Staying home instead of school residential

[Diane31]

My daughter, in year 6, has been on every residential since Year 1 and on the whole enjoyed them despite being quite shy and quiet. She is not a clingy child as such, never has been, just quiet with her peers, preferring small friendship groups. They are going on their year 6 residential in February and she has said she doesn't want to go this year and I'm not bothered. I've paid the deposit and another £150 is due but I would rather spend it on something else. We are going up to the north east around about the same time to visit family and a new baby cousin, which will be a weekend/long weekend. My daughter says though that she does not want to go into school when the children are away as they will end up doing art and craft with the younger children (year 3 she says but I doubt Year 6s will be working with year 3s!) She struggles with arty stuff and isn't keen anyway. I said, well it might be nice as there will be a small group of Year 6s and you may enjoy it and the art thing might not happen! However, does anyone have any experience of keeping a child home when the rest of the year is on a residential. It is only three days. We have never had holiday time off though they are cracking down on that but I would love to spend some time with my daughter, especially as her asd son does take up a lot of my time and attention.

Thank you.

"her" asd brother!

No comment on keeping her home.
BUT
Having paid the deposit you may find you are liable for the whole price.

The school will have worked out its costings based on number going. If they can't resell the place I would expect you to have to pay up for all of it.

The rest of her class will be 'in education' during the residential - it is just that it happens on a different site. You should not remove your child from education just because the rest of the class are somewhere else on the day. And schools are well up on these tactics - they will know instantly that your daughter has been removed from education deliberately.

I've never done it but I certainly would. I have a feeling this may arise for us as dd has ASD herself and I am pretty sure she won't want to go.

As another poster said you may still be liable to pay the full amount though.

Thanks everyone; helpful if not what I wanted to hear. The school is in a very very very affluent area, we are not affluent, far from it and actually live over the border in the next county/local authority though it was the catchment school postcode wise. But they really don't give a stuff about the less affluent kids. My daughter's best friend who has since moved to another area and school, in year 5, has now been told she needs an IEP in Year 6 because she was ignored and shrugged off all those years. Anyway, that's another tale. I don't mind losing the deposit and if she has to go in she has to go in. My daughter is the only one in her class who hasn't been abroad or one of the very few that hasn't had time off for holidays abroad so I will be a bit put out if we have to pay the £150 but well we will see as obviously I can see school's side too though it is not a poor school so I won't feel guilty if they let us off the money. We are having a break to see family around the same time and would rather put the £150 towards that. We don't get free dinners as husband is in work but we do find it hard going to a school like this and I can't wait until she leaves in July. We are talking 3 per cent on free school meals in a school of nearly 400.

Thanks again everyone.

The school won get any extra funding just because its in an affluent area, if anything they'll get less as very little pupil premium funding will be available. Not really sure what the affluence level of the parents has to do with your question though...

They do get less, we got a letter about it because they were moaning about losing the money but when teachers ask questions like who hasn't been abroad and who rents/owns for a topic on estate agency, and two put their hands up, I don't really have much sympathy for the school and don't agree with that style of teaching. Though I appreciate my daughter could exagerate. Yes you're right it's not related, just that £150 is a lot to us and I'm fed up of the whole thing. Anyway finishing this now, thanks.

What did strike me in your original post is she has been on every residential since Year 1 .
This implies quite a few residentials which is unusual imo. I can see why you might be finding it expensive. Our school only does a residential in y6.

Residentials every year since year 1 - it's no wonder you are fed up with the school.

Yes we only had a residential in year 6 but it was mon- fri. Some other schools in more affluent areas around here also do residentials in year 5, but only for half the week. One school took its year 6s to France for the week which I thought wax a bit OTT.