Absence from School for Holidays

[toddlermum]

Basically we are probably going to take DD out of school so that we can have a family holiday - not prepared to pay ridiculous prices and it will be too hot in the summer to go to the place we want to go.

I don't want to get in to whether or not I should do this (that can be another thread) but I wanted to know how much authorised absence children are allowed. I thought it was 10 days but I have heard recently that it is up to 15. Does anybody know?

TIA

Message withdrawn

Our eldest daughter is getting married in holland next month, we have asked our youngest son's school (YR7 secondary school) if he could have a week off to attend the wedding, the headteacher said no, we appealed and they still said no. Obviously we want to go to the wedding and meet old and new relatives, where do we stand with the Kent County Council? Who else can we appeal too? will we be paying a fine?
Julie

DS's school state that no term time holidays will be authorised except for exceptional cicumstances - flying out to a funeral etc. Anything else is unauthorised and goes in the childs record and on the end of year school report.

Its fair enough given that children already get 13 weeks off school to go away in.

Schools are cracking down on holidays during term time, because the government are telling them to.

The political angle is that the government claim to be reducing lost days learning time - on the face of it this seems to be an excellent campaign to tackle truancy. The schools minister has regularly gone on air claiming that the absence rate has been reduced by x%.

In fact, the government is able to make these claims only by outlawing those parents - who often take their child's education extremely seriously - who take their children out of school during term time. The hard core truancy problem has not improved at all.

I think if you genuinely can't get time off work in the school holidays (but there are 13 weeks so you should be able to get time off sometime in those 13 weeks surely) then headteachers should be sympathetic - the same for weddings etc. And I agree that things like PADI etc are educational.

There are lots of options that don't get more expensive in the holidays or at least too much more expensive (eg B&Bs - they tend to charge the same all year round, they may require a minimum 2 night stay in the summer but putting prices up is unusual). Book yourself on the internet rather than booking a package and prices won't be that much different. Try somewhere like Denmark instead of Spain. Holiday cottages in Cornwall do get a lot dearer in the summer hols, so I just wouldn't go there. I don't go where people try to rip me off, just because it's the school holidays. In my experience flight prices vary depending on when you book, not when you fly but it probably also depends on the destination - I'm usually looking at Germany or Scotland.

May half term is a great time to go away if you can manage it, and October half term works well for the Med because it's not too hot and prices are lower than in August (but still more expensive than September - but that's packages again).

I have a possible problem with this issue now too. My daughter is about to go into year one and my brother wants us to celebrate his 50th birthday with all the family overseas. His birthday is near the start of the new term. Before I agreed I spoke to head who was positive about it. So I handed in a holiday request form. I was told that I would not hear for a while as the rules are about to change.
I explained about conversation and was told I could still take it even if not approved. However, will I and my husband be fined?

As an Education Welfare Officer by trade, I can advise parents that it is best not to take your child out of school for a family holiday. If you feel you must, you should ensure that it happens at a time when it has the least impact on your child's education. If your child is unhealthy and is frequently absent from school, then they should not be taken out of school for a holiday. Less school = poor attainment.

Authorisation by the school is a matter for individual school policy and is by law permittable for up to 10 days. Permission is therefore granted at the school's discretion and dependant on circumstances e.g. importance of holiday and whether your child has good attendance. If your child has poor school attendance and you take him/her out of school for an unauthorised holiday, you could find yourself in court.

Some Authorities fine parents for taking unauthorised holidays during term time, so you should find out from your school what the penalties are.

I hope this helps

Nanna Liz

NannaLiz1 This thread is nearly 3 years old, I would hope that the OP and her children are long back from their holiday by now, authorised or not