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Original poster

Holidays in school time

251 replies

nutcracker · 30/12/2003 23:33

Did anyone know that if you take your child on holiday in school time then you can now be fined ???????????? Personally i think it's ridiculous, I have only ever taken dd1 out of school for holiday once but i asked for books and worksheets for her to do. What do you think ????

OP posts:
codswallop · 01/01/2004 19:35

zebra - i think thw gmt are sayinbg that parnets are considering these a right rather than an exception to the rule and thats the prob.

popsycal · 01/01/2004 19:35

Phillipat and tigermoth - I totally agree about other ways of learning outside of school. However, I felt that certain posts had given teachers and the education system a bit of a raw deal. We can see your point of view here. I totally understand the annoyance with the 'fining' system. However, this discussion has moved away from that now ...can you not see the points that we are trying to make?

popsycal · 01/01/2004 19:36

sorry - that should read tigermoth and aloha i think
apologies phillipat!

hmb · 01/01/2004 19:51

Popsycal, re the missing key times comment you made. I missed 6 weeks in primary due to illness. They covered a lot of punctuation in the=at time, and my punctuation sucks! Can't spell either

People undervalue primary ed so much. And the concepts that you are teaching are so much harder to deal with than the areas we teach in secondary school!

codswallop · 01/01/2004 19:53

yeah as a kid once said to me "who needs history?" he eplained he want going to be an archaeologist so it was ok.

popsycal · 01/01/2004 19:53

thanks hmb - but i think all teachers are in the same boat
when someone asks what i do and i say i am a teacher
then they ask what do you teach
and i say children
they look at me as though i am mad...
bad puncuation - sorry can't be bothered after long posts!!

codswallop · 01/01/2004 19:54

it was that holiday you went on!

popsycal · 01/01/2004 19:56

yes coddy......

zebra · 01/01/2004 20:01

But let me learn... do children have an entitlement to 10 days holiday during term time anyway (yes or no)?
And would the fines would only apply to taking children out for holidays in excess of those 10 days? (Yes or No)?

Our situation is that (maybe) every other year we might want to haul children & us off to California to see family for 3-4 weeks. We'd do it over Xmas, which would mean kids out of school 1-2 weeks during term time. If those were the only times we took the kids out of school for 'holidays' -- would we be eligible for fines, or not, under the current proposals? (yes or no?).

popsycal · 01/01/2004 20:03

zebra - that is fine as far as i can see!!!
need to write to school to get their approval but it seems to fit in the 'accepable/no fines' area!
hth!

tigermoth · 01/01/2004 20:05

I can see the points teachers are making here, popysical, and I certainly agree that regular holidays in term time are wrong.

My gripe is with the fining system (too general and totally ineffective) and the moralising tone of the press reports.

fisil · 01/01/2004 20:06

Seems fine, especially if it was the week before Christmas, not much learning seems to go on then (she says through gritted teeth - as head of department I timetabled our end of term tests for the last week, and then other departments kept taking our kids away on trips!)

popsycal · 01/01/2004 20:09

tigermoth - i understand that totally....!! And I agree in many way
For the record, the only thing I have got on my soap box about this evening is a few comments (possibly misinterpreted by me)about the professionalism of teachers.

tigermoth · 01/01/2004 20:13

talking of holidays being a luxury, not a right -and I can see why, I hasten to add... but did anyone read that press report about the new government definition of child poverty? It listed lack of an annual holiday away from home as one of the indicators of childhood deprivation.

hmb · 01/01/2004 20:14

I had timetabled all my KS4 classes to have tests in the last week of term. They think that I am the wicked witch of the west! I did inject some holiday cheer into my lessons, but my kids worked up to the bitter end! I'm a right cow , I am!

My understanding is that you have to ask for the 2 weeks. Some schools are hardernosed about it than others. I also think that some schools are getting tougher about looking at the kids record of attendence, if they do course work on time etc etc.

GeorginaA · 01/01/2004 20:15

I can see both sides of this. However, I wanted to expand on fisil's point about the child's perspective.

In my first year of secondary school I missed a chunk of school time due to being ill with measles (I think two weeks - could have been slightly less, could have been slightly more - I really can't remember off hand). Not a particularly critical year, I was an able student so technically catching up shouldn't be a problem. Teachers bent over backwards to help me catch up.

However, despite all that I found it really really hard to catch up. In a couple of subjects (french and geography) it was a long while before I found my footing again. Socially in school it was difficult because so much had happened in a fortnight. I think from my own experience that if it meant no holiday or holiday during term time for my children even if not a particularly important year, I would choose no holiday. I wouldn't want them to go through the stress I did.

I know being away from illness is different to a holiday, but the catch up process is still the same.

StressyHead · 01/01/2004 20:16

message withdrawn

popsycal · 01/01/2004 20:21

Some schools are more strict than others in this respect. it is up to the school's discretion I think.

hmb · 01/01/2004 20:21

Re the holiday issue I agree that family holidays are beneficial to the whole family. Kids who never get a holiday are deprived. But it doesn't have to be a posh, expensive holiday abroad to be good! And I do realise that the poorest in our society are looking at a week in the UK if they are lucky. As a kid we only ever went on holiday in the UK in caravans. We all still had a blast. Sometimes we used to visit relatives, and that was still a great break.

In my experience The number of parents who take their kids out of the school during term time because they realy, realy can't afford it any other time are very small. And I work at a school which has poor, working class catchment area below the national av for pay). Most are doing it so that they can go for 2 weeks instead of 1, or upgrade to a better class of hotel. And all the kids that I can think of that have missed school this term have gone abroad, not a cheap trip to Butlins.

tigermoth · 01/01/2004 20:21

As I understand it, this new fining system means that the 10 days allowance is not going to be so easy to use for holidays in term time. It will be up to the school's discretion as at Stressyhead's school. If the school decide to, they can now impose the fine, even if you are within the 10 day limit.

popsycal · 01/01/2004 20:25

As a middle manager (naff term, I know), I think that many schools will exercise the right to fine very rarely......

popsycal · 01/01/2004 20:25

God - what a bad sentence that was, popsycal.
Bet you lot are glad that I don't teach your kids!!

fisil · 01/01/2004 20:26

That should only be one exclamation mark.

popsycal · 01/01/2004 20:27

And a capital letter for my name.
And do't begin a sentence with 'and'!
Oh dear - what have we got ourselves into here!

popsycal · 01/01/2004 20:27

god i can't type