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Taking children out of school to go travelling

51 replies

katyszarko · 13/10/2014 15:03

Hi,
We would like to take our children travelling to South East Asia (my husband has family in Thailand) for 2 months. My DS is 6 and my DD is 9. We are planning to go next December. Our daughter will be taking her SATS in the May. I've read the blogs about the relevance of SATS etc but we don't think this opportunity will ever present itself to us again and we think it will be an amazing experience for our kids.

Would we be making a big mistake and could we jeopardise our DDs secondary education? Any teachers out there that have an opinion on this?
Our meeting with the head teacher has left us a bit deflated.
Thank you

OP posts:
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HappyNap · 13/10/2014 15:05

I would go. But will the school keep her place?

Fattyfattyyumyum · 13/10/2014 15:05

Depends on the child a little I would say - how good do you think they'd be at catching up?

I would do it. Very unlikely for any long term negative effects, particularly as half of it would be school hols / the Xmas DVD & nativity rehersal wind down

bigTillyMint · 13/10/2014 15:08

I am a teacher and I don't think you will be jeopardising their education. It will be a fantastic opportunity for them and they will learn so much and develop all sorts of social skills and confidence.

They might have lost their school place though. Is your older DD in Y4 or Y5?

Chinkincurtains · 13/10/2014 16:30

the question isn't really about jeopardising their education (you won't). it is, as everyone else says, about whether or not the school will keep the place.
a school, an oversubscribed school, amazingly just kept a place for a friend of mine for seven weeks, so the school might do it.
another friend went for three months and returned to find the places were open because no one else had wanted them.
i think that's the real issue here.

StripyBanana · 13/10/2014 16:33

Oh Id so go. Are you already applying for secondary? I'm v tempted to take yr6 off to travel simply as it seems a wasted year...

castlesintheair · 13/10/2014 16:36

I took my DCs out of school in February of Year 6, Year 4 and Year 1 to go abroad for 6 months and they have not suffered at all.

castlesintheair · 13/10/2014 16:37

DS in particular was very pleased not to sit his SATS!

NickiFury · 13/10/2014 16:39

I would definitely go.

morethanpotatoprints · 13/10/2014 16:41

I would do it definitely, H.ed is brilliant.
The only thing you need to be aware of are the chances of being able to register for the same school when you come back.
Your chances are much better if the school isn't over subscribed.

castlesintheair · 13/10/2014 16:47

The HT at my DCs' primary said she would do her utmost to ensure they could come back there if they wanted to (very oversubscribed) so I really wouldn't let it put you off. Just something to be aware of. Honestly though, once you're away from all the hullabaloo you are unlikely to give it a second thought.

vestandknickers · 13/10/2014 16:51

Why can't you take them for six weeks in the summer?

School isn't actually optional.

EduCated · 13/10/2014 16:55

Actually school is entirely optional.

Flexibilityisquay · 13/10/2014 16:57

If there is any way you can do it OP I would. I'd love to do something like this with DS, but couldn't get the time off work at the moment. I've seen the effect travelling has on several children I know and it seems to do amazing things for their confidence. They would also learn so much from it. The only issue I see is as others have said, will the school keep the places free?

EmeraldIce · 13/10/2014 17:00

School is optional, education is not

'Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 states that:

The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient full-time education suitable—

(1) to his age, ability and aptitude, and

(2) to any special educational needs he may have,

either by regular attendance at school or otherwise.'
edyourself.org/articles/helaw.php

MuscatBouschet · 13/10/2014 17:05

We are thinking of doing this when our eldest is in year 6. She'll get a secondary place no bother but our DS risks losing his primary school place. Still, gotta take a few chances in life to give kids amazing experiences like this.

EmeraldIce · 13/10/2014 17:10

Back to OP... Sorry, I'm not a school teacher but this sounds an amazing experience filled with lots of opportunities for learning. And if you are concerned about 'keeping up', you can follow the National Curriculum by looking for it online. There are plenty of books and resources tied in. Various websites can keep maths knowledge and skills progressing. Conquer Maths is great as it gives short 5 minute lessons, with exercises after the lesson. And you can sign up for it on a monthly basis if you don't want it for a whole year. Other sites probably have similar arrangements. One on one time is far more productive than how things work in schools so if you did want to follow a school like form of curriculum, it shouldn't take much time to catch up.

chickenfajitaswithnachos · 13/10/2014 17:14

I would only do it for the six week school holiday as I think I would spend the next year worrying the DC would loose their school place.

morethanpotatoprints · 13/10/2014 17:17

What is there to catch up anyway? If I child is receiving an education what would they need to catch up?
In terms of the nc then ks2 is complete before SATS and KS3 doesn't start until secondary.
Many secondary take the first year to recap y6 anyway if you think there would be "catching up" of something.

EmeraldIce · 13/10/2014 17:23

Sorry, I should add my thinking is more like morethan but just pointing out that IF keeping things in line with what school is doing is a concern for OP, it's pretty easy to do.

halamadrid · 13/10/2014 17:33

Travellers are allowed to go travelling and they get their school place back. Not sure how that works.

halamadrid · 13/10/2014 17:33

Travellers are allowed to go travelling and they get their school place back. Not sure how that works.

teacherwith2kids · 13/10/2014 17:48

You will need to check dates very carefully.

You COULD lose your primary place (actually, that is really quite likely) and you may also fail to get a secondary place because you are not resident at your address on the relevant dates (this would depend on the precise LEA / school you are applyng to, how over-subscribed they are and how strictly they check).

I don't think that there is anything wrong with taking your child out of school to travel and home educate per se. I am an ex HEer myself, after all. However, you can't expect to 'turn off' the school system and then 'turn it back on' exactly as you choose.

If you are happy to HE your children for a while after they come back OR have them transfer to another primary school with places on your return AND you have checked carefully with the LA that being 'not resident' over that precise period won't impact on your secondary application, then go for it - it sounds amazing. However, youy have to accept the downside risks, and regard the upside benefits as being sufficiently large.

For those from a Traveller background, educational outcomes are statistically SO poor (the lowest performing of all ethnic groups, historically) that specific arrangements for ensuring that they can continue to access schools are necessary. Some travellers are dual registered (so a child whose family typically travels between 2 different sites over the course of a year is allowed to be registered at 2 schools), and specific arrangements can be invoked if a traveller child turns up to reguister at a full school. However, in general, Travelleras don't access 'high profile outstanding city / suburban schools' - they are more likely to access rural schools, often in relatively less affluent areas, simply because that is where both formal and informal sites tend to be situated.

morethanpotatoprints · 13/10/2014 17:51

I can see how a HT wouldn't be too thrilled though tbh.
SATS are completely irrelevant unless you are a school attender and are for the sole purpose of the school, Ofsted and the system.
As your dd would be back in time to take SATS and the rest of the class will have been working flat out, maybe extra lessons etc as some schools go overkill on preparation, it may be seen as though she wasn't properly prepared.
Maybe it would be better if you just deregistered and left in December until the following September, missing SATS all together.

vestandknickers · 13/10/2014 18:08

My previous post was badly worded. School is optional in the sense that parents can choose to opt out and home educate, but that's not what the OP wants to do.

She wants her children to stay within the school system but take them out for two months. If you want your children educated in school, then it not an option just to use that school as and when it suits you.

It would be perfectly reasonable for the school to give your children's places to other children who will use them properly.

What is it you think your children will gain from this experience that they couldn't gain from an extended period of travel taken in the six week holiday?

tiggytape · 13/10/2014 18:17

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

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