Term-time holidays to be banned, with fines.....

[LilyBolero]

Discuss

[notveryinventive]

Sorry Ive not read the full thread, so not sure if this has been said, but holiday companies will HAVE to hike their prices to make up for having no holiday makers in term time.

If it becomes illegal to take children out of school to go on holiday (which Im assuming is anything from day off to form a long weekend to a long haul holiday destination taking 2 weeks and even longer?) then lots of places wont be able to fill up their places and will lose out there so will make the cost of holidays in August/Easter etc a lot more expensive and people wont go. Surely this will then lead to holiday companies going bust and even more people out of work and so on. Of course there will be plenty of people still going on holiday during term time as they will either not have school age children or wont care about breaking the law for whatever reason, valid or not. But I bet it would lead to a lot less holidays being taken up during term time.

[TheCrackFox]

Our school is closing for the day soon due to local elections. Can I fine the local authority for not providing education for that day? Thought not.

[CleverlyConcealed]

It won't matter anyway.

If you have a child in an academy that has set their own term dates which are totally different to your other children in state primary, you'll already be using all your holidays just to cover childcare and won't be able to go away as a family anyway.

[Astronaut79]

Rotating holidays is a good idea, but then those of who teach in one area and work in another woukd be screwed. I teach in England but live in Wales; I already notice that the kids round here aer often in school when I'm of and vice versa. Dcs not in school yet, but I'm dreading it; especially as I tend to miss at least part of my weekends with them due to school work.

[benbecca]

I dont agree with this one bit - yes education is important - but just as important is good quality family time, not everyone can afford the inflated prices the holiday companies charge during school holiday time.

It isnt families who should be fined but the holiday companies who put up their prices - forcing many families to take their children out of school for a family holiday.

Plus what happens if a working parents job/circumstances doesnt allow them to take holidays at the same time as the school.

[LilyBolero]

Wow, lots of discussion!

I posted this in a hurry, have just read through the responses.

My views are mixed - because I never do take my kids out of school, because I don't think it's generally 'right' to do that. otoh, it is ridiculous the way the holidays are hiked up in price (the holiday companies say that basically they are subsidising the cheap rates, rather than putting it up at peak times ).

I think banning it is mad. But I think Gove is insane. Bear in mind he also wants to reduce the amount of school holiday, and also increase the length of the school day - he said that teachers should 'want to do this, if they enjoyed their job'

I strongly think there is more to childhood than school, and all this trying to keep the children locked in school for as long as possible seems to be trying to fix the problems of the few by restrictions of the many.

[sodapops]

When they get together with the MOD and stop sending the Armed Forces away in school holidays, I'll stop taking my DC out in term time!

[perceptionreality]

It's completely wrong - if this isn't nanny state then what is??

Holidays cost as much as 3 times as much on peak times then any other.

Parents will just lie about why their child is off to avoid the fine imo.....

I have a child in a private school who it won't affect but I still think it's twattish

[t0lk13n]

I wish I could take time off in term time but as teacher I cant. However working in a deprived area with many EAL children, many of the children go off in term time as it is so much cheaper and I dont blame them. My only bugbear is that children tend not to copy up any missed work

[LilacWaltz]

What have the armed forces got to do with it?

[MrsHeffley]

Right so they'll end all the ski-ing trips and all the other trips loosely termed educational eg the NYC trip on the aibu thread. A week in NY for a couple of hours drama will not benefit the rest of the curriculum.If Gov is going by this stance then surely no part of the curriculum merits a week away at the cost of the majority of the curriculum.Gov can't have his cake and eat it.

Also lets not forget everything is so expensive and people so broke the maj of what people are taking time off for are Sun holidays or GB self catering caravan holidays.I know absolutely nobody who could afford 2 weeks abroad in June let alone August.

[cazboldy]

What about dc who do sports? (ds1 has just been picked to clayshoot representing the county - on a wednesday!)

We never have holidays, and can't afford to, and anyways we have to many animals to leave , but we do enjoy showing cattle, and usually all dc's have 4 days at the end of June for the local county show where they do the young handler's classes and show calves

They have alwyas been allowed time to do this, on the condition that they take some photos and do a piece of writing about what they have done. ( That was the head authorises it as educational)

What now?

[LineRunner]

I can see real trouble ahead for Gove on this as the response on here shows that he will be perceived to be potentially criminalising his beloved middle classes.

I think he has been a bit naive and stroppy here. Probably he has had loads of Heads complaining about the newer tougher Ofsted regime, where it is impossible to get a 'good' or 'outstanding' rating unless attendance is also good or outstanding. But Gove, instead of looking again at the Ofsted regime, is pretending to be giving Heads the tools to do the job, whilst of course as we have already identified, truants will still truant.

In my LA area the biggest reasons for children missing school are the child's illness, and caring responsibilities. Also a lot of girls miss one or two days a month when they have a period simply because the schools will not let them go to the toilet on demand and this causes massive embarrassment and upset.

[LtEveDallas]

If this is a 'new' thing (and I'm not convinced it is) this year will be particularly bad for the Armed Forces as many units have only been told in the last couple of weeks that they are taking part in 'Op Olympics' and therefore all leave in July and August is cancelled. Yes we were all warned it was a possibility, but some of the Units tasked have caused some eyebrows to be raised.

I'm lucky, I'm only on 'standby', so my (already booked) August holiday is unlikely to be affected, but my boss (for instance) was only told by her DH last week that he is on a leave ban for Aug.

Hopefully, like EdithWeston already said, headteachers were already aware.

[MandyT68]

Ledkr I totally agree that life is not all about work. It is important to have a balance. However, schools cannot be held accountable for pupils' results if those very pupils are attempting to achieve results on an academic year shortened by holidays. All pupils, even those in expensive private schools, cope with differences in income, in ability and in family circumstances. I tell my children that we can't afford things but that their education will, hopefully, ensure that they can buy these things for themselves some day.

[startail]

I haven't done so for many years and because DD1 is now coming up to GCSES I probably wouldn't.
But they are my children and school is not the be all and end all off life.

If I feel that the children, DH and I seriously needed a holiday or, as has happened, the only sensible dates slightly over ran half term, then we would go on holiday.

Telling school is simply a politeness, I would not ask them for permission for them to be away. To my mind school do not have the right to refuse!

[startail]

Oh and I voted conservative not to be lectured like this. So mr Grove can

I seriously hope that all those parents, who truly can't afford to holiday in term time write to their MPs.
The party of the family? The party of the family who can send their DCs to private school and escape Mr Grove's meddling more like

[Feenie]

ClothesofSand
KS2 PE National Curriculum:

Outdoor and adventurous activities
11. Pupils should be taught to:

a.take part in outdoor activity challenges, including following trails, in familiar, unfamiliar and changing environments
b.use a range of orienteering and problem-solving skills
c.work with others to meet the challenges.

It could be taught at school, I guess - but it wouldn't be very adventurous!

[LineRunner]

It is very, very nanny state.

[Feenie]

I do hope that this latest goonery will be one of the final nails in his career coffin.

Here's another:

Michael Gove under pressure in anti-gay sex education

[ClothesOfSand]

CC, children of secondary school age don't need childcare (certainly according to the government; see all the workfare threads for an example of this), so having children in a secondary academy with different holiday dates shouldn't make any difference to childcare.

[EDRefugee]

It's not a fine. It's a tax on the (mainly) middle class households who will still take their children out for holidays during term time.

Since when did Gove love the middle classes?? He's raised the price of university education from vaguely affordable to completely out of reach for many MC households. And now an extra tax for taking a holiday.

Gove - and the rest of this govt - exist only to serve the wealthy.

[LineRunner]

Gove thinks all the middle classes are or should be wealthy, though. He doesn't 'get' in-work poverty.

Let's face it, he's a twat.

I don't think the Tories will be re-electable.

[EDRefugee]

Not to be middle-classist - it's also a tax on all the working class households who will now be forced to pay the government first if they'd like an affordable holiday.