Term time holiday year 7

[Bewildered2021]

Hi I’m wanting to take my kids out of school for either 2, 2.5 or 3 days max just before the May half term. Two are in primary school ( year 3 and 5 ) and are doing well but since Secondary school is new to me I need some advice about whether or not this is the right thing to do. My year 7 daughter is in the top sets at school but is struggling with science and geography. Her attendance is currently 98.9 %. Is it frowned upon for a child to take a child out of secondary school for 2 -3 days? I realise I am likely to get fined but simply cannot afford to travel three days later when the half term begins as the same holiday costs nearly £1000 more.

Obviously the school will frown up on this if you tell the truth. But seriously in year 7 that is no big deal. I would if I wasn't a teacher....

Loads of people do it. Some people lie about it and pretend their kids are ill, others just request the time off, don't get it authorised and go anyway.

Another teacher here saying do it.

Thanks! I didn’t need much persuading and will book the holiday. I will probably call her in sick for two days but if it’s 3 days I will tell the truth and request the time off. Her school is so strict that that even when the children are sick they request medical evidence and unauthorise the absence.

Might it be internal exams week?

To be honest, I would just tell the truth. I wouldn't worry about two days holiday in Y7 as a teacher, but in my role as form tutor if I figured out a parent had lied about the reason their child missed school, I'd probably report it as a safeguarding concern.

You've got a long time to have a relationship with this school- if you start it off on the footing that you don't always tell them the truth, then that can get quite difficult.

I don't think there's much of an issue with missing 2-3 days at that point in Y7 if her attendance is generally good.

Not all schools do this, and it's far more likely for this to happen after GCSEs and A-levels are over. Week before half term is quite an intense time for exam year groups (often the last week before study leave) so it wouldn't be a usual time to do end of year exams in most schools.