Are Term Time holidays really so terrible?

[caffeinated]

At ds school if you want to take your child out of school during term time you have to compose a letter to the headteacher. We have planned a holiday in early July and as ds has perfect attendance and is a keen learner making very good progress I didn't think it would be a big issue.

I have just received my response from the headteacher in the post which explains that they have reluctantly accepted my request but that it will be detrimental to ds's education and he's likely to return and have no friends as in these formative years children quickly forget about each other and form new friendships in the absence of their normal playmates.

So now I obviously feel dreadful. He's only in reception is it really gonna ruin his life as his school are indicating?

What??? He'll have no friends??? The Headteacher is mad! I understand that they have to appear to frown on term-time holidays but this is totally OTT! Go and enjoy your holiday - your son will pick up where he left off when he gets back.

My son had to have alot more than two weeks off in reception due to health problems and he still has buckets of friends!
I know that Headteachers are supposed tyo discourage adsence for holidays in termtime but making up scare stories is a bit mad

It's bonkers. I get quite furious about this malarkey. I can see we will be taking unauthorised leave every year (it's never authorised at our school). I am absolutely sure that dd learns more on holiday than she does at school.

They're just desperate to have thier books look good.

I swear if it wouldn't send me insane I would home school, I get so fed up with this kind of nonsense.

oh FFS, what a stupid and childish response and this was the HT?

We have 4 DC in two different countries and three different schools (4 schools from Sept)
We had planned to return to UK this summer and for DC3 to go to prep school which would give her similar holidays as DC1 and DC2.
We have however changed our plans and she will be going into F1 in September where we are currently living. I explained that we'd already booked a holiday (over a year ago) to fit in with DC1 and 2's school hols (they are doing A2s and GCSEs) and holiday was booked (and flights paid for) before we even registered DC3 at her new school.

We have had school policy thrust at us which says no more than 10 days off a year and I know of several parents who have had the threat of their DCs place being withdrawn if they go over this. Have therefore today had to seek written permission for DC to go on a pre-planned holiday. Fingers crossed they say yes otherwise it could get difficult.

Caffeinated what you have described in our school is the standard procedure in our school except the final step which goes 'So I filed the letter and we all went away on a lovely family holiday in which my child learnt an equal and probably greater amount than he would have had he been in school'.

My children attend a v. good school (one that figures in the top 20 primary schools (according to the much disliked league tables) in the country. The head teacher never authorises leave during term time, but it's understood that we as parents take it anyway. I think this means their figures for attendence are maintained and yet children get holidays with their families.

I personally feel that (so long as it's not abused) a child at primary school benefits from the experiences they are likely to have if their parents remove them from school for a holiday, yet I am determined my children will be well educated.

Maybe you could talk to parents of older children in your school to see if they operate as ours does? Maybe be brave and do it (take dc out) anyway?

I feel your pain mumoverseas. Dh and I have 4 nationalities between us with close family on 3 continents all with completely difference school holiday schedules. I'm hoping our school operates as Easywriter describes.

The Headteacher is following instructions from Ofsted. We just had an inspection which saw us gain good or outstanding in everything, apart from attendance which was satisfactory. Guess what target they have left us?

We have been forced to move from a policy of allowing term time holidays with permission to refusing all holidays - neither the staff nor the governors want to do this, but we have no choice.

Go on holiday - nothing will happen. But the headteacher is only giving you grief for it because it's his job!

I think its just a form letter. Don't pay any attention to it.

Mine are all at secondary school now, and I wish we'd taken more holidays when it was cheap and not so crowded.

Your child isn't going to miss much this year. But the head teacher is doing his job. Higher up the school it can disrupt a child's learning to be off school, and makes it harder for a teacher to plan group projects or to complete assessments if attendance is bad. Two weeks holiday counts as 5 per cent absence and if every parent did the same in a school the absence rate would be shocking.

fines on parents story on BBC

I don't know what Tory policy will be but more parents are getting fined for taking children out on holiday if it happens regularly.