Travelling and requesting school to keep son’s place

[Suzyanna1503]

Hello, I’m looking for some guidance. I will be on my career break for few months and would love to travel with my son (year 4). I spoke to the headteacher who advised that I cannot pull him from school to have a break and have his place available on Sep.19 - year 5. Essentially he loses his place and I will have to apply for him to be put on a waiting list. Has anyone had any experience and what did you do? I’m donor want to lose his place and it’s sad there is no flexibility locally with school.
Thank yoi

Couldn’t you take a week off at the end of the summer term and then just do the school holidays?

Is the school oversubscribed? Will his place be filled?

My friend did this and found it incredibly frustrating that extensive travel and experiencing other cultures (in this case living in a community and attending a local school) wasn’t seen as more beneficial than staying put! They withdrew their daughter for the half term and got straight back in after. I’d be minded to speak to the LEA and see if they can do anything else.... good luck and enjoy!

My friend did this and found it incredibly frustrating that extensive travel and experiencing other cultures (in this case living in a community and attending a local school) wasn’t seen as more beneficial than staying put! They withdrew their daughter for the half term and got straight back in after. I’d be minded to speak to the LEA and see if they can do anything else.... good luck and enjoy!

Nobody is saying travelling and experiencing new cultures isn't beneficial, but why should the school keep a space open for a child for several months when there may be another child waiting for a space in that school, and who may be travelling to a school further away?

This would be the case in every school. They cannot authorise term time holiday, they aren't allowed to. Your HT is not being mean.

I think we can remove the school place after 4-6 weeks of unauthorised absense. A school cannot keep a place for a child who is not there. It’s not fair on others who may need a school place and actually attend....

From the flip side, I am a teacher and have had children in my class off-rolled because their parents have done similar.

If you're determined to go, the best thing you can do IMO is be honest with the school to keep a positive relationship, and apply for readmission as soon as you arrive home. You'll have to accept the chance that your son's place will have been filled in the meantime, but I can't see that you have any other option if you're determined to travel during school time.

So you want your absent child to take up a state funded place that another child could be using?

Do your travelling in the summer holidays. Y4 is too high up the school to miss months without having difficulty catching up.