Taking child out of school for holidays

[southernbelle77]

Does anyone know if you can do this these days?

DD starts school in Sept. We want to go on holiday to Hawaii probably around the Feb half term but would need 3 or 4 days off school in order to be able to do it. Is this something we would be allowed?

Thanks

Officially you can have up to 10 authorised absence days a year. Some schools take a tougher stance of wheher to allow these or not.

At the end of the day a school can't actually stop you as such. But it may go down as unauthorised absence on the child's attendance record.

In my borough holidays in term time go down as unauthorised.

It is discretionary up to 10 days .

Hulababy, it is a misconception that you can have 10 days. heads use to turn a blind eye but now the LEA's are getting tough, any holidays taken in school time will always go down as unauthorised and so will be reported

Could you go during the longer Easter Holidays?

You can take them, but in my authority all holidays are marked as unauthorised absences.

in scotland it would be an automatic unauthorised absence. Depends if you're bothered by that

memoo - just basing it on my experience of when I was teaching. They sed to say they would allow up to 10 days. Agree it may be different now as been out of schools for a couple of years or so, and DD isn't in the state system.

depends on the rule of the lea/school?

you need to find out their views.

at my dd's school you are allowed 10 days outside of school holidays.

What action is taken by the LEA if you do go ahead and miss school? Curious in Oz....

in our area its unauthorised and I HAVE BEEN FINED lol

if you go outside the ten days at local school, you get reported, and you may incur a fine.

I hate to sound harsh but why do people do this? Is a holiday really more important that your child's education?

I think it would go down as an anuthorised absence where I live.

I hate to sound harsh but why do people do this? Is a holiday really more important that your child's education?

I think it would go down as an anuthorised absence where I live.

Our school still allows the 10 days auhorised absence.

missing 10 days of school is hardly going to ruin their education. I have been fined but it wont stop me doing it again.

going on hoiday tomorrow in fact. I am a lone parent, with little funds, and have the chance to take dd away.

she's 6 and G&T [wink} so we are letting the others catch up.

JOKE!!!

You need to get a holiday form from the school.
The ten day rule does still apply in my las and the la i work for.
It is still at the head teachers discretion though so if he signs the holiday form then it doesn't go down as unauthorised.
TBH if your dc's attendance is usually good then this wouldn't be a problem for most heads.
As for getting fined etc. i have worked with the poorest of attenders at the school i am in and you wouldn't get a fine or court unless there was some serious attendance issues not 3 or 4 days for a holiday!

does this still count if the child is under the age of 5?
I know they are in school for the reception year but do these rules still apply during that school year?

yes the school will take that into account as it would affect their attendance record just the same

Not sure the 'why do people do this' post was really needed.

Thank you for all those that have replied constructively. We will find out the schools policy.

You always used to be allowed 10 days and some authorities still do. All parents in my authority had a letter last September saying that this is no longer the case and it will now be unauthorised.

Don't families find this law incredibly restrictive? My dh has a 'ballot' system for holidays so no guarantees that they will fit with school holidays and they rarely do. When my dc's were in school the teachers were so supportive of family time and holidays even if they did occur in school time.They all took the view that travel and family time was really important and enriching, that education didn't start and end in the classroom etc etc. Does 10 days include when the children are ill or are they like flexi days? And does this rule start when the dcs are 5?