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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

2 week holiday in y1

36 replies

RedHotPokers · 17/01/2012 20:10

Would love to take DD out of school for a 2 week holiday. School will authorise up to 10 days, so in theory it should be fine, and I know plenty of parents who take their DCs on 2 x 1 week holidays each year in term time. School seems okay with this. But I don't know many children who have 2 weeks in a row off.

This year I have some extra annual leave from work, and DS will be starting school in september, so it seems like the ideal time to take a longed for 2 week break. We couldn't afford it in the summer holidays, but could just about stretch to it in term time (have seen a great offer).

DD has excellent attendance (only 1 day off ill since staring YR). Plenty of the other children seem to have lots of time off sick (often because they are feeling a bit under the weather/have had a busy weekend/are feeling tired!), whereas (probably like a lot of children with WOHP who have no childcare!) DD has to be properly ill to have a sick day!

So part of me thinks its fine for DD to take the 2 weeks. Will she really miss much in Y1?? However, I also think that maybe 2 weeks is taking the piss a bit! Gah!

What do you think?

OP posts:

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QED · 17/01/2012 20:13

I personally don't think it's a good idea to take children out of school to go on holiday, but lots of people are fine with it.

seventieschick · 17/01/2012 20:18

I wouldn't personally take mine out for holidays ... However lots of people do, but two weeks is a lot out of one term. Could you just look at doing a week?

Original poster

RedHotPokers · 17/01/2012 20:35

We couldn't really manage it for a week as it takes 1.5/2 days to drive there. We could do a 10 day holiday so that DD would only miss 8 days, but it would be very rushed to get there and back. Maybe I should have a chat with the school and see what they think.

OP posts:

pinkteddy · 17/01/2012 20:39

What about adding one week to school holidays eg the May half term which is actually first week of June this year? Then you would only have to take her out of school for say 5 days.

sunnyday123 · 17/01/2012 20:41

i am taking dd out for 6 school days and dont feel at all bad about it - shes also y1 and only had one day off sick including YR. However even i would be nervous about 2 weeks - thats a long time for kids i think - best tie it onto the end of a school holiday if possible.

abitlikemollflanders · 17/01/2012 20:50

As a teacher I always feel a bit sorry for little ones who have two weeks out of school. They tend to miss a lot of phonics in yr 1 but more importantly can take a while to catch up with friends again. Socially things move so quickly in the playground and they can come back to the playground looking to play with 'best friends' to find they have moved on. Of course it all rights itself again but it can take them a while.

Somersaults · 17/01/2012 20:52

I understand about the added expense in school holidays because I'm a teacher so that's all I can take (except this year when we're making the most of my maternity leave and going in term time while DD is still tiny and easy to cart around on a plane!) but two weeks is a lot, especially in Y1. In two weeks the class teacher could ossicle cover the whole term's work on subtraction or money for example. At the moment the way the curriculum works is that all the areas of maths are covered once each term. Yes there will be opportunities for subtraction across the rest of the term but the main teaching of HOW to subtract is taught in one block. I wouldn't recommend mission two weeks but if you are planning to then definitely talk to the class teacher and find out what is being covered. The teacher should be able to give you worksheets or at least some examples of work that you could take with you and do with your child. I always find it a pain to have to collate work to send home but I'd much rather patents cared that their child doesn't kiss anything so I would always provide a little work pack if a parent asks. Much better a small inconvenience for me than a parent not giving a bleep about the fact that the child is missing parts of their education.

Somersaults · 17/01/2012 20:54

Sorry, I'm typing on my phone whilst bf and spotted already that missing auto corrected to mission! And I'm not saying that's it's subtraction that she'll miss, just using that as an example!

AbigailS · 17/01/2012 20:55

Are you sure the school will authorise 10 days to anyone who asks, or is it up to ten days in exceptional circumstances if you meet the criteria?

abitlikemollflanders · 17/01/2012 21:01

AbigailS - that is the case in our school. I would be surprised if any school just authorise 10 days for a holiday.

AbigailS · 17/01/2012 21:04

Mine too, abitlikemollflanders, and the criteria to prove it HAS to be a term time holiday is very tight, that's why I asked. Just the mention of authorising a term-time holiday gets my head hot under the collar!

piellabakewell · 17/01/2012 21:07

I'm a Y1 teacher. I had all of my 30 children in class today for the first time since November. Many days either side of the Christmas break I had 23-25 children in class. However, I have been teaching as normal...I can't hold the rest back and wait for the missing kids to show up. My Head does not authorise ANY leave in term time but that doesn't stop parents from taking it. Nursery children automatically lose their place if they take unauthorised absence. I am in London, btw, in a multicultural school where many children have family abroad and take extended trips during term time.

If the child was in my class and a parent asked my opinion, I would urge them NOT to take the child out of school.

sunnyday123 · 17/01/2012 21:08

really though what can a school do? even a fine will be less than what a family can save by taking term time?

i have booked my holiday (6 school days in may) and haven't even told the school yet - i'll be going no matter what they say!- dd is never off and has friends who've been off with a common cold more than that!

balia · 17/01/2012 21:09

Many years ago now I took DD out of school for 2 weeks in year 1. I was still a lone parent then and my mum and dad offered to take her on holiday with them. I knew I could never afford it (in fact didn't manage to take her abroad again until she was 8, for a couple of days to Disneyland Paris.) I couldn't afford a two week holiday abroad until she was 15. I talked to the school about it, they were very understanding.

But schools are under such pressure now...you might want to check because I have heard the LEA can fine you for each day of unauthorised absence.

Somersaults · 17/01/2012 21:09

I also just spotted 'the child doesn't kiss anything'. That should obvs say 'miss'

sunnyday123 · 17/01/2012 21:11

i think its got to be common sense surely?! if a child has a big sick record, then fair enough but i cant imagine 1 week will do much harm in a whole year!

Personally i wouldn't do 2 weeks either as that seems more unreasonable than 1 week - most parents in dd school take 2 weeks around a half term

abitlikemollflanders · 17/01/2012 21:11

The school can't DO anything but the op asked in a primary education forum what we thought of the situation. I think most people working in schools seem to agree that it would be a bad idea in terms of the child's learning. I actually think that the younger the child, the worse it is and the more they'll miss.

Not many children miss ten days off in a row due to illness.

Hulababy · 17/01/2012 21:14

Reality is, for most children, it will be fine. Most children can cope with missing a fortnight. It can be a pain for teachers and if he child does no learning for a fortnight, it can be harder to return to the routine. But keep reading, practising writing and a bit of number work and they are generally okay ime.

FWIW I missed 1-2 weeks every year since starting school til leaving pretty much. My dad worked in a factory and had set shut down which was not in school holiday time. We went on holiday in this time. I still went on to pass GCSEs, A Levels and a degree. My brother and sister did the same. So it didn't harm our education.

abitlikemollflanders · 17/01/2012 21:18

Somersaults described the cyclical nature of the curriculum now in an earlier post, whereby a child can miss a whole unit of work in two weeks. This may be the building block for many other units of work and by missing it a child can flounder (particularly true in maths or phonics).
It simply isn't true to state that missing ten days in one block will make no difference.

AbigailS · 17/01/2012 21:18

School can't do much - it does get huge pressure from the local authority to keep attendance up. But EWO letter / warning / fine are the only sanctions. But the implications on your child might be huge. Loss of learning, feeling of insecurity / anxiety when they return and can't do what their group can, friendships dynamics have changed and that can really upset some children for an extended period of time, best friend has found a new best friend.

It does boil down to the parents' decision, but please respect teachers' frustration when they have to spend their own time catching up learning or sorting out friendship issues when you return. And don't ask for the fortnight's lesson plans and worksheets to take with you so you can do it while you're away. Most teachers don't plan that far ahead.

muffinflop · 17/01/2012 21:55

I took my yr 1 DS out of school for 2 weeks last year for a holiday. It was fine, he was fine, he wrote a diary while we were away which he shared with the class when he returned and actually gained a few new friends because they all wanted to look at his diary.

As long as it's not a 'sit on your arse and do nothing while the kids play on the DS' holiday then I don't see the problem (but that's my personal view)

Original poster

RedHotPokers · 17/01/2012 23:21

Have decided to speak to dds teacher and ask what she thinks. Would go over summer half term but can't get the time off work as every other parent wanted that week cos of the bank holidays. So many things to consider.

OP posts:

muffinflop · 17/01/2012 23:30

Really, it wont matter in a few years time if you took her out of school for two weeks in year 1!

PastSellByDate · 18/01/2012 02:36

RedHotPokers:

I agree with many posting that 2 weeks out of school is a lot of time - but I see you're talking to the teachers.

Some have posted asking if you could take holiday over one of the half-term breaks. We had a wedding when my DD was in Y1 which was close to the first May bank holiday - so we didn't lose a full week - but we also argued that going to Romania and seeing rural life and traditions would also be a good learning opportunity for our DD.

If you can see the learning benefits to what you are doing (seeing a different culture, hearing and speaking a foreign language, going to historical sites/ natural wonders, etc...) - and if you can work with the school to ensure that your DC doesn't fall too badly behind (i.e. finding out what phonemes might be covered whilst your away, taking away some reading and maths homework as well) I suspect you won't miss much.

I also think it worthwhile to look at going away before Easter or before end of the school year. These are times when a lot of activities outside the normal day to day go on. I often find the last week or so of school before summer break is more about sports days, field trips, golden time and parties, than the usual learning. Perhaps missing time just before the end of the school year in July may not be so bad. Several parents at my DDs' school who have family abroad, often take their children out a bit early to help with the expense of flights during the high season.

Best of luck.

PastSellByDate · 18/01/2012 02:39

RedHotPokers:

Forgot to mention - you may have a run of dates in early May where there are bank holidays/ elections & possibly teacher training (INSET) days - take a look. I know our school is closed on the Thursday for elections, open Friday, closed on the Monday for the bank holiday and taking a training day on the Tuesday - so in fact 3 days are non-school days anyway.

We're looking to just take our DDs out of school for the Friday - but in effect with the weekend & these days of school closure - we get 6 days away at that time.

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