Reception Term time Holidays

[Roseaal]

Hi

My little one is august born and will be 4. Her reception year is starting on mid September. We have booked holidays and she will be missing out exactly 9/10 days. I haven't mentioned anything to school yet. The only reason we booked holidays was vast price difference in holidays during term time. We are going back home to meet family.

I'm now worried will we be incurring fine? And can I make her start the very next day after returning from holidays. I don't want her to miss out. She used to attend nursery 15 hours per week.

Need your advice!!

There are 2 sessions - morning counts as one session, afternoon another for attendance purposes.

I'd cancel the holiday. Truly. It's a dreadful idea.

Can you not move your holiday dates to something closer to the half term dates?

I am a teacher. I know that schools cannot fine parents at all when their child isn't of statutory school age (term after they are 5).

But for what it's worth, I took my son out for a total of 4 days (3 different occasions) for holidays and a graduation and not only did I not get fined, but it was authorised too and 2 days for holidays and the graduation day was AFTER he was 5.

My school business manager said that in our county, HTs only send off forms after 5 days of absence.

I believe that isn't the case. If you accept the school place you accept being bound by the rules

You believe wrong. The offence for which you can be fined is failure to secure regular attendance at school of a registered pupil of compulsory school age. If the child is not of compulsory school age you have not committed any offence so cannot be fined.

They're not of legal education age, until, I think, the term following their fifth birthday. But, and correct me if I'm wrong. Once they register with a school they have abide by the rules, which probably include no holidays in term time.

There are no such thing as "compulsory school age".

*is

You're right, tittygolightly! I was careful to say education

I spotted that. prh47bridge wasn't. ;)

Agree with others that the first two weeks is the worst possible time to take a reception child out of school. Your child may be the world’s best mixer and a social butterfly but it’s still a tough two weeks. My DD2 has just completed reception with the majority of her classmates having come from nursery with her and she still struggled. Expectations are different, it’s not as much like nursery as you’d think.

Titty, I hope you know that prh is a professional/expert in this field...

And yet their terminology is wildly incorrect.

Would you have wanted to miss the first two weeks of your first term at secondary school or university? I doubt it. What an incredibly selfish time to take a holiday, your poor DD. Agree with everything that others have said about her missing the vital settling in stage.

While technically correct that until they term after they turn 5 they are not of compulsory school age, if you enrol them in school before that you agree to comply with the school attendance rules, so would be fined if you fail to send them to school during term time.

At least that's what our school says in its info!

I remember missing the first couple of days of secondary in my first few years there and hating it. It seemed to take me all term to catch up.

It's extremely unlikely that anyone can enforce a fine, unless it's written into the home-school policy from the beginning of the child's education at that school... Although technically it could be argued that if it's the first couple of weeks of YR, then the child hasn't begun education with that school until after the holiday anyway... [la la la, fingers in ears]

From my experience as both a parent and a governor, and also from serving as an appeals panel member, whilst it is is probably not ideal to miss the first couple of weeks it is nowhere near as catastrophic as some posters make out. Many children will be starting YR after the start of term for various reasons. My own DC have had other children joining their YR classes after Oct half-term or in January as parents wanted to delay starting; families move into an area and for whatever reason the move doesn't happen as quickly as expected; waiting list places become available (3 in my DC1's cohort - 2 weeks in, 3 weeks in, and after half-term when the child hadn't shown up and couldn't be contacted). I have 3 late YR admissions appeals (from late applications) already lined up for September; it is likely that the parents will be keeping their children in nursery until the result of the appeal is known, rather than risk disruption.

Communication with the school would be good though, especially if they are planning a home visit!

That's how I've understood it, yetanotherdeskmove. And I'm certain children not of compulsory education age have been pursued for absence and holidays in term time, just as any other pupil on the school roll (I used to work in secondary, so am rather vague), though a fine might be more difficult to impose. I'd like to find out for certain actually.

I think the fine is neither here nor there.
The issue is putting a holiday before starting school; it's terrible parenting.

Yes, at the very beginning of a school year it wouldn't seem like a good idea.

And yet their terminology is wildly incorrect

No, my terminology is spot on. Under the Education Act 1996 it is called compulsory school age. I agree it is something of a misnomer since parents are not required to send their children to school, only to ensure that they receive suitable full time education. But, nonetheless, that is the legal term as defined in Section 8 of the Act and referred to by that name repeatedly throughout the Act.

While technically correct that until they term after they turn 5 they are not of compulsory school age, if you enrol them in school before that you agree to comply with the school attendance rules, so would be fined if you fail to send them to school during term time

By law the fine is for failing to secure regular attendance at school of a registered pupil of compulsory school age (Education Act 1996 S444). You cannot legally be fined for failing to send a child who is not of compulsory school age to school. Any attempt to impose such a fine will fail because the parents have not committed any offence. Even if it is written into the home-school policy a fine still cannot be applied because neither the school nor the LA has the legal authority to impose such a fine. I do know what I'm talking about.

yetanotherdeskmove - Sorry, hadn't seen your second post. If your school says that it is wrong. If the head genuinely thinks they can impose fines for children who are not yet of compulsory school age the LA will put them right when they try it. If the head is aware that fines cannot be imposed in this situation they should not try to frighten parents in this way.

Why have you waited till September for this holiday? Could you not have gone in June / July before school holidays began? I realise it's too late for that now, but it seems strange to wait till the beginning of a school year!

Education Act (1996) uses that term, of course. However, online and nowadays, many people use it in inverted commas or refer to it as 'compulsory education age' instead, as do I. It avoids ruffling feathers, too!

Titty Google is your friend. But so is the dfe on this occasion.

I think she'll have a great holiday!

Two weeks is nothing in the scheme of things - some parents are over invested in the 'most important weeks'

No they aren't GCSE exam week is probably the most important 2 weeks - there won't be much to 'catch up on'