To ask if you agree with term time holidays to please sign this petition...

[TermTimeHolidays]

here

It needs 100,000 signatures before it can be discussed in parliament.

Most parents will get bank holidays -bank holidays are not standard for many many employees and they don't get them off - who do you think works in the supermarkets, petrol stations, hotels, shops, busses, trains, airport staff, police, NHS workers - which is possibly the largest employer in the country. These workers do not get weekends of to allow them to have 52 days a year with their children.

NHS workers have threads on here about trying to get time off work at Christmas, easter when there is a ban on any staff having holidays at these times

I'm going to sign it.

I think in the future, a more enlightened society that understands holidays are a right will have realised that everyone having the right to an actual holiday leads to a more productive society with less mental health issues.

Oh and I am not signing it because of potential savings. As others have pointed out, not everyone has the opportunity to spend quality stress free time with their children over the existing holiday periods.

"Agree with this and the subsequent comment about why quality family time needs to consist of consecutive days."

I can answer this.

DH works in a very stressful job. His job impacts on him mentally, to the point that he is in counselling. :( He does take the odd day of leave here and there but he's never truly 'with' us as I know that he is worrying about work the next day.

However, when we get away for two weeks the change in him is amazing.

I don't expect any LEA to give a crap about parents who work in stressful jobs but I just thought I'd state why it is important to us as a family that we get a decent break.

Holidays aren't a right, though, poppingin - they are a luxury. Time off work should be a right, and usually is, and education is a right in the UK, and should be a right everywhere.

Not signing. When I was a child we had a one week holiday in the UK (usually Devon) every other year because we couldn't afford them every year. My parents would never have taken me out of school.

Oh and I totally forgot to say... at the Meet the Teacher afternoon today, the parent liason lady mentioned the new holiday legislation and said "These are the new rules, blah blah blah, we didn't implement them. If you need to request time off for a hoilday, please come and talk to us. We will try to help."

Thankfully, we have a very sensible head who is also very family-oriented.

Rediculous. I won't be signing. I don't want my children's lessons distrupted because teachers are endlessly having to re-cap lessons for children's whose parents want a cheap week in the sun. Suck it up and go camping like the rest of us - your children will enjoy it just as much.

Not signing.

Not the DCs are out of school I quite enjoy the relative child-free peace of going away out of school holiday times.

I would rather stick matches into a dog shit for fun than camp in a damp field, ta.

FWIW, I can afford to go in the six weeks. It's not a money thing for me. It's a being dictated to thing.

Education is a right. Family life is a right.

As I was getting at earlier, this petition is barking up the wrong tree - put pressure on employers to grant leave, not on the powers that be to allow children to miss chunks of school.

It's letting employers and the government off the hook.

And I'll say it again - 10 days is utterly barking.

Marmalade if your DH is so stressed by his job that he needs counselling do you not think a change of job would be more appropriate for him than expecting the education system to change to accomodate his needs?

Like I said, I don't expect the LEA to care about my situation. I was merely highlighting why consecutive days off rather than days here and there are important for us. Someone asked the question.

My DH works in a highly skilled job. He has done this job since he graduated and has done nothing else. He would need to re-train all over again as he literally only has training in his field. This isn't an option for us.

Anyway, it looks like our head is taking a lenient position on this so I couldn't give two hoots either way.

done.

I took this as ever getting time off WITH your children. If work won't give you time off in the school holidays (which can be difficult to negotiate if you're in a job with lots of other young parents), you may never have unstressed time at home with your children. Especially shift workers who may work weekends etc, this can be really difficult. Child gets a precious weekend only, with after school club, breakfast club and then holiday club. I also resent the blanket rule, I think an educational trip and time with family, in primary school, is very important.

So do this mean that I (a teacher) can also take term-time holidays? I am fed up being told about all the weeks' holidays I get, but I can NEVER get a cheap holiday.

Perhaps these people would think differently if their kids came to school one week and were told - "Sorry, you don't have a teacher this week cos Mrs Lindyhopper has gone off for a cheap holiday"

Depends, Lindy.

What did your contract say when you took on the job? If it said that there were no term-time holidays to be taken then YABU to expect to have term time holidays.

If they said you COULD have term time holidays but reneged on it at a later date, then YANBU.

Plus, aren't you in the very fortunate position of not having to fork out childcare for X amount of school holiday weeks because you can do the childcare yourself? Must save you hundreds, that. I daresay if a lot of families who have to pay for 12 weeks of childcare a year didn't have to pay for that childcare, they'd have more disposable cash for holidays out of term time.

Lindyhopper29 exactly. You can imagine the outrage if that were to happen.

Yet some parents think they should be 'entitled' to that term time break.

Camping is way out of many parents league.Cost us £££££ on site fees for August alone last year,let alone kit.

There are drawbacks and perks with every job,some you win some you lose.

Given that secondary schools happily cope with rich kids going off on school trips poor kids can't afford I don't buy the disruption argument either.

When I was teaching there wasn't this silly rule and I certainly didn't find kids going on holiday a problem.

Sick and tired of the Tories hammering families.I don't think it's right that only rich kids will get to have experiences which education,motivate and inspire.If they are so unimportant then can school trips which many can't afford too.

I signed.

What outrage?!

I honestly would not give a crap if DS's teacher took a week off, for whatever reason. Honestly. I would not care. I assume there would be a capable supply teacher at the helm?

But maybe I am the wrong person to comment on that because I cannot, however much I try, work myself up into a fit of the vapours over a week of missed school.

Rich kids don't go on trips poor kids can't afford in term time. If it's in term time, payment has to be voluntary.

Totally agree with marmalade

I support what you're saying op. there's all sorts of reasons why people need these extra days.
It's totally ridiculous to be so inflexible.