Taking child out for holiday?

[flossletsfloss]

I'm new to all of this so would appreciate some advice. My eldest starts reception in Sept and we want to take him out of school for a week around Oct but not in Oct half term for a holiday. The reason being is that my husband is on a building job that cannot accommodate him being off during the half term. I gather from some research that I need to ask the head teacher for permission and it's unlikely they will agree. I will then get a fine which if I pay in time means everything is settled. Donmany people do this? Is it frowned upon? Surely in reception age it's not a big deal. Could there be anything worse than a fine? Surely if the fine is £120 its worth it for a lot of people to do this as the cost difference is huge. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

If it is a couple of days you won't get fined, they only do it if it is a total of 10 sessions (5 days). It's always worth checking out your schools TD days and tagging it into them if you can.

I always send an email to the school to let them know the dates they will be missing school and I always offer to take any work away with us (although they have never sent me any). I don't bother asking permission as they would only agree in certain circumstances which wouldn't apply to us, so it seems pointless asking if we are going to go anyway.
I then get a standard letter back to say they days will be marked down as unauthorised and that we can get fined etc etc...

If you pull them out for 5 days or more you will get fined £60 per parent per child. Although this can be a bit hit and miss - last time they only fined me for 1 of my children rather than 2. I also have friends who haven't been fined at all one time and then have other times

I wouldn't worry about the week out.

I'd be more worried about booking and then finding yourself isolating because of Covid within the bubble.

I'd just book and go if and when you can the day before.

Pretty much everything has changed right now.

And usually I'm in the camp of don't do it!

I did every year through primary. It was fine

As others have said, you won't be fined if you take them out any point before Jan. It is only after that they are compulsory school age.

I always offer to take any work away with us (although they have never sent me any)

As a teacher, it is so irritating when parents ask for, or ‘offer’ to do, work when they are taking their child out of school! This involves additional work for the teacher who has to find work that the parents can do and print or photocopy it all. It’s not just a case of handing over work they’ll miss - they need to be in the lesson to access that!

I would think twice about taking a reception child out for a week, so early in the settling in process. It may well unsettle them.

Are parents being fined if they do not send their DC to school next term? We are in Wales and I am convinced I saw in an email from the school parents would NOT be penalised for taking DC out of school.

I also think it's a bit cheeky for people on here to bang on about how important it is to go to school when everyone on here has been demanding schools be closed because of covid

@flossletsfloss - Your child will not be of compulsory school age until the start of term in January. You will not be fined for taking them out of school for a week in October. Indeed, you can, if you wish, decide to defer your child's entry into Reception until January.

I also think it's a bit cheeky for people on here to bang on about how important it is to go to school when everyone on here has been demanding schools be closed because of covid

You’re talking about two different things. During school closure, everyone is absent, and able to access the same resources provided by the school. Taking your child out of school when it’s open means they are missing out on learning and, in this case, on settling in.

And yes, parents can be fined for non-attendance from September.

For most children missing 1-2 weeks of primary (and for many even for key stage 3) school for a family holiday each year will have little to no impact on the child's education progress, or outcome when they do exams.

It also has little to no impact on the rest of the class, or the teachers work load either in my experience. I've taught for over 20 years and never really had an issue with any child being away for a holiday with their family. Extended leave or day off every other week or so is much more problematic.

Keep up the reading whilst away, and if you can fit in some every day learning opportunities then do so. But don't expect school to set or mark work whilst away.

My experience is that some other parents (especially on Mumsnet) may judge you way more than your child's school or their teacher.

@glitterpasta my dc’s school have never fined us!

@CanICelebrate they may not have it in their attendance policy. Some schools do, others don't. If it's not, they won't refer it to the LA for fining and the legal criteria wouldn't be met anyway without that piece of evidence.

@CanICelebrate I did say in my answer to the OP - they would be fined if the school had it in their attendance policy.

It is still relatively common to take them out for a week despite the fine. Some people still do it every year - in fact one of my problems with it is that it now seems to be mainly the better off families still taking them out.

However so early in reception, and this term after the madness of the summer, I would not do it.

Starting school is a bit like starting your first ever job, full time. It's exhausting and at only 4 or 5 they can't really take in the enormity of what is happening. It will take a few weeks for them to get over the novelty and understand that this is their life now. Imagine if you were midway through processing all that and you got whipped out for a holiday, then back into "work" again, then out again for half term. Book something to look forward to, maybe at Easter next year.

Even if he is 5 in September, as others have said, he is not of compulsory school age until the term after they turn 5, so in your case, January.

Two of my dc would not have wanted to miss school at that stage.
The third would have loved to, but it would have really unsettled him.

Reception teacher here. It will be fine and I really don't think it will have any lasting effect on education!

@Shieldingending

Reception teacher here. It will be fine and I really don't think it will have any lasting effect on education!

Yup I'm also a Reception teacher who has a son starting Rexeption in September. I wouldn't think twice about taking my son out of school. Especially as he isn't statutory school age until January (term after he turns 5) and therefore I can't be fined. It won't do any harm to her education in the long run and family time is so important. She will catch up on a weeks worth of work!

It’s really common to take kids out of school for holidays in my DC primary. The school can’t approve it but the LA have a policy of not fining so no consequences. I would be reluctant to miss a week if foundation though. Whatever you choose it won’t have a long lasting effect.

We take ours out of primary once a year every year for a week. We haven't yet been fined. It goes down as unauthorised absence and the head turns a blind eye as long as attendance is 95+% the rest of the time. Your school may well do this.

We were in a similar scenario last year. My dh had a sabbatical from work for the duration of May and June, was required to go back to work on July 29th and wasn't able to take any annual leave during August. We took our dc out of school for 3 weeks so that we could go away.

We were fined £120 but we just classed it as a cost of the holiday.

They work very hard at school and are academically very bright so I wasn't worried about them missing out on their education. Holidays (and more importantly, time spent with family) are SO much more important.

And I'm a teacher.