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Parenting

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Original poster

Taking your kids out of school......

41 replies

Helenemjay · 11/07/2006 15:49

Have you taken your child (5/6 year old) out of school for days out? is it acceptable or are they better at school at that age?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Blandmum · 11/07/2006 16:08

What are you taking them out for?

My kids learn loads each day. If they miss a day they miss out.

This is a real 'light blue touch paper' thread on MN BTW

Has been thr source of some very vigorous debates in the past

LaDiDaDi · 11/07/2006 16:33

I'm watching this with interest (esp now mb says its a real light blue touch paper topic).

I used to miss time from school when I was younger for family holidays and didn't really think anything of it BUT I was always really bright at school(smug emoticon) and easily caught up when back and we probably wouldn't have been able to have so many or such nice hols if I hadn't missed school.

expatinscotland · 11/07/2006 16:35

Soon enough, my father will get too old to travel here much to see the grandchildren.

We'll have to start going over there.

And I'm not going in summer. It's too damned hot.

Right now am considering Steiner school or the like where they are more flexible about time spent w/family abroad.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Families General parenting

housemouse · 11/07/2006 16:59

Taking dd (6) to legoland one day next week before the kids break up, hopefully it will be less busy than in the summer hols. I doubt a huge amount of work will be done in the last week of term, one day is sports day anyway.

Twiglett · 11/07/2006 17:10

no .. I think its awful to take a child out of school for holidays / days out / on a whim

and don't say they're only 5 or 6 .. that's when its most important IMO

still .. do what you want .. you're going to anyway

TinyGang · 11/07/2006 17:10

Lol at 'vigorous debates'. Punch-ups you mean!

Yes, I have on the very odd occasion. Only with permission though.

Blu · 11/07/2006 17:15

What sort of days out were you considering, helenemjay?

snuffy143 · 11/07/2006 17:42

Am taking DD to see Mary Poppins in London on Thursday, she's at end of Y2 and seems to only have been doing art since SATS finished! I was totally against taking kids out of school for anything and told friends off regularly...until we were offered a last minute ski trip for a bargain and the kids had to miss a week! Had to eat lots of humble pie. Figure it is a personal thing - up to you.

honeyflower · 11/07/2006 17:44

Would MUCH rather my kid was doing art than SATS, personally.

mysonsmummy · 11/07/2006 17:44

house - totally agree with you about legoland. i would take ds out for the day. hes only in school nursery now though so may feel different when hes in reception. we went to chessington in the easter holidays and got there about 11.30 and they were sold out. ok yes i know i should have got there at the crack of dawn but was only going to buy an annual ticket so wasn't that fussed. ds was though i felt trrrible. there was a great park just outside so we had a picnic in there instead.

afterwards i am glad i didn't buy annual tickets as found out they do a mother and baby deal. children under 4 and mum can get in for £11 during the week and get free coffee. great deal!! its only on certain days so check out their site and print off the voucher.

Kelly1978 · 11/07/2006 17:51

my dd seems to have been doing nothing but PE for god knows how long, a few weeks ago it was sprts week and thurs it is sports day sot hey have been practisign every day. I could be so tempted to bugger off to legoland! dd's school phone and ask where she is. I took her out for a day to see grandparents (they were coming down here, 200 mile trip, had to be a monday) and I got a letter and a belated request for a holiday day which had to be approved. I don't generally do it.

Can poratcially hear the ticking down til this kicks off

LaDiDaDi · 11/07/2006 17:54

That seems really strict kelly, or have schools in general just toughened up? I remember being allowed 10days off each academic year.

peasinapod · 11/07/2006 18:01

dont forget private schools are off and it will still be busy . We are of to chessington on Friday but its an inset day so no worries . Any body else got an inset day on Friday (just curious )

Kelly1978 · 11/07/2006 18:04

well her last school, in croydon (before we moved) weren't fussed at all. While I was pg with the dts they said they understood if I couldn't get her in. I think it is down to the individual school's policy.

Kelly1978 · 11/07/2006 18:06

housemouse, are you local then? I'm in north ascot, just down the road from legoland.

snuffy143 · 11/07/2006 18:14

Absolutely agree with you, honeyflower, DD quite happy doing art...just thinking that it really doesn't matter that I am taking DD out of school....no great academic loss methinks! As for SATS...at 7...is that a hot topic around here?

Blandmum · 11/07/2006 19:56

I don't know where some teacher get the curriculum time

Tomorrow I will be getting Y9 to write up their project work so I can mark it.

Year 7 will be learning all about how carbonates react with acids. This time next week they will have a test! And that is 3 days before the end of term.

Year 11 I will not be teaching, but then to be faiur to me, they have done their GCSE

SecurMummy · 11/07/2006 20:03

I think that it is fine to take your children out of school if you fancy a day out, as long as you are prepared to take the blame when they are 15yo and take days off "because they have somehing better to do".

You are setting an example to your children. The example is "I can decide when you do and do not go to school because I am an adult" and yet I am pretty sure when they are adults (at least in their heads) you will be telling them that they can't because it is the law that they attend every day....

IMO a bit of a silly question......

dmo · 11/07/2006 20:44

dont think i would takes boys out of school for a day out (not good role model)
i would not take boys out of school for a hol but thats just me lots of parents have done this year it is cheaper to do so
we went to legoland for sons b/day in august was not to bad (the queues) had a good couple of days (would recomend if never been there b4 to go for a couple of days at least)

LaDiDaDi · 11/07/2006 22:38

I think that's an interesting point SecurMummy.

It never crossed my mind as a child/teenager that I could miss school when I felt like it just because I had missed school for a family holiday. I'm not sure if that relates to how my parents presented missing school for holidays to me or more to do with how I felt about school in general (I loved it).

I do see how some kids would use the argument you've outlined to try to justify bunking off school. I wonder if it makes a difference to children if it's odd days out or family holidays?

SecurMummy · 11/07/2006 23:23

I think it would make a difference yes, basically because, taking a holiday is usually something that happens once or twice a year is about getting away and spending concentrated time as a family etc.

Having a day out IMO very clearly states (to a child) that we have something better to do than school today - and that is ok!

I don't agree with time off for holidays however having time off to have a holiday in term time because you cannot afford it any other time (or other good reason - family weddings etc) is far better than because the queues are too long at Alton Towers if you go in the hols!

berthablatherwick · 12/07/2006 01:24

I think it's absolutely ridiculous to think that a 5/6 yr old child having a day off is a bad thing if it's only once in a while, and I'm a teacher.

I'm not condoning the "Mummy, I don't want to go to school today, we're only doing art and it's boring, lets go out instead!" scenario but rather the very special occasion/event. A show in the city at the end of term, Grandma visiting from overseas, that sort of thing.

Education at this age is supposed to be a fun learning experience and you are deluding yourself if you think that one day off is going to cause them to miss out on something fundamental. Concepts are taught over a long period of time, not in one lesson. And tbh, at this time of the year there's not much happening, curriculum delivery wise.

I'm sorry to rabbit on but I feel really strongly about this.

I've had instances of children getting so distressed about not being able to attend for a day, even due to illness, that I've had to speak to them on the phone to reassure them that it was OK.

I understand the need for setting examples, but if you set too rigid an example it can have extremely detrimental effects.

threebob · 12/07/2006 01:32

I often see a family that I teach piano to out and about when the children should be at school. They give them the day off on a whim - school is free.

How many times do they miss their piano lesson which they pay for? Never.

I think the acid test would be "is this so good/important/unmissable that I would book time off work and miss out on pay to do it?"

housemouse · 12/07/2006 18:56

Kelly, no, I'm not local, we are in South Hants. have all the private schools already broken up then? I know Scotland are already on hols.

housemouse · 12/07/2006 23:01

Secur, can't see the logic in you saying it would be better to have a weeks holiday in term time because we can't afford to go in the summer hols, than to have one day in legoland. This is one and only day of the school year she will have been off (bar illnesses). dd is not going to be told 'sod school today, let's go to legoland'. Sheesh.

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