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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

Taking reception child out of school for one day

23 replies

Lunablue765 · 15/02/2018 21:06

Hello due to possible relocation of my hubs job we are going to visit the area which is hundreds of miles from where we live his appointment is a Friday so leaving on a Thursday late afternoon straight after school. What do I tell the school or do i claim my child is poorly ? Thanks

OP posts:

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user789653241 · 15/02/2018 21:11

Just tell the truth?

Dontrocktheboat · 15/02/2018 21:13

Seems reasonable to tell the truth! You have the right to take your child out of school in any case.

Original poster

Lunablue765 · 15/02/2018 21:33

Would we face a possible fine for taking my child out though ? That would truly be an expensive day

OP posts:

dementedpixie · 15/02/2018 21:34

Does the fine count for 1 day?

ScipioAfricanus · 15/02/2018 21:43

I don’t think they’d fine for one day. I think they reserve that for holidays (a week or more) and even then only if the area is big on fines or attendance already bad. I took my son out for a very unusual holiday in Yr 1 for eight days and though it wasn’t authorised, we had no fine.

I’d be honest about your absence and they’ll probably put it down as unauthorised (because they hardly authorise any circumstance unless directly related to education IME) but no big deal.

carringtonm · 15/02/2018 21:50

The school I work at will give three days authorised absence. Your child isn't statutory school age until the term after their fifth birthday, so unless they were born in September-December then there can be no fine even for a holiday at this stage of the year.

Be honest and it might be authorised anyway. And if it's not, it's not. I doubt you can be fined for a random day off due to family circumstances.

BrendansDanceShoes · 15/02/2018 21:57

I'd be honest. School's don't fine for absence, it's the local authority. But they need to be sent all the paperwork from the school. It's a lot of effort on the school's part to do this for one day, so given the circumstances, surely only a draconian HT would use their resources in this way?

BuggerOffAndGoodDayToYou · 15/02/2018 22:13

Under those circumstances, for one day, we would authorise as exceptional circumstances.

Schools CANNOT fine. The local authority are the ones who fine and one day absence is not going to draw the attention of the educational welfare officer if attendance is usually good.

Original poster

Lunablue765 · 15/02/2018 22:49

My child's attendance is pretty good she had 4.5 days off at the start of school but has been going 100% since then she is an October baby so is now past the term after her fifth birthday.

OP posts:

redbirdblackbird · 15/02/2018 22:51

When is / was she 5? It only counts the term after they are 5

FineSpanishLady · 15/02/2018 23:07

Needs to be a minimum of five days in any 50 days unauthorised to get a fine. I'd definitely be honest. Might be unauthorised, but the school is likely to respect you a lot more for being honest. And asking your child to lie about being ill is massively undermining of the school's authority.

prh47bridge · 15/02/2018 23:29

The rules as to how much unauthorised leave leads to a fine vary from LA to LA. However, I don't know any that would fine for a single day's unauthorised absence. Tell them the truth. You won't get fined.

TittyGolightly · 15/02/2018 23:30

Depends where you are. In Wales this would be no problem.

user789653241 · 16/02/2018 05:44

If prh47 says you won't get fined, you won't. He is an expert. I will trust his opinion.

spanieleyes · 16/02/2018 07:50

We give an authorised absence in such circumstances ( obviously if the appointment was a week long one in Disneyland we might have a different view point!)

Leiaorganashair · 16/02/2018 10:42

I would just phone in sick for the sake of one day.

spanieleyes · 16/02/2018 12:36

Please don't! There is no need, your child will dob you in and the teacher will just think you are daft!

BuggerOffAndGoodDayToYou · 16/02/2018 13:02

I would just phone in sick for the sake of one day.

PLEASE don’t. Children nearly always tell someone the truth especially if it’s something as exciting as a possible move or day out somewhere different and then the school will doubt you next time there is a genuine illness.

As I said, in your circumstances the school is certainly allowed to authorise the absence. Put it in writing. State that you are taking the child out of school for one day and the reason why and ask that they authorise it as an exceptional circumstance and advise them that you will keep them fully informed if it looks like the move will be going ahead.

FineSpanishLady · 16/02/2018 15:16

Oh ok, I assumed the threshold for a fine would be the same in every LA. How interesting. And how unfair!

falang · 16/02/2018 15:34

Tell the truth. If your child is not statutory school age it doesn't matter and even if they aren't you won't be fined for one day if you have no other unauthorised absences.

bangingmyheadoffabrickwall · 17/02/2018 13:46

My county done for absence totalling 10 sessions or more which is 5 school days.
I have known parents who are having a 4 night break at CP to send their child to school on the Monday morning and so they miss only 9.5 sessions and don’t get fined.
This is only for 10 sessions total within the academic year and at the beginning of the academic year the process starts again.
I have not known anyone to be fined for 10 session or more absence when it is spread out.
Personally I don’t agree with the current system. Every child’s application should be judged according to the child’s personal attendance. A blanket rule doesn’t tackle persistent absenteeism of children who regularly miss 1 or 2 days most weeks due to neglect by parents.
I have a child in my class whose attendance is 89% and EWO is NOT involved yet and a child whose attendance has been above 97% and went on a weeks break to CP and got fined for it.
That is a message of it’s okay to have regular days off because you can’t be arsed but take a much needed family break when attendance (and academic achievement) is sound (or in the case of the child whose parents wee fiend is above average) and that’s not.
A bit of a messed up system but as usual the government bring in a rule to make themselves look good in front of voters but has actually no affect on the very people they say it wants to tackle, whatsoever.

TinaMena · 17/02/2018 23:45

If the school say 'no', I would probably respond under the law of averages, two thirds of the class aren't of compulsory school age, and they are not legally required to be at school, so if any of them took a day off it wouldn't be an issue. Therefore it cannot be an issue if your child took a day off

FineSpanishLady · 18/02/2018 08:20

But Tina that's just not true! If you're of compulsory school age then you're of compulsory age - it doesn't make any difference how many of the other children in the year are.

Laughing I do agree with you, but the trouble is, it's actually very difficult unless you do have a rule. It's very open to abuse and unfair discrepancies if there isn't a rule (one Head is very lenient, one isn't). FWIW, the school my kids are at does request fines for unauthorised absence that's not consecutive - ie a day here, a day there. Has to meet a total threshold though.

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