Term time holiday

[MamaMiaOhDear]

I know I'm probably going to get bashed for this or told "just tell the truth" but I wanted tips on what could be a believable illness for DS to be off school with for a week?

Covid? Shingles? Obviously stomach flu won't cut it.

Well aware we could still get fined, however he has had 100% attendance for at least the past 4 years. He's 13 for reference.

Any thoughts?

I’m going with tell the truth. Otherwise you’re asking him to lie to school, and to all of his friends. I don’t see what is gained by lying.

@Sirzy simply to avoid paying a fine where possible. We go away in the week before the holidays so he would be able to tell people we went away during the half term break anyway

I’m in the tell the truth camp too. We’ve had various holidays/days off in term time over the years and have always applied for exceptional leave. Sometimes it is granted, sometimes not but it means the dc haven’t had to lie etc.

We also worked out that the saving to take 4 dc skiing the week before Feb half term would more than cover any fine if necessary….

@JanBlue what reason do you put on the exceptional leave form?

Teachers can smell the fake sickies a mile away, and asking your DS to lie to his teachers and peers is unfair. Tell the truth and pay the fine if you’re issues with one.

I think we said it was to do with when we were able to take annual leave.

I have taken my DD13 out of school for a holiday on numerous occasions, always tell the truth and I've never received a fine

@loopylou42 how far in advance do you tell them ?

About a month

@loopylou42 yeah its too late for that then 😂

Also in the tell the truth camp, the fine is 60 per parent per child irc and presumable you are saving more than that by taking him out.

I haven't taken mine out but only because DH is a teacher and he cant exactly pull a sickie, but if he wasn't I would have no issue with doing so.

I didn't give any notice for our last holiday, rang the school the morning of and said she wouldn't be back for 10 days due to family holiday

Its not up to schools anymore fines are issued if a child misses 5 days/10 sessions of school. Think the school have to reprot it to council who then issue fine.

As PP said, you are probably saving more on the holiday than the fine,so just be honest and then pay fine if you get one.

Its not fair to make kids lie, and it will come out anyway

Tell the truth. Say it was the only time you could have an affordable holiday.
be prepared to pay the fine.
most teacher friends I know are relaxed about this, unless it’s an exam year. Schools may send a snotty letter, but they have to.

My DC had a vomiting bug so we phoned on day 1 of absence and said they'd be back on day 3, because of the 48 hour isolation rule. The school phoned on day 2 to ask why we hadn't phoned in.

Do you want to be phoned to check up on your DC or have to keep phoning in? I'm guessing our school do this to stop parents using sickness reporting to cover holiday. It works, as it'd be an utter nuisance.

DS - who is 14 - came home last week saying X wasn't going to be in this week because he had a planned illness.
School will likely know what you are upto.Tell the truth.