How to take kids out of school for a 6 week holiday?

[Nateismine]

Hi

We are in the lucky position of being able to take a one off 6 week holiday from work. This will be a trip of a lifetime. We want to take DS age 6 and DS age 9 to NZ.
This will need to be during term time.

How can I do this? I know this won't be authorised so do I need to 'deregister' them from school, homeschool for the 6 weeks and then reapply for a place back at the school again? I don't want to mess the school around but really want to take up this trip of a lifetime.

Any advice welcome.
Thanks

[Hesdeadjim]

RE: Traveller arguement. There's a misconception that equality = fairness, it's not the case. Equity = fairness. If someone is disadvantaged to begin with, the job of s fair society is to give them the help they need to overcome those disadvantages, not to treat them like everyone else.

I often with this meme was seen more often.

[ScarletSienna]

Our parents did this with us as children and we also went to a small village school. It's one of my favourite memories and definitely gave me a taste for travel (and a probably a taste for not doing what is expected by society too a bit!). If the classes aren't full and there no waiting lists then it'd be extremely unlucky for no places to be available after half a term.

[WhatInTheWorldIsGoingOn]

Missing 6 weeks of school will be of zero detriment to your children. Don't even home school when you're away. Just have a lovely time as a family and enjoy it. Throw yourself at the mercy of your headteacher. Jump through whatever hoops they require. You might get away with it. Depending on where you are deregistering might mean your place is gone when you get back and is best avoided.

[claraschu]

FreeNiki HE is not staying inside and teaching children, especially in primary school. You can HE on holiday, and it just enhances the holiday, makes it more fun, significant, and memorable.

[FreeNiki]

What's the point in a 6 week holiday if you plan to homeschool?

Will you really even do that? The travel time and acclimatising will knock out the first week, leaving 5 weeks. Are you really going to spend a significant portion of the day indoors teaching them?

Just take them out and accept they'll miss all that school or take the holiday in term time.

[Nateismine]

Thanks for the input. Creating a new religion and suing is an interesting idea! I'm determined to go as I think it's an amazing experience for the family. Our jobs mean the time off cannot be during holidays.

I'll speak to the head and see what she thinks. Nice to hear that some of you have done this and loved it.

[mmgirish]

Sounds amazing! I would definitely go for it if I were you. What a great experience for you all as a family. Go and be straight with the ht.

[LouKout]

Don't think it's really fair that children from traveller communities get special treatment!

They are a protected group and this is an equality measure so that the kids can access education like others. HtH.

[claraschu]

We have done this. It was great for everyone. With the older children we were registered as having no fixed abode because of our work, and took several interesting and extended trips. With our youngest we deregistered her for 7 weeks at one point because year 6 was too dull, with its dreary obsession with SATs results.

Our kids learned SO much on their breaks from formal education. We did put a lot of thought and energy into it, though.

[prh47bridge]

The rules apply to any child who has no fixed abode because their parent needs to move from place to place as part of their trade or business, not just children of the traditional traveller communities.

The fact that these children move around the country and cannot attend a single school all year gives them a distinct disadvantage in educational terms. Giving them a base school which cannot de-register them is an attempt to counter that to some degree. Children who have a fixed address do not have the same disadvantage.

Timmy cannot go to New Zealand for a holiday even if he is a traveller. He can only go if the parents are travelling as part of their trade or business.

[Hersetta427]

I'm sorry but 6 weeks is too long to have them out of school - lets face it you won't really educate them formally whilst you are away. I think you need to make more of an effort to have it overlap school holidays.

We had one girl who took at extended trip to the US to visit family and missed 6 weeks - her school place was removed and a new pupil started in her place.

[PippaFawcett]

Equality isn't about everything looking the same, Toobloodytired, it is about what is fair.

It is fair that local authorities permit travellers to pursue their lifestyle without it being detrimental to the children's access to education. It is also fair that the rest of us have other hurdles to jump over, otherwise we would all be dipping in and out as we saw fit.

[Toobloodytired]

So it's not what I think, it's completely relevant!

Sorry sandy you can't go to NZ because you are a gorger

Oh of course you can go to NZ Timmy! Only because you are a traveller.


Yep, great way to teach kids about equality

[Toobloodytired]

But it's discrimination against gorgers!

[SuburbanRhonda]

Don't think it's really fair that children from traveller communities get special treatment!

With respect, it's irrelevant what you think - it's the law.

[SuburbanRhonda]

Dad's middle school had quite a lot of traveller children who were off for months at a time and the local authority had to keep a school place for them, so I think you should be ok!

We have a very high proportion of traveller (showmen) families in our school. They all have extended periods away working. Only one child is dual-registered - the others just take the time off and it's coded as travelling, not unauthorised absence.

As long as they are present for a minimum number of sessions (I think it's 200 per year), it's fine.

[Toobloodytired]

Don't think it's really fair that children from traveller communities get special treatment!

Op, tell the school you have become a part of the travellers community & are travelling for 6 weeks but you'll be back, they legally have to keep the place open for you!

Or create a religion, tell them your belief is to travel to NZ for 6 weeks a year.....if they say no, sue them for discrimination!

Problem solved!

[confuugled1]

Do you have any relatives (real or otherwise, close or not!) that live over there?

There used to be some provision in the guidelines which enabled parents to take dc out of school for 6? weeks or so, which was aimed at parents who had families abroad (long distance rather than in France!) and wanted to visit them as it recognised that it's expensive to travel long distances and so you want to go for a worthwhile length of time but due to circumstances (particularly if say you were going for a wedding or funeral or a particular event) it might not fall in the long holidays.

I haven't seen it mentioned recently so it might have been removed when they updated the guidelines a couple of years ago, but I know someone who took their dc to india for several weeks to spend time with a very ill grandfather, as there were some raised eyebrows in the playground from some people due to having problems getting a week authorised but others getting 6 weeks authorised.

I'm sure there are others on here that will remember the details of the provision and what it's officially called - but might be worth digging a bit and seeing if you could make it work for you!

[PippaFawcett]

No advice but it is my dream to go travelling with DH and the DC so keep us posted and have a great time!

[prh47bridge]

I think it depends on school and attitude and I think we were really lucky

It does and you were. If the school had a waiting list the parents of the child at the head of that list would have had a good case for arguing that your child's place should have been offered to them.

[prh47bridge]

Huh. Dad's middle school had quite a lot of traveller children who were off for months at a time and the local authority had to keep a school place for them, so I think you should be ok

Traveller children will be registered at more than one school. There is special provision for them (and other children who have to move a lot due to their parents' occupation) within the regulations. The school does indeed have to keep their place for them. However, other children the place can be removed if they are absent for 20 days or more without authorisation and where the absence is not due to sickness or some other unavoidable cause.

[hackneyzoo]

We did this and were away for 5 and a half weeks with our DC. We were up front with the HT and it just went down as unauthorized absence. I think it depends on school and attitude and I think we were really lucky!

[GallivantingWildebeest]

Dd's, not dad's!

[GallivantingWildebeest]

Huh. Dad's middle school had quite a lot of traveller children who were off for months at a time and the local authority had to keep a school place for them, so I think you should be ok!

Sounds like a great trip. Be honest with the HT. Ask what you can do with the DC to keep them in the loop.

[prh47bridge]

The fine is not per day. It's per parent per child but covers the whole of the unauthorised absence

The link you give does not say that. Legally the LA is entitled to fine for each unauthorised absence. Each half day missed is a separate unauthorised absence. In practice most LAs only fine per period of absence or have a maximum number of days per period of absence for which they will fine. But that is the LA's decision. If they want to fine for each day missed (or even each half day missed) they have the legal powers to do so.