Take son out for one day

[Dancingatthepinkponyclub]

My son is in year 1 and we would like to take him out for one day to go to LEGOLAND. At the weekend the queues are ridiculous and I just know he won’t want to wait around in them!

There are holidays forms you can complete for this but will this likely be rejected? We don’t have a real reason other than massive queues! I don’t want to pretend he is poorly as this feels like bad karma and also he will tell his mates where he was!!

He hasn’t had any time off this school year and I feel he won’t miss loads for one day.

Other parents I know take their kids out for whole weeks for skiing etc!

Take him on an inset day? We always have a random Monday in June given off for teacher training and go then and it’s much quieter

Just do it. Tell the school - it'll be unauthorised but there's nothing they can do and you won't get fined over a day!

He's your son not the schools, do whatever you like it's one day he's hardly going to miss anything important. Have fun !

Just do it, fill out the holiday form. Like you say many parents take kids out for week long holidays (I have done myself), one day will be fine.

Of course it won't be authorised (just like week long holidays aren't). They can't stop you going, but they are definitely not going to give you permission. It will be unauthorised.

The training day suggestion is a great one. Schools up and down the country do different days, it won't be anywhere near as busy as a weekend or school holiday day.

Personally I hate this attitude of "it's only one day, he'll hardly miss anything important" (not your words OP, but someone else's on this thread). Every school day is important! Why send them at all if school is apparently not important? It's only learning after all, not important at all 🙄. Illness can't be helped, but any days off impact in some way. They'll definitely miss things. The attitude of one-off days off for frivolous things sets such a bad example to your children.

He doesn’t have an inset day until September and when we went a few years ago for his Birthday in September it rained all day!

Need to have a think about it but I personally don’t think one day is a problem as I know he will love it.

It won't be authorised
But they won't do anything about it if its just a one off.

I would do it you don't get fined until 5 days . If he has otherwise good attendance one day won’t hurt.

I am doing it. For Legoland too. My child is older than yours and has good attendance. They’re ASD and while they would cope with lines they’ll enjoy it more when it’s quieter. I was honest with the school and though it’s unauthorised they understood my reasoning.

I did this before the fines came in. We had several brilliant days out and made lots of memories. Do it on a Friday if possible so DC won't go bragging about it the next day. Just before the school holidays can be good. Not so quiet but they are unlikely to miss anything important as school is winding down. Hope you have a brilliant time!

It is 4 and a half, not five, over ten weeks. And they can fine if parents are abusing that system.

op, im doing it for our easter hols but half a day as the youngest doesnt have the same school holidays as the older two or me. It has come back unauthorised, of course.

Of course it will be rejected, there's weeks of holidays for theme parks. September is often dry anyway

I wouldn't, but I on MN I am in the minority. For me it's about setting the standards and leading by example. On a school day, we go to school.

What do some of these parents who are saying it's a bad idea think home schooling parents do? They can class loads of different things as being 'schooled' including trips out! Their kids aren't lashing because they aren't stuck in a stuffy classroom for almost 6 hours a day learning about mostly nonsense that's from an outdated curriculum that is completely irrelevantin today's world. Take your ds op and let him make memories he will keep for the rest of his life. The school can't do a thing about one unauthorised day, let alone find you.

We used to have annual passes, and random weekends at this time of year (and up to even early May, and then again in September) are pretty quiet. If you choose a wet day, even quieter.

I remember one day it was so quiet, they let us eat our picnic just going round and round the fairy-tale boats.

pre Covid we would take ours out for a day just before the summer holidays started and took them to either Alton Twers or Lego land for the day. We got the weather, small queues. We are taking them out for a day in June this year to do Legoland for the first time since covid.

My personal view is that we shouldn't be pulling kids out of school for things that could otherwise be done at weekends/holidays just to save money or avoid queues.

Most posters are right that one day here or there isn't going to harm your child in the long run, but I feel like teachers are already under so much pressure, that having to catch up a handful of kids every week on the different things they missed can turn into a massive time suck when multiplied by every absence! So what is a logical choice to make as an individual family ends up having an overall detrimental impact on the group as a whole.

For what it's worth, we're heading to Legoland on the weekend later this month and have opted to pay for reserve & ride so that we can do as much as possible before our little ones time out!

You can never predict the weather. Just look at last year, it rained most days throughout May and June! Saying you don't want to wait until September because it might rain is just being ridiculous.

I’d just lie 😂

You can hardly compare the two situations. Dress it up however you like, a trip to Legoland is not a trip with education in mind. If home ed families visit Legoland during term time, surely they treat it as a non-school day and make the time up? You can't do that if you attend school. If you choose to send your children to school, you agree to abide by their term dates.

It's a pointless argument. Home ed families have great freedom to add museum visits, art gallery trips and days at the farm etc into their school days. If they choose to visit Legoland, it's purely for pleasure.

Not really ridiculous is it! It’s a lot of money and a long journey for us for it to rain! But I do get it can rain at any time but our plan is to look at weather forecast then book.

It won't be authorised so don't bother asking,

We once did Legoland in the pouring rain and it was great - nobody else was there! The kids loved it.

He’s only little, if you take him out on a Friday he’ll talk to his friends about it as being at the weekend. And don’t tell him in advance.

Of course it's not ridiculous to want to avoid the rain where possible (although the only time I ever went to Legoland as a kid it chucked it down all day, August no less, and we had a fabulous time!) These things can never be planned to precision, as many parents need to book time off work weeks in advance of such trips.

I meant it's ridiculous to write off September because it once rained when you went then. We've had heatwaves in early September in other years! There are no guarantees at any time of the year, with the great British weather. Ultimately if you want to take your child out of school for a hopefully sunny, quieter day at a theme day, it's your decision. Just don't expect school to support your decision. There are alternatives.

It won't be anywhere near as busy at weekends in March/April as it will be in June/July. It won't be quite as busy in the Easter hols as it will in the August summer holiday. Personally, I think a day out to Legoland on what should be a school day is nothing more than skiving and is a dreadful example to set to your child, but each to their own.