holidays in term time parents win a victory over the lea

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.........\link{http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/05/23/nedu23.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/05/23/ixuknews.html\ story here}

"When they returned home to Park Farm, Peterborough, from the visit to Cape Town to see Mrs Donaldson's family last Christmas, the local education authority ordered them to pay a £50 fine for each child. The penalty doubled after the fine was not paid within 42 days.

When that was not paid, they were ordered to appear before Peterborough magistrates, charged with failure to ensure their children's regular attendance at school. However, the couple were given an unconditional discharge, with no fine and no costs."

But it's not just about their 'education' and what specific facts and figures they might miss, it's also about the attitude to the school, the structure and 'flouting' rules unnecessarily.

I don't think anyone is saying that holidays and time spent with family aren't important but there's no getting around the fact that you have 13 weeks off school, plus weekends and bank holidays to do those things and there are really only a minority of occasions where you might have to take a child out of school to do family things. IMO, not being able to afford August prices is not one of them.

I'd like to think that I'm a supportive parent with a positive attitude to school:-
I do a lot of fund-raising with the PTA
go in and help in school from time to time
ensure my child is on time, clean, rested and properly fed when he attends school
ensure homework is done
and generally consider myself to be a model parent

However, next month I will be taking my ds1 out of school for a day and a half to go on a long weekend away

And as I said in an earlier post, our school appears to have no problem with term-time holidays - it isn't perceived as a "flouting of the rules" at all

I really don't know why people on MN get so het up about it.

There does seem to be a feeling that if you are by your own definition a 'good parent' (see the original news story) it's OK.

Ah, that's where I'm going wrong. I'm a bit of a hopeless parent, frankly. But at least I do know that.

MI that is aof couse a mel parent in relation to school - not for the many other apsects of my parenting

MI that is of course a "model parent" in relation to school - not for the many other apects of my parenting

Mi you cannot possibly be a bad parents because IIRC your ds has worn a teeshirt with 'THis is what a feminist looks like' printed on it/

DD2, who now prefers a pink fairy costume

But seriously, I do think this links in with the whole 'it's my child and I know best' viewpoint, which is one with which I am not in blanket agreement.

not at all - I was reposnding to GDG's implication that if you take term time holiday, you have a poor attitude to school and are flouting rules

Marina I think you are quite right about getting a gite in France in late August. That is what we are doing and I was pleasantly surprised by the cost. Much more convenient for you south-eastern dwellers mind you. Unfortunately the ferry is costing a fortune because we are minimising driving by sailing from Portsmouth and need to come back on the Saturday evening so we can get DS back for the start of school on Monday.

I go turnip digging on my holidays and we eat turnips all day every day.

And there are no jokes allowed about funny shaped turnips.

When I was teaching, I found that:

A week out had little/no impact

2 weeks - could be a problem; children sometimes struggled to catch up on a concept they had missed and we were at stage of consolidating what the class had learnt.

More than 2 weeks - was a right pain usually and I noticed having to play catch up with these children.

When a child was out for more than a month (extended visits to family) it affected their education significantly.

The timing of some holidays (in secondary) leave you somewhat breathless though, I have had children go on holiday in the two wee run up to GCSE exams. One family thoughtfuly took their child on holiday the first week of the new term. The child was in y7.

So first week in a new school missed, byt the time they get into the school friendships have been started etc, rest of the kids more relaxed. Now that was such a good idea, wasn't it?

I don't think the problem is the taking out of school (bearing in mind the interesting observations puff made), I think it's just the fact that some parents are really lazy about communication and don't give a stuff about their kids' education.

The people in that article didn't appear to fall into that category, and I don't suppose their childrens' education will suffer significantly.

Much worse are the parents who don't communicate with the school, never call in to let you know their child is off sick, let their child miss school 'because they were at a party the day before' (don't know how many times I've heard that), and generally behave as if school doesn't matter. They're the ones whose children are going to grow up with gaps in their education and a problem with authority, not the ones whose parents take them on holiday in term-time having asked the schools' consent.

Does anyone else go on root-vegetable-centred holidays?

Does anyone use Tesco vouchers to cover the ridiculous costs in school hols? We did last year, we went to Haven, which is MAD for prices in August. Can't afford it this year as we haven't got enough vouchers, but last year we had less than half price hols this way at bank holidays. Can't go in September as ds starts reception - don't think they'll be too pleased at us going then. Unfortunately, if you don't go away in high season, there's nowhere open.
Can't even afford a weekend due to silly prices.
Can't go to a normal caravan park as kids are obsessed with seeing rory and bradley!!
Can't believe the prices of some of the other operators!!

Blu - I am not sure about exams in Germany, but I would guess its similar to the England/Scotland thing, that the regions each set their own exams.

my children have their summer hols from end July - mid Sept.