Term time school holidays

[Justin Smith 10]

For a start I would not advocate a holiday in the Caribbean.

It is too far to go for a holiday where you are not respected.

You can go and be disrespected with far shorter flights in Europe.

(It does English people good to be disrespected, to stop us getting highfalutin ideas about silly things, like being better than our fellow Europeans.)

If teachers want better holiday prospects, they would be better following my idea of staggered holidays, spread throughout the year.

 

What gives you the idea the English are disrespected in the Caribbean ? There was certainly no sign whatsoever of that in Barbados. A friendlier country it would be hard to find, and I`ve been to a few. I would say Taiwan would come second.

[Jacktari 10]

What gives you the idea the English are disrespected in the Caribbean ? There was certainly no sign whatsoever of that in Barbados. A friendlier country it would be hard to find, and I`ve been to a few. I would say Taiwan would come second.

 

I was trying to be witty.

I shall give it up on here I think.

It is far too serious for flippancy.

[Justin Smith 10]

I was trying to be witty.

I shall give it up on here I think.

It is far too serious for flippancy.

 

Oh I get you. I wasn`t sure because some people going to the Caribbean for the first time wonder if the locals have forgotten Empire and (more particularly) slavery. On the subject of which, holidays being educational, where is there a better place in the world to learn about slavery than the Caribbean ? Looking round an old slave dwelling etc ?

[BoroB 10]

Well, I literally just did that search and that campsite is available for £417 for the 1st July.

The fact is that you can have a foreign holiday for a reasonable price. And even so, it's not some kind of human right. If someone can't afford it, go somewhere cheaper (is what I said about Barbados).

 

---------- Post added 13-04-2017 at 14:39 ----------

 

 

Taking children out of school is something to do with the state though, which is what the entire conversation is about.

Personally I think it should be down to the parents decision.

But, that doesn't mean that I'll let the frankly odd excuses slide, Barbados to learn to swim, my child won't swim anywhere else! They'll remember the turtles. No they won't, they're 4.

 

And the state had a system where up to 10 days a year absence was permitted (a system that still applies in Wales).

 

The system was not perfect but it provided some leeway and flexibility for parents where sometimes the needs of the education system are not compatible with other, usually work, commitments.

 

The education system may grind to a halt for 13 weeks a year but the rest of society does not. Shops still open. Businesses still operate. Factories still open. Buses and trains still run. Parents still have to go work in said shops, businesses and factories. Buses and trains don't drive themselves yet.

[Cyclone 10]

Oh I get you. I wasn`t sure because some people going to the Caribbean for the first time wonder if the locals have forgotten Empire and (more particularly) slavery. On the subject of which, holidays being educational, where is there a better place in the world to learn about slavery than the Caribbean ? Looking round an old slave dwelling etc ?

 

I'd suggest that a better place is a classroom.

 

---------- Post added 14-04-2017 at 09:23 ----------

 

And the state had a system where up to 10 days a year absence was permitted (a system that still applies in Wales).

 

The system was not perfect but it provided some leeway and flexibility for parents where sometimes the needs of the education system are not compatible with other, usually work, commitments.

 

The education system may grind to a halt for 13 weeks a year but the rest of society does not. Shops still open. Businesses still operate. Factories still open. Buses and trains still run. Parents still have to go work in said shops, businesses and factories. Buses and trains don't drive themselves yet.

 

Yes it did, but that was changed a few years ago and it's precisely what we're discussing.

So "it's not their business" isn't a particularly helpful contribution to the discussion.

[Jeffrey Shaw 90]

Termtime absences are not newly rendered unlawful. All that's happened is a Supreme Court decision about who will determine each issue: not the parents, not HMG, but the lawful Rules of the school concerned. Why is that a wrong approach?

[El Cid 214]

Termtime absences are not newly rendered unlawful. All that's happened is a Supreme Court decision about who will determine each issue: not the parents, not HMG, but the lawful Rules of the school concerned. Why is that a wrong approach?

 

Postcode lottery is a common complaint of public services, the Government changed the guidance on the rules around schools granting permission, some schools are following the guidance and some not, partly because the basic law around absenteeism did not change and so was unclear.

[Bonzo77 13]

Planning on taking my son on holiday within term time this year. He's only 8 so won't miss much.

 

Have you ever taken your child out of school for a term time holiday? Did you agree to pay any fines?

[Happ 25]

Just pay them. Not worth the battle you’d have if you don’t. You wouldn’t win anyway.

 

It’s way cheaper to pay the fines that it would be to holiday outside of term time. Just remember that they can fine both parents per child though. So for a single absence, assuming both parents are still alive (regardless of living arrangements or custody), that could be £120 per child.

 

Note that the fine is issue’d on behalf of the council rather than the school itself. Although the school does have a little influence  on that decision.

[Bonzo77 13]

I've taken him out for a few days in the past. The last few days of a holiday ran into term time. I just told the school he was sick.

[feargal 21]

If your child has good attendance otherwise, then ask your school for authorised absence and pay the fine.  Don't try and pass it off as sick, kids are rubbish at keeping schtum!

[Happ 25]

The problem with suggesting the child is sick, leads to potential complications when they find you and your child are lying. I’m not sure of the consequences explicitly, but I believe they can then bring in the “truant officers” to visit your home etc. Depends how the school/teachers want to deal with situation. If your child was/is supposed to be sick enough to be off for a number of days, but then goes back with a tan and talking with friends about the death slides in the waterpark at Majorca, or the camels he/she saw on the beach in Tenerife, it’ll likely end up with letters from the headteacher questioning the absence.

 

Just be honest and pay the fine if it’s given. A child will gain way more from a family holiday than they ever would from the week they would miss at school. There are of course exceptions and it is down to timing and responsible parenting with the decisions  that come with that. The argument against it is that it “disrupts the rest of the class” on the childs return and the teacher has to help that child catch up. I don’t beleive a word of it. A younger child doesn’t miss anything specifically important and an older child would be able to “fill in the gaps” themselves quite easily.