Holiday fines for taking kids out of school, is the government missing the point?

[Supersares]

With the government announcing today they’re increasing the fine from £60 to £80 per parent, does anyone else think the government is missing the point here? I assume that the reason most parents have holidays during term time is to avoid the extortionate cost of going during the 6 week summer break. Wouldn’t it be better to clamp down on holiday companies hiking their charges instead… or am I missing something?

So the solution to low attendance is to exclude pupils? Got it.

Apologies.. my message was aimed at those who think education is easily accessible, whenever.

It does seem unfair that children in private schools get the extra weeks holiday when families can go away more cheaply, when they are clearly more wealthy families! I don't know what the answer is, though.

@Jessie3
The problem is that some kids could easily take a year off at primary school, basically skip the year, and still find themselves perfecting able to flourish.
Other children struggle while attending every single lesson and never missing a day.
It's annoying when this isn't acknowledged and we all have to pretend otherwise.

I don’t think that’s true in the slightest. I also think it’s something middle class parents tell themselves to justify taking their kids out of school in term time. I have an acquaintance who is actually also a school governor and chose to take her children out of school to go on holiday to Australia, saying ‘My kids are bright, they will be fine.’

I’m appalled at this argument, which basically boils down to my kids can have a holiday with no consequences, because they aren’t thick. Kidding themselves!

If you want the free education provided by the govt and to hand over your legal responsibility to the school to provide your child with an education, then you NEED to follow the rules of getting that massive handout.
It's what you agreed to when you asked for this handout.

You can of course home educate your child, which means you pay for everything, you are legally responsible for everything (including paying for exams) and that means you can take your holiday any time you like without a fine.

Parents in private schools also PAY for what you expect others to pay for so why should they have to follow the same rules as state educated kids?

I'm really tired of people who want to have their cake and eat it.

You aren't owed a holiday away at out of season prices AND a free education for your children that everyone else is forced to pay for even if they don't have kids.

What if you want to do a particular cultural event that only happens once a year as a family?

Are we saying that things like Chinese New Year or Ramadan might not be important and are equivalent to a week in Benidorm for some families.

Travelling at these times won't be cheap either.

In that case , I’d happily take time out to bring a child up to speed.

Quite.

If your child is at primary school and working above the expected level they WILL be repeating some stuff at a later point because the educational system is geared towards 'no one left behind'.

If your child is below the expected level they can't afford to miss a day really because they are already behind.

No, it isn’t. There is one sequence of Y6 algebra lessons that aren’t covered anywhere else in the primary curriculum. You miss it, tough luck.

And that's just one example.

And others such as ratio and proportion, aspects of geometry (area of triangles, circumference, diameter etc)

You need to find a country with different school holidays. And book while their kids are at school but yours are off.
In Scotland (where we live) school holidays start in June and end in August. So every resort in England considers the first few weeks "off peak".
Obviously if you're English and considering a trip to the Highlands the reverse is true and you'll get a better price towards the end.
We recently went to Efterling (a theme park in Holland). The Netherlands have a rolling school holiday with different regions taking time off in different weeks. There was still one tiny magic week when all their kids are at school and ours are off. We snuck our holiday in then.

Anyone know if the August start date is the date of the absence or the date of the fine being issued? Taking DD out for a week end of July 😬 usually takes months to issue the fine.

Does anyone know how long local authorities have to issue the fines? I took DS out of school for a holiday in July last year, fully expecting to get fined but it hasn't as yet materialised. I wondered if we should still be expecting the fine to be issued at some point

They have to issue the court summons within 6 months of the final day of absence, so 5 months to give you 28 days to pay. So you’re clear of a fine.

😂😂😂

I live in Ireland and people take there kids out to go on holidays, no one really passes much remarks. I'm on an Irish parenting forum and have seen teachers say it's less disruptive to take out at the end if the school year rather than the beginning but thats really it. I think the general consensus is its the parents' decision not the schools/governments. I've done it before but my kids miss almost no days off during the year. I don't think it's a big deal.

‘You do you’….lI think that’s exactly right…parents should do what suits them financially and otherwise with regards to holidays….if you can’t afford 2 weeks in August….but can afford 2 weeks in June …then go for it….I look back on when mine were young and the holidays we had and they were the best times…,,don’t regret for a moment taking mine out of school , the various times I did it…..my DD does the same now with her girls

In our LA it's one fine issued to each parent for 10 sessions missed over a term so around 12 weeks. The school has to request the penalty by filling in the relevant form and sending in proof of holiday request, denial of request and attendance percentage of the pupil for the year.
It's deters some parents but not others.

Why would you be appalled by something that may very well be true?
My kids could easily have taken weeks off school and suffered no academic consequences at a bog standard UK primary school, in the same way up until my mid 40's I could eat whatever I chose and not put on any weight.

I believe whole heartedly in the benefits of "school" for most children, but if we are only considering the academic side then bright children would actually only need to apply themselves for a couple of hours to catch up on a week of primary school.

Agree with this. I'd consider going to visit an elderly relative or to a cultural event that is at a set time of year as valid.

Hence the thought that you could make package holidays less attractive by no child reductions in term time.

Something that is aimed at the parents, not exclusion.

Would this stop parents expecting first dibs at summer/Christmas/Easter holidays?

I think we should trust parents to make decisions based on what is best for their families. Term time holidays are not the root cause of persistent absence. A week off (usually in late June or early July when in recent years it has been over 30 Degrees so no learning is happening) isn't the be all and end all. Breaks down children the world of good. Perhaps more focus should be given to persistent truants who truant without parental permission or knowledge.

We also need to address why some children find attending schools so hard and work to make the school environment work for them. Maybe the government can start fining parents when there is suitable provision for all children. If they put half the effort into creating suitable provision for all that they do into fines there would be a lot more much needed Special School and Alternative provision that carers for spiky profiles.