Have you taken your kids out of school for holiday to save money

[NC2125]

Good morning everyone

Just need some perspective here please.

I’m looking at holidays for October and we can save £500-1000 if we leave 3 days before the half term starts. Is it acceptable to take a child in reception out for 3 days to save quite a lot of money, money which we need elsewhere. Is it something that people do or is it a no go? Thank you in advance.

Would be absolutely fine for me and we’ll be doing the same once child starts school next year. I wouldn’t be doing it in exam years and I won’t be expecting anything from the teachers to catch them back up.

I do value holidays and having those bonds too, yes.

But take them during school holidays, which are long enough already to have those experiences.

And, again, who is going to look after the DC during those holidays if leave is already taken?

Not everyone can take their annual leave in school holidays. There’s no way I could authorise everyone with children to be off at the same time in my workplace and it’s the same in many others.

I did this regularly when our children were small as their grandparents lived abroad. This was pre fines though. As long as your children are not behind or in need of extra help catching up on what they’ve missed I don’t see the problem. We would have taken homework with us if needed.

Our children benefited much more from a holiday than two extra weeks in school.

No but almost everyone at my child’s school does and it bugs me because my child is profoundly autistic and we could use the excuse of needing to go during term due to busy times and sensory issues but we are able to make it work within the school holidays. Also you don’t know what’s going to happen, around Christmas time my child had an accident and fractured a bone which needed a significant amount of time off school and a phased return, and inevitably there have been a couple of other sick days in the year. To add another week or more to this would be ridiculous when they have 13 weeks a year off.

I did it when my DC were younger, but stopped as soon as they went to comp. No fines in our area either so wasn’t an issue.

Yes. My dd is 9 and ds is 5 and for the first time took them out for the day they started back after May holiday. My dd had 100% attendance and my ds was 4 at the time so not a legal requirement fir him to be in school. He has finished reception with 96% attendance but apart from the one day we took him out it was down to usual sickness from reception class. We saved £2000 on our holiday and feel the kids got so much more enrichment from visiting a different country. My daughter had learnt about Barcelona when at school and we got the chance to visit there when away which I feel helped with her learning. We would absolutely do it again next year and no we don't take the piss with taking them out just randomly during school time. We saved a lot of money and the kids had a fab time. No regrets here!

Plus we didnt get fined of course. But even if we did we would still have saved a lot of money.

The same childcare that they had intended to use, be that paid childcare, holiday clubs, family or friends, unpaid leave, annual leave, TOIL days, local babysitter/nanny etc etc.

Why take them during school holidays if they can legally take them during term time AND save money. What is your argument for keeping them in school at that age for 3 days?

It's mostly the message it sends that education isn't your top priority.
There is plenty of time for holidays and experiences during the long holidays.

No because school is not a theme park where people dont care who shows up when

I did when DD was in reception but it was allowed then and authorised by the head. I haven't done it since. I'm a teacher now anyway so couldn't do it but also wouldn't do it.

However, I don't necessarily see that it's an issue with an otherwise committed student. People do it all the time and the onus is on the student to catch up, not the teacher. We can't/don't provide work for students who are choosing to go on holiday during term time.

Oh and we don't have films and pizzas in the last week. We teach right to the end, as is expected. We might have some more dynamic and surprising lessons on the very last half day but the teaching carries on until the last minute.

Yes I have missed a few days here and there in primary, usually towards the end of term.

It depends what your general attitude to education is. My DC are all highly educated, informed, inquisitive people. Education was absolutely our top priority, school wasn’t.

They definitely benefitted more from life experiences over school ones and still ended up at top universities.

No, the holidays are long enough at school I don't need them off for any longer thanks! 😆

We did look at going the week before May half term this year (due to DH working in an interesting place the week before so he could have stayed on and we'd have flown to meet him) but by the time we'd factored in holiday club costs, what annual leave, we'd have for the rest of the year, food costs and the fine for two kids it was the same cost as going away during half term.

Yes I do it every year with no regrets at all. We’ve had some fantastic holidays and the kids have amazing memories which far outweigh every day of school they’ve missed. I only ever add a few days to school holidays - it’s never a random two weeks off and I never expect the teachers to catch them up either. Luckily non of them (I have 4) are sickly children so rarely have time off ill.

I've done it for an entire week each year in junior school. My child is very ahead of the class academically and just achieved top SATs results. We saved thousands of pounds and gave her incredible experiences that broadened her education. We didn't get fined but I did get a telling off each time.

I don't think I'll take her on holiday in term time at senior school though; she's going to a super selective grammar and I feel she could fall behind if she misses school there.

I'm also not sure I'd take her academically average younger sibling who's just started primary out as they might miss learning. A couple of days might be ok though.

Are you still dragging that dead horse. That’s embarrassing for you.

We do it every year in order to visit relatives abroad, not so much because of the price (although I would be lying if I said that isn't a factor at all!) but because DH and I both work in tourism and are unable to take the kids away for more than a couple of nights at a time during the summer.

We don't live in the UK though, so our schools don't fine you for taking the kids out. I always write a polite letter asking permission rather than demanding, and they have always been very understanding (many families where we live have the same issue).

For the older kids, we also take their school books with us and WhatsApp classmates each day to check what they are doing in school, so they don't get too far behind.

No, wouldn't mess the teachers about like that. Too many good ones are already leaving, and one of the things they say winds them up the most is parents doing this, then expecting them to catch them up, when they are already too busy.

Nope, my dc missed 5 days in total throughout all schooling, one to attend an international choir competition, once for a wedding - and for that the groom had checked the holidays but didn’t realise they varied from county to county.

Not in reception babe😂

You are not entitled to a holiday away from home however nice it would be

if you can’t afford it , don’t go

Mine kids are much older now but in primary school we used to take them out for a few days each year. It’s saved a lot of £££ and their school wouldnt fine as long as their attendance was good. I’ve never taken them out of secondary school

Reception, no problem, high school, nope.