Not compulsory school age term time holiday

[Senners]

My child will start school next September 2024 and will turn 5 at the end of September so a few weeks after she starts. Am I right in thinking she's not compulsory school age until 1st January 2025 so I could take her out of school between September and December without a fine? Thinking of a short break in Nov, but not if there's a risk of fine. Thanks

But if she’s registered at a school you can’t just take her out.

Yes, legally they don’t need to be in school till the term after they’re five so school cannot fine you.

Being of non compulsory school age just means you're not obligated to start her at school until she is. Once you actually take up a school place, though, she's bound by the same rules as all the other kids.
I'm amazed you thought you could cherry pick, tbh?

Not true.

They cannot fine you. She is not legally CSA so there is no legal basis for a fine or court or anything.
I have no idea why there are several posts on here at the moment thinking that they can fine. Look at legislation all clearly states CSA.

I'm fed up with seeing kids on holidays who should be in school.

I was away last week abroad, and saw a couple of kids. They should be settling into school, not being on a family holiday.

They can't fine you (or at least they can try but it's not enforceable) until the term after your child turns 5. So go ahead OP!

Our council’s info on fines clearly states they apply to children of compulsory school age. You wouldn’t get fined here. I would expect that to be the same for all councils.

You're getting a lot of misinformation here op! Assuming she's in England, if she's not of compulsory school age (which she won't be until the term after she's 5) then no, they can't fine you. It will probably be noted and "unauthorised" though, and if it's against their school policy they might be grumpy with you.

God. This is why there are so many school age kids on holiday where I am at the moment.

You COULD tke her out but it will massively impact her confidence and schooling.
Once all settled, children at my school in reception learn new letters/sounds in phonics at a rate of 1 or 2 a day alongside recapping previously learnt sounds. So if you take your child out for 2 weeks that means, from the start, she will be placed into a "catch up" class when she returns.
Alongside the most disruptive children.
She will loose more playing time as her teachers try to plug the gap in learning you have created, as they will grab her any chance they get to do phonics with her.
So, yes you can.
If you think making the rest of her journey into reading unpleasant and knocking her confidence is worth it.

I am a teacher, I have seen it countless times. It is so sad.

Put it this way, no teachers EVER take their kids out of school during term time for a holiday.

It's bloody rude though. Expecting the teacher to catch your child up with what they've missed because you want your cake and eat it. Stick to the same rules as everyone else.

LOL you're funny, primary schools aren't generally big enough to have 'catch up' classes, the OPs daughter will be with her normal class. And there SUCH a range of abilities when they start reception due to quality of pre school etc that the OPs kid might already be a term ahead!!

It's also really unsettling for the children. They leave having forged new friendships with other children, come back to find the friendships have changed and they have to start again from scratch.

Also, the timetable in reception is not static, it evolves with the children through the year, so at the start there is, say, 5 mins phonics and 5 miss formal maths, by the end of the year there will be up to 30mins phonics and 30mins maths.
Or, for example, they may bot go into a whole school assembly at the start, then just once a week, then every day.

The rate this changes is based on the children in each cohortso responding to their needs.
So again, if your child misses 2 weeks, they could come back and be totally overwhelmed because the structure of the school day has become different to before. It sounds tiny bit it's massive for them, imagine you are 4 and come back to find the fruit snack time has gone from AM to PM when you've spent an hour looking forward to it?

Just.dont.do.it.

Only because they can't. My SIL is a primary school teacher (Y3) and she has said she wishes she could take my nephew out of school to save some £.
When my DD was in reception another pupil was going on holiday during term time and that teacher made a comment along the lines of not to worry and she would be doing the same if she could.
I don't and probably wouldn't take my kids out of school for a term-time holiday unless it was for very good reason FYI. I'm also not over dramatic and act as though a 2 week holiday will ruin their entire child's education.

Are you a reception teacher? If not, get back in your lane.
By catch up class I mean a small group of up to 10 children who get pulled aside during the continuous provision free choice time and have further phonics teaching, and, during main phonics teaching, have theirs seperately with the HRTA.
And yes, depending on the size of the school and whether they set for phonics across kry stage one, this can be with children in year 1 and year 2, or if it is a 3 form entry school this can be with children from across the 3 reception classes.

In my experience the children "a term ahead" in phonics need support in other areas eg building resilience with gross motor skills, playing outside, being more physically active. So my point about holding them back remains.

Reception is a holistic process and the curriculum reflects that.

We are so lucky to have free schooling in this country, I don't understand why people take their children out during term time.

"Put it this way, no teachers EVER take their kids out of school during term time for a holiday."

Ridiculous thing to say. Of course teachers don't take term time holidays; they can't!

I don't actually agree with taking kids out of school for long chunks during term time unless for a very compelling reason, exceptional circumstances etc. I think the odd day or two here and there is ok.

Like I said, I'm not being dramatic I'm basing it on my lived experience as a teacher and seeing the impact it has had on children I have taught. I, personally, don't want that for my own children.

It's not like some jobs where you just press pause and pick up where you left off when you return. The teaching continues. It's like trying to get a child to build a house when a wall is missing then being surprised when it falls down. Learning is often cumulative.

It's not a ridiculous thing to say. Because some teachers have a partner who may not be a teacher, therefore could legitimately take the kids on holiday in term time?!🙄
If I sound dramatic it's because I actually care about the children I have taught and the negative impact it has had on them.

I also care about teacher workload, and the negative impact it has on the fantastic team I work with. And the hours and hours I miss with my own children due to other people's selfishness.

wow people are really being extra OTT.

Op if you wanting to do 2 weeks away I’d say it was not a great idea to miss so much school so early on in the first year.

If you are talking about missing a Friday and Monday so you can have a long weekend away, then go for it. It will make no difference long term at all.

My primary age kids are missing the last 3 days of term before oct holiday as we are away. Last day is always half day and they never do actual work. So missing 2 days of work, but both are otherwise good attendance and above in almost all areas so for me I am happy for them to miss 2 days.

@wafflingworrier

I’m more concerned that you said

So if you take your child out for 2 weeks that means, from the start, she will be placed into a "catch up" class when she returns. Alongside the most disruptive children.

implying that the kids who need to ‘catch up’ would automatically be badly behaved! Children struggle with phonics for many reasons and struggling academically doesn’t mean a child will misbehave. A really strange comment if you’re actually a teacher.

It's also selfish because that time I spend catching the holidaying child up is then taken away from the neediness children in the class
So, instead of conducting play therapy with my Ukranian children who keep drawing pictures of tanks and blood, I have to spend it doing phonics with the children of entitled parents
Instead of spending that time supporting a child with additional needs learn to use picture symbols to communicate for the first time IN THEIR LIVES I have to spend it with the children who went on holiday

The list goes on.
Chuldren with unexplained bruises, if i flash card the phonics cstch up group at the same time as children are getting changed for PE, i miss spotting potential abuse.
If the rest of the class see me as so busy they cant approach me, it massively affects their condidence in coming forward for support.

I see the impact it has on the OTHER children too.

@wafflingworrier considering the child in question here doesn't legally need to be in school for another 2-4 months after the two week holiday would you rather the OP started the child at school in the January instead? Genuine question.

Sorry for that implication, I worded it badly.
Apologies for typos too, not great.

Not all children who need phonics catch up are badly behaved etc.
But yes, those who are disruptive, due to lots of reasons, tend to ALSO be in a phonics catch up group.

There seem to be a lot of threads about this lately.

I don’t have children but my understanding of the fines is that they are not material compared to the cost saving of holidaying during term time vs school holidays?

Obviously whether or not a child should be pulled out of education for a holiday is a completely separate matter and people have different views on this!

But the fine itself is rarely a deal breaker to parents for whom the above is okay, I think?