I tried to book a holiday to Malta in the May spring bank holiday.
As having school kids I am governed by having to take holidays while the school is closed.
Fine, I started to book and the tour operator charged a £700 supplement on top because it was the school holidays.
What a cheek, so I thought I would book the week before and yes the 700 quid was knocked off.

So I addressed the school with this and told them I wanted to take the kids a week before the holidays and they refused permission.

Well I can understand the school policy of timekeeping but I'm in a no win situation here.
The school should pay the supplement for refusing me the time off to go away, thats how I feel anyway but I know that won't happen.
The tour operators take advantage of familys with kids and feel one of them has to give.:mad:

Do your kids have an exemplary attendance record otherwise? did you ask for the work they'd be missing, so they could get ahead/catch up?

What year are your kids in? Im sure that you can take up to 4 weeks off in term time without incurring the wrath of the EWOs.

Check to make sure but Im sure its the case. If its the last week of the summer term then I cant see why they wouldnt let you.

Mat

You could always point that that you are allowed to visit family out of the country during term time. And without being racist there's not a very good argument against it.
A school will almost always argue that saving money versus your childs education is wrong, if you can prove they won't miss out (depending on age) they might change it.

Kids at my school that tell me that their parents will risk the fine for taking them out without permission, as they will still save on the cost of the holiday, I can't blame them really.

School is always pretty quiet around the half term before the summer holidays as there is that many kids missing! Less marking for me!

Many schools now say that if you take your kids out of school during term time to go on holiday, even for one day, you are considered to be allowing your children to play truant and are subject to the same consequences, i.e. fines, prosecution and even prison.

I hope Mat1978 was being sarcastic about 4 weeks because thats just excessive. Same rules don't apply to children as for people at work: they get at least 10-12 weeks off a year anyway. Some parents seem to think they can take their children out of school whenever its convenient for them. (Although this obviously doesn't apply in this case because of the huge financial cost of going in the school holiday).

What about teachers and other staff at the school? They are subject to the same excessive charges during the official school holidays, but they don't really have the option of jetting off for a week during term time either...

I hope Mat1978 was being sarcastic about 4 weeks because thats just excessive. Same rules don't apply to children as for people at work: they get at least 10-12 weeks off a year anyway. Some parents seem to think they can take their children out of school whenever its convenient for them. (Although this obviously doesn't apply in this case because of the huge financial cost of going in the school holiday

Not at all being sarcastic - the rules were brought in to stop students travelling to their parents 'motherland' for months at a time.

If a student has more than 4 weeks off 'holiday' they will be taken off roll.

Mat

You could always try and argue the point that the "holiday is not actually a "holiday", but an educational trip!

After all (hopefully!) your child(ren) will be exploring, and learning about another country, and experiencing its culture, won't they...?

It's just a rip-off, and ridiculous, to put the surcharge on for the holiday (of *that* much, definitely) just to ensure that the trip coincides with the school holiday.

PT

Originally posted by Cycleracer
The tour operators take advantage of familys with kids and feel one of them has to give.:mad:

It's simple supply and demand, that's the way the world works.

Sheffield Local Education Authority - School Term Time Leave Policy
Up to 10 days leave may be authorised if the following criteria are fulfilled:

The policy is clear and can be downloaded here (http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/education/information-for-parentscarers/attendance/term-time-leave) but is falls to the head of the individual school to approve the application or not.