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Holidays

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Original poster

A short 4 day holiday has not been authorised!!

184 replies

pumpkinsweetie · 14/03/2012 16:34

My daughter has 98% attendence in her junior school and i have sent in a holiday form asking for her to have 4 days of for a short break with family and i explained it had already been paid for and they will not authorise it as the target for SCHOOL attendence is not within goverment guidlines of 95%! Well in was not happy with this dicision as 1:shes never had a holiday 2:her other 2% abcensses were coz she was ill and authorised and 3: its not my problem about the whole school goverment snitzel bla bla

What does everyone think to this considering shes got 98% attendence ? The reason im annoyed is that A ive already paid and B i dont wanna b fined for 4 rare days outta school

OP posts:
Original poster
pumpkinsweetie · 15/03/2012 17:53

Thats the thing i like see peoples opinions but not in the way they have been worded on her. Blu sets a good example as she has explained the guidlines without saying 'i dont have a right' or 'cheap holiday' 'not entitled' and of course i have got annoyed ast they are my children so i do have the right and i should be entitled due to her high attendence and 'cheap holiday' actually cost me more than some of u seem to think £9:50 each for 6 people plus electricity £30 for caravan, plus £5 and £10 deposit for cot, train fare is very high as i do not own a car and spending money and food money and suitcases as i do not own any but it is cheaper than in half term. Sorry i aint rich but i do my best for my kids which means a short educational break away with family. Just because it aint abroad or is a bit cheap doesnt make it uneducational and if i could afford ehat some of u obviously can i wouldnt be taking her outta school. I have rent to pay and bills dont have the money to save the £1500 it is to go in june!!! Life is short and as i said earlier u dont know wots around the corner. One day sum of you will wake up and realise 4 days of school for break isnt such a big deal Smile was simply worried about being fined but hey ho off i go

OP posts:
Original poster
pumpkinsweetie · 15/03/2012 17:58

Yeh it is IMPORTANT u cannot get family time back end offBear

OP posts:
Original poster
pumpkinsweetie · 15/03/2012 18:01

And also wonder how much money u lot live of a year bet it isnt £12,000 bet its more like £40,000 come on some of you on here saying its wrong bet ur rolling in it thats why u have the same views as david cameron. Yes this thread is insulting but hey ho im told im wrong but so are you for saying my child should be deprived of a holiday

OP posts:
yousankmybattleship · 15/03/2012 18:12

I referred to your holiday as cheap because that is the only reason you are going in term time. The fact of the matter is you are not entitled to take your children out of school in term time. You might not agree with that, but it is the law. I agree that holidays are lovely and can be educational but I do not agree that they are educational enough to replace school. Children have holidays for a reason and that is when you should think about going away. Nobody is saying your children should be deprivedof a holiday, lots of people are saying that they should take that holiday in holiday time. Like many other families, we have to stay with relatives or go for days out to create a holiday for our children because there is no way we could afford holiday accomodation, but we still have a lovely time and my children are getting the full benefit of their education.

BIWI · 15/03/2012 18:28

The amount of money other people earn has nothing to do with it, and that is actually a rather insulting thing to say.

And no-one is saying that your child should be deprived of a holiday.

Holidays are really important and a key part of family life, creating amazing memories. They may - occasionally - be educational.

But you don't actually have an entitlement to them when your child is supposed to be at school!

Anyway, I'll leave you to your thread as you obviously aren't interested, really, in what anyone who disagrees with you has to say ... Hmm

40notTrendy · 15/03/2012 18:53

I thought in general people's comments were not bitchy. I've seen worse.
I think your comments have become increasingly sour tempered. And your sweeping generalisations about people's earnings and circumstances and having a pop at teachers are not pleasant.

fabwoman · 15/03/2012 18:58

Teacher training days don't come up without warning.

You will be fined as the head will kjnow your child is not really sick.

We haven't had a holiday every year as we can't always afford the cost/dh get time off work and that is the reality of having children in school.

Holidays are a luxury, not a necessity.

Original poster
pumpkinsweetie · 15/03/2012 19:00

Never said i was guna pretend she was sick thats what another mumsnetter put. I do have morals

OP posts:
Original poster
pumpkinsweetie · 15/03/2012 19:03

And in wrote last night sum teachers are lovely some are not. The earnings bit was about people affording holidays in general working in any high paid job not just teaching. And its true a high earner can afford holidays whenever i cannot

OP posts:
startail · 15/03/2012 19:05

If the school want to mark it as unauthorised let them. It looks bad on their records.
Sorry I don't believe either work or school owns people body and soul.
Family time is vital.

Northey · 15/03/2012 19:25

You would have family time in the school holidays though! You don't actually need to be in a caravan or holiday cottage or hotel or wherever in order to have it. It's not a now or never situation.

seeker · 15/03/2012 20:56

Why is family time reserved for holidays?

Portofino · 15/03/2012 21:14

We never went on holiday at all as children. Well we went to Spain when I was 9, and I got dreadful sunburn. And that was it, til I was well into my teeenage years. It is not obligatory - whereas education is.

kitbit · 16/03/2012 00:36

We don't have £££ to take a holiday in the school hols either so we don't take expensive holidays, we go camping.
And ds goes to school during term time like he's supposed to.

And I use paragraphs.

(Sorry but your bad tempered snarky comments have annoyed me.)

Groovee · 16/03/2012 17:03

We don't have a lot of spare left over money for holidays, but managed to get a caravan in our preferred site for cheaper than the sun deal as everything was included. And that's in the first week of the Easter Holidays. I'm restricted as I work a term time only contract, only get paid for what I work, no holiday pay do August is always a lean month with scottish schools being off for the whole of July. But we pay our bills and have a roof over our heads!

ellieday · 11/04/2012 23:23

When visiting secondary schools for dd1 I remember the head in his parent talk saying the following 'by choosing our school you are choosing to follow the rules'. He was at the time mostly referring to the wearing of correct uniform but his words did make sense, I was making my choice by choosing that school.

As a primary school teacher myself, it is annoying when children are taken out of school particularly at the beginning of a term when we are introducing a new topic and refreshing class rules etc. Then when the child returns, they may have missed out on something that will lead to further work.

It amazes me that there are always children do not turn up on the first few days of the September term then the parents ask for their holiday to be sanctioned on their return with a variety of reasons/excuses!

We also do not give 'holiday work' as the feeling is that if the parent chooses to take holidays in term time that is their choice (even if holiday is authorised). Also I may not have planned what the class will be doing for the entire time just one child is absent. However if a parent has the decency to ask I will make a holiday diary pack with pencils and a book for the child to bring back to school to share with the class.

OP - you asked the school for holiday to be authorised and got turned down, they are following their rules which are agreed by the governing body. if you don't agree with their rules why not find another school!

Original poster
pumpkinsweetie · 11/04/2012 23:41

They never stated rules when she started this school, but this thread is old now and things are nearly sorted and my dcs are very much looking forward to their 1st holidayGrin.
Headmaster phoned me & was very polite, he said as long as my daughter attended school everyday before the easter holidays i could send in another holiday form and he will authorise it.
He said the reason he could not authorise the original form is because her attendence needed to be just a little higher or he will get in the neck from truancy officer.
He was quite honest in the fact my dc has only ever had time of due to illness so he was quite happy as it would be a one-off in our case so he is willing to authorise it as soon as she is back at schoolSmile
Basically its nothing to do with school RULES it was to do with national goverment attendence NEW rules which in my opinion are ott.
All the other problems i had with the school have also been sorted Smile

OP posts:
slacklucy · 11/04/2012 23:47

my two dc's go to two different schools one is happy to authorise hols the other never authorises holidays during term time, unless your a farmer it seems!!
We will be going in term time this year first time ever & my eldest is 12.... but as dh & i are not able to get the same time off of work during the holidays we are going just before the summer hols.
I'm afraid i'll just ahve to take the punishment should they see fit to fine me.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 12/04/2012 00:49

The school rules should have been in the pack of information that you were given when your child started at the school - I well remember the mountain of paperwork that mine each came home with.

Original poster
pumpkinsweetie · 16/04/2012 16:13

Yaaaaaayyyyy it has been authorised Smile

OP posts:
mumeeee · 22/04/2012 17:43

Teachers have to do a lot in their holidays. Marking and lesson planning. So they don't get as much holiday as some people think. But I don't think taking your DD out for 4 days will do her any harm. Ponders my eldest is 25 and there were some rules about taking term time holidays when she was at school. Children were actually allowed up to. 10 ( 2 school weeks) days off during term time. We still had to ask permission but always got it and we usually only went away for a week.

AMJ3 · 27/04/2012 00:56

If u r planning to c family during the holiday, u should have said that u have to go to see family and have no where to leave ur children. So they do have to go with u. However i do know schools r really strict if they the kids have Sats. They never allow time off then.

jayneypoo · 04/06/2012 12:36

If it's exceptional circumstances, they have to consider it. I've been honest with my daughters school and fortunately they have given us permission. There are a lot of families in my daughters year that have blatantly lied ie: weddings etc... and school have done the same. I really don't think it's fair to say 'they fancied a cheap holiday' holidays are not cheap at all and are exceptionally expensive during school holidays. I think a little bit of understanding and thought towards families' situations would go a long way. Schools have targets and deadlines and reputations to uphold. The government should allow a limited time for family holidays and then there wouldn't be any unauthorised absences because of it. Some families can't afford a week in a tent on the east coast during the summer hols.

FallenCaryatid · 04/06/2012 12:37

Yet another Zombie thread lurches into the light.
Why do posters do this?

NoComet · 02/07/2012 09:58

Just go!!!

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