Abolish LEA fines for taking kids out of school for holidays

[KuanKaKu]

Recent times have proven that taking time away from the home for a holiday is important for families; a holiday provides much needed regrouping time, benefits the mental health and wellbeing of the whole family, provides inter-generational socialisation, access to wider cultures and events, being able to travel in term time will make holidays accessible to those who can not afford to travel during peak school holidays, and planned absence is easier for schools to manage than excess last minute 'sick days'. There are many more benefits to abolishing these fines - for genuine holidays, including the benefit on the tourism sector of demand being spread more evenly throughout the year, providing longevity of employment contracts, cheaper travel for teachers in the holidays and a more reliable income stream for tourism businesses throughout the year. PLEASE SIGN. https://chng.it/PBrrYtRCCB

Known absence makes it easier for the school to manage their resourcing, enabling additional one to one sessions etc..within ratios.

The entitlement on display is unreal. No. Schools provide the lesson content within a set schedule, you decided to not avail of that scheduled teaching. The key factor in this is you.

The pure middle classness of that photo struck me too 😂Lots of culture on a ski trip then? Is being halfway down a mountain a particularly mind broadening experience?

This, 💯. It really is extraordinary.

Look - have your term time holiday. It's cheaper, we get it. But please don't pretend it's a "life time experience" or that you are providing equally as valuable experience to school. You really aren't. Presumably by that logic, every child whose parent is a teacher is missing out on the basis they won't get those term time holidays?

My DH is a headteacher who has to review these sorts of requests. My advice is cut the bullshit and be honest - he gets it's cheaper and that's why people do it. Trying to pretend your skiing holiday / 2 weeks in Greece is something educational is just a load of bollocks and everyone knows it.

And yes, I can confirm plenty of parents expect the school to provide work or catch up material.

Holiday companies don’t hike their prices during school holidays, they lower them during term time. If demand started to rise for term time holidays then the prices would rise.

Tell me you have no idea about teaching without telling me you have no idea about teaching

Parents want to provide "valuable travel experience"?
They're free to do so, I don't know why it has to be in term time though? If it's about the cost then blame capitalism and the reality of supply and demand. Of course things are cheaper off peak!

Or maybe parents could just prioritise their kids' education?
Lots of holiday companies make a loss outside of school holidays, or just break even - they would go bust if it weren't for holiday demand.

I know!
The idea of schools giving teachers sabbaticals to go on term time holidays when they can't even get a day off to go to a funeral is just mind boggling.

Fuck that. Schools should not do one to one sessions because people decide to save money. Do you understand how pressed schools are? One to one sessions are precious and required for managing sen, children with illness or disability that necessitates time off. Not because a bloody holiday is cheaper!

This one is running already and at 250k
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/658365

This always used to be permitted and I am pretty sure some other countries allow it.

I think it's ok up to a certain age.

We had 3 children including twins and had to have the most basic holidays due to cost.

Now they are all nearly adults I'm really looking forward to the cheaper holidays!

When were the fines introduced? I remember as a child taking a couple of weeks off for a holiday and to see family. I remember a couple of friends being away term time too.

I thought I read that other countries are quite shocked at british parents wanting to take their kids out of school for holidays

I agree with posters above, just be honest, say you want a holiday and cant afford it and just go, take the fines and swallow it. Accept that you will have to do the grunt work to enable your child to catch up. Or dont and let them flounder. Its up to you. I think schools lost a lot of credence about taking kids out over covid so its likely people have lost enthusiasm for good attendance.

But dont pretend its some mind blowing educational or deeply profound family engagement experience.

No, I think it’s utterly selfish. Because these parents then complain if their children fall behind

Australia it used to be that you'd put in a form to the principal. If you were travelling for an opportunity or to see family then it was usually granted.

There are no fines in Scotland- us parents use our common sense. It works fine.

My kids are old enough to have been at school when head teachers could authorise holidays. I don’t know if they kept data 15 years ago but there was still a school holiday premium.

You took the words right out of my mouth.@noblegiraffe When I was still teaching.I.had about 150 pupils for whom I was responsible. There is no way i'd be setting work or playing catchup for God knows how many pupils if everyone could trot off to Majorca whenever they felt like it

Some parents keep children off for mild colds and they miss far more school than a child taking a planned week or two off.

But dont pretend its some mind blowing educational or deeply profound family engagement experience.

Or for the good of the teachers who will be able to manage 'planned absence', and potentially get cheaper holidays because of you selflessly going in term time.

I mean, really?

Why did they stop this? A headteacher knows the families involved and is in the best position to authorise a holiday.

How would a headteacher know the families of 1,850 students?

What 1-2-1 sessions?

OK, if you start letting them all fuck off on holiday for the week before and week after the official holiday time, you could well end up with a handful of poor kids and nobody else in class, but seriously? Schools can't even recruit for 1-2-32 sessions, never mind have enough staff for individual coaching of kids that have been on bloody holiday instead of learning.

Two wrongs don’t make a right.

Ours had about 220