, uneducated, mixed up DC whose lives have been totally ruined because we have had some of the most exciting, fun holidays as a family which just so happended to be during term time.

Bunch - out of interest,where are you going for this holiday, if you don't mind my asking ?

I think that Dora's point is a good one - I'm not saying that there is never a reason to take holidays during term time for some families, but unless your child is particularly brilliant (yes I know they all are!)then there is always going to be a knock-on effect, at very least on the teacher, who will have to make special time to ensure that child is brought back up to speed with what they have missed. By extrapolation, if they need extra personal attention that could affect the whole class unfairly,as they get less teaching time per capita than the one kid who has been off.

I did take my dd out of school to tag a week onto May half-term this year, but it was arts week, so she didn't miss her core subjects. It was authorised by the headmaster. The reason we did it was because dh had to work in India over the course of the summer holidays.

I will not be doing it again, this year is dd's SATS year and then she will be off to high school. Ds is also now at school.

I don't want to spend a fortune on holidays during the summer so dh and I have just bought a timeshare in Scotland and we will spend 2 weeks there instead (week with relatives which is free and then timeshare week).

would like to point out that the only holiday we have been on since ds1 was born(he is coming up 6 now) has been paid for out of money left to DP after a relative died. We can't afford term time or otherwise. why not book lots of weekends instead of one long stretch?

So Samantha, what do parents who are teachers do? Do they take time out during term time to take their children on holiday because it's cheaper then? It really winds me up when people talk as if holidays abroad are some kind of 'right' to be enjoyed and sod the consequences to their children's education.

To qualify though, I took DD out for two days once because her aunt was having a week long wedding reception in Portugal and there were members of her family coming, including one of her grandmothers who she had never met as they are Kiwis. We went for the weekend plus two extra days. I also have sympathy for my neighbour who booked a holiday 18 months ago, working on the assumption that half term would be the same week as it has been for the last 5 years, only to find the school changed it this year.

I wouldn't take them out. Just me though.

They get enough holiday time, and although it's more expensive to go away in the school holidays, as someone else said, it's not you it affects is it?

They say they cannot have absence for holidays during term-time for a reason.

i havent been onholiday since dd1 (6) was born

we are going away this december during the school holidays cos its cheaper than the summer

this is a bit far fetched, but imagine if your chidlren took a leaf out of your book in respect to their employere when they left school and started work?

and bundle is right
the teacher explaining to the children and helping them 'catch up' work they have missed means my child may miss out

We took DD1 out of school in February for 3 weeks to visit friends in South Africa.
The headmistress was quite happy with it and asked DD1 to make a diary about her trip and include some photos on a disk so her classmates could see it.
Of course i did most of it as she was only 5yrs old!
Depends what kind of holiday you go on.
Trips to far away places should be allowed but not just sitting around the pool for a couple of weeks.

The schools' usual line on this is that attendance is linked to attainment. There's a whole load of dfes statistics but I can't be bothered to find them. They are being very hard on schools at the moment wrt attendance and that's why a lot of schools are clamping down on holidays in term time. Having a certain number of pupils with attendance below 80% means school gets a load of aggro from the LEA and can mean you get an OFSTED inspection.

The school can fine you and if you don't pay take you to court. Although if the only absence is the 10 days for holiday it's unlikely to happen.

I was taken out of school for a month (1 week was school hols.) when in primary school, to peform on stage at the Epcot Centre in DisneyWorld. I got paid plus all expenses paid.

It was the first time I had been abroad. It was a dream come true at the time and a holiday of a lifetime (No one had been to DW in those days).

PMSL at anyone who suggests those 3 weeks would have been better spent at school.

Parents didn't bug the teacher for catch-up work though. They asked for a rough outline of what was being covered and taught me themselves.

Well IMO this is just another case of the way we obsessively stick to the letter of the lawin this country. Of course education is important and of course we should be teaching our children to respect schools rules, but taking your child away in term time once, maybe twice, in their entire school career does no harm whatsoever either to their education or their respect for rules.

If we are going to fine why aren't we chasing up every day of truancy rather than wait until it's regular? Why isn't the EWO at the houses of parents whose children are late for school 90% of the time, the same parents who are never there at 3.15 but instead choose to saunter up at 3.25 or later each day? I'm a teacher BTW and I day this every day.

Incidently, IME it is always the parents who do have concern and respect for their children's education that are the ones who ask for LOA. Those who don't give a fig just call their children in sick!

Also, as at least one poster has mentioned, some parents are unable in their line of work to take time off in school hols. Should we just say those children can never go on holiday as a family?

To the OP, she had not given consent because it is SATs week and it will affect her stats though only the optionals so don't see the problem. Phone and ask why, see if she'll change her mind. I would think it very petty for a HT or LEA to instigate a fine for a parents with an otherwise good attendance rate.

'The schools' usual line on this is that attendance is linked to attainment'

This is ridiculous. I mean I've seen stats that show a significant impact of just 1 day off on attainment - fair enough, but aren't we overstating the importance of 'attainment' over a whole host of other things, - childhood memories, family relationships, childhood dreams, education 'out in the field' etc. etc. ??

WTF is out education system so inflexible anyway? If creative thinking belongs anywhere it belongs here!!

My first sentence was in relation to the 22yr old NQT who kissed the 18yr old in his class and is now on the sex offenders reg. I'm not saying he was right, in fact he was wrong but not sure the punishment fits the crime.

What also makes me laugh is that we're always on here complaining about primary children being pushed too hard too soon. Too much testing, let children be children etc etc. Yet a parent wants to takes a primary age child on holiday (almost always an enriching experience for a young child) and suddenly they're damning that child to a life of illiteracy!

We are going on a Baltic cruise. She will be visitng St Petersburg and Helsinki amongst other educational places. And by the way, she isn't in the top groups for all her subjects so she shouldn't need extra help from her teacher when she gets back.

Sorry, I meants she is in the top groups!!