Taking kids out of school for holidays

[daftscotslass]

my parents always got extra work for me to do while on holiday (what they would be covering in my absence) don't they do that any more???

I'm more than happy to give work home to kids who are off for whatever reason. Everyone I know (and everyone on here too I'm sure) would help their kids with the work but I have one person this year and had 2 last year who would tell their child the answers to fill in for maths which didn't help the kids at all and they ended up more confused. One this year even wrote some of the answers down for him - I recognised her writing from notes!

It's not just the filling in the answers bit/writing things down that kids miss being off, it's the actual teaching element where new things are introduced. That said, though, for the last few weeks towards the end of term (be it Christmas, Easter or summer) they are really just revising what they've learned already so tend not to miss much.

All in all it's down to personal choice - I'll never be able to do it myself unless I give up teaching. Most folk are sensible about it and don't take their kids out for weeks on end every year.

 

[uncle_bens]

yep

 

[skairdykat]

I have just come back off our holiday and had to fill in form's for the school. Jordans school said no and it would be larked down as unauthorised and Macaulays didn't even bother getting back to me. I'm not going to let the school dictate to me when I can and can't go on holiday
It's not as if my kids are always off.

 

[Magic Monkey]

I am also a teacher and I say go for it, if I ever give up work, I will totally take my children on holiday during term time. Children are entitled to 10 days holiday per school year by law, so if a school says it is unauthorised I would follow that up as I am fairly sure they are not allowed to do that.

Does anyone else think it is interesting that most of the people on here who are teachers are saying go for it?! We know how expensive it is and provided they are not missing SATs or GCSEs then they aren't going to miss too much in 2 weeks.

Kirsty, if he was 4 when he had his last holiday that shouldn't count as school is only compulsory once they reach 5, so the slate is clean.

Have fun xx

 

[daftscotslass]

I am also a teacher and I say go for it, if I ever give up work, I will totally take my children on holiday during term time. Children are entitled to 10 days holiday per school year by law, so if a school says it is unauthorised I would follow that up as I am fairly sure they are not allowed to do that.

Does anyone else think it is interesting that most of the people on here who are teachers are saying go for it?! We know how expensive it is and provided they are not missing SATs or GCSEs then they aren't going to miss too much in 2 weeks.

Kirsty, if he was 4 when he had his last holiday that shouldn't count as school is only compulsory once they reach 5, so the slate is clean.

Have fun xx

It's not the case in Scotland - guidance issued by the government means that all holidays taken by kids here in term time is now unauthorised absence so in the same category as truancy unless it's travel due to a bereavement or if a parent is in the armed forces and unable to take leave flexibly.

But I agree with you totally - if I was able to and it meant a difference in £1000 in the cost of a good holiday then I would probably do it too but then I'll never be in that situation.

 

[Minime]

At Mason's school you just fill in a request form and they authorise up to 10 days a year. We've got a week away planned next month, but in January (the next school year) OH family want us to go to SA for 3 weeks so he will have to be unauthorised for 1 week of that. I won't do it when he's older but for now we do it

DD's school absolutely wont authorise any holidays outside of school. I queried the 10 days authorised absence and they said that is optional and they have opted out however when I said we were going to SA they approved it as it was "educational"

 

[*Star*]

i hadn't really thought about this before...

well i had, i spoke to my DF the other week when we were talking about holidays and said that this was the last year that we would be able to go on holiday out of school times because benjamin starts school in september.

i hadn't honestly thought about taking him out of school for a holiday. i know my parents did with my brother and sister, but it was the start of the new school year and they didnt really miss anything, and it was only a few days.

i guess i don't really know what i'd do... maybe i would take them out, maybe i wouldn't!!!

i think i would feel embarrased and a bit mean if i took them out of school, but it sounds like lots of people would/do take them out so it can't be that bad really can it?

 

[budge]

I was looking for short breaks yesterday and wanted one for half term but we only wanna go to Havens or somewhere and there's no availability at all unless we go next week, Monday to Friday, so I booked it.

It's really short notice and I'm scared of what Josh's school will say when I tell them, especially with him being off the following week anyway.

Do you think they'll be ok with it? It's not like he's missing his GCSE's or anything, and it was alright for them to go on strike the other week

nope i don't agree with it. Ive never taken mine out of school for a holiday.
They may not be missing GCSE's but they still miss chunks of valuable education even in one week.
I took mine out of school for one day in 2004 so they could come to see me and their daddy get married and even then i made them go until lunch time as i didn't get married till 1pm
They have hardly had any time off school in sickness either. They have to have upset tummy or been sick to get a day of sick LOL

God i have just read what ive sritten and i sound like a right cow

 

[Freya]

I have thought about this a lot. I would not take my child out of school for a holiday. I just think education at any age is more important than a week's holiday.

I agree with othe people's comments about making the most of the holiday they do have even if it means staying at home. I think sometimes the best times my children have are in the garden with the paddling pool and us.

I also think by taking your child out of school you set up the idea in their heads that school doesn't really matter that much.

 

[HappyAlice]

I think kids can gain just as much education on a holiday than stuck in a classroom

 

[mary70]

I think kids can gain just as much education on a holiday than stuck in a classroom

 

[Kimbo]

I think kids can gain just as much education on a holiday than stuck in a classroom

 

[dannii87]

If holiday companies didn't make it so damn expensive to go on holiday during school breaks then this problem would be cut in half I blame them!

They should cut back on some of the half terms and allocate them to authorised absenses - maybe increase the number of "allowed" days off to 20 or something.

x

 

[*pud01*]

my dad used to take us away abroad every year for 2 weeks out of school holiday times, even back then the prices was pathetic. he just used to go to our schools and ask when would be the most convenient time to have us out of school most of the time we'd go about 2-3 weeks before the end of term. the teachers understood and it wasnt unheard of for the teachers to go away in termtimes and cover each others classes, maybe times have changed with regards to that but my dad never had a problem with getting permission to take us out of school for a family holiday. none of us was behind in classes.
if schools authorise 10 days then i cant see a problem using them.

 

[Quill]

I was taken out of school for a month and a half when I was 11 to travel around the US. The school gave me advance assignments to complete, which I handed in upon my return. I learned a ton on that trip and am so glad I went.

I guess I have more of a laid-back attitude to education - I knew quite a few people who home-schooled because they disliked the "one size fits all" attitude toward education that some schools have. (I went on to get two degrees by the way - I don't mean to come across as anti-school, just pro-individual, if that makes sense.)

 

[beanie]

I was taken out of school for a month and a half when I was 11 to travel around the US. The school gave me advance assignments to complete, which I handed in upon my return. I learned a ton on that trip and am so glad I went.

I guess I have more of a laid-back attitude to education - I knew quite a few people who home-schooled because they disliked the "one size fits all" attitude toward education that some schools have. (I went on to get two degrees by the way - I don't mean to come across as anti-school, just pro-individual, if that makes sense.)

I would just love to be able to afford to take my girls around the world - it would be amazing.

 

[lea m]

nope i don't agree with it. Ive never taken mine out of school for a holiday.
They may not be missing GCSE's but they still miss chunks of valuable education even in one week.
I took mine out of school for one day in 2004 so they could come to see me and their daddy get married and even then i made them go until lunch time as i didn't get married till 1pm
They have hardly had any time off school in sickness either. They have to have upset tummy or been sick to get a day of sick LOL

God i have just read what ive sritten and i sound like a right cow

Im like you! My kids never take a day off!
In January this year, my dad booked us all to go over to Spain to see him and in the end, the school had tyo convince ME that the kids would benefit from it etc!
They are all ahead of their years in school so the teachers were like, "unless their going for a few months then they will be fine"
I was upset though tbh! I love it at the end of the year when they get their certificates and prizes for 100% attendance!

 

[Quill]

I would just love to be able to afford to take my girls around the world - it would be amazing.

We did it on a shoestring budget (although things were cheaper back then!). I'm from the U.S. originally so there was no airfare involved - we just set off driving, drove from CA thru Texas to Florida and up all the way to Maine then back through Colorado, staying with family as much as possible to save money. It really was an amazing experience for a kid. I hope I can afford to do the same with mine some day

Sorry for the derail!

 

[bobby1]

What my mum used to do was to book a flight during the week just before half term and such so that I'd only miss a day or a maximum of two which works out much better than a whole week.

I think I'm going to try and do that when the LO is born. Seems to vary the opinion between teachers. My headteacher was really assy about me only missing a day cos of holiday! Easier to say your ill.