Taking kids out if school

[Babysaurs]

So my ds is in yr 2 this year and will miss 10 days of school end of march early April due to a trip to the USA (road trip national parks in utah/arizona and monster jam world finals in vegas). This was unplanned trip really and only came about as we got the flights free.
We have been planning a different us trip for sept oct this year since early 2014. Disneyland and a disney cruise.
I really don't want ds to miss any more school, but really want to go on this trip too. Cruise is booked although we can cancel for free until July.
Looking into flights for 2nd trip best price I can find around school holidays means ds will miss another 8 days of school so 18 all up this year due to family holidays.
ETA
Havent spoken to the school yet about him missing the 10 days he will later this term, too scared ill get in trouble lol.
We have taken him out for holidays before but only once a year since he started and only for 3 or 4 days at a time, but it wasnt an issue then for the school.
So should we just go anyway or postpone the trip for another year?
What has been your schools reaction to a child missing school?
He goes to a very small country school in sa if that makes a difference.
TIA

 

[PrincessInOz]

@Babysaurs I would recommend that you have a chat with your DS' school, if you haven't already done so. They are best placed to work with you and your DS. Taking a child out of school really comes down to how you feel and what the school policy is.

Good luck with the discussion and with your internal resolution.

FWIW - I have always taken my DS out of school when he was younger. The longest period he missed school was 3.5 weeks. We were gone for a 5.5 week period and we took him out either side of the holidays. I always had a discussion with the school as to what was best for him. Personally, I've always seen travel as a broadening of life's skill. I appreciate everyone's viewpoint and situation is different. Having said that, now that DS is getting towards the business end of school (he's in year 9 this year), I am more reluctant to pull him out and for him to miss classes.

 

[travelwith4kids]

I have recently spoken to our school administration and also each of my childrens teachers about this exact thing.
We are going to the US in September and our 3 school aged kids (yr1, yr3, yr 5) will miss 1.5 weeks before the sept/oct hols and 1.5-2weeks (depending on how tired they are) after the hols.
Administration werent at all bothered. Stated that the principle would just sign off for our 'approval'. The childrens teachers were all very encouraging, checked nothing important was happening then (not that we wouldnt have gone if there was lol) and they all said that what the kids would learn on such an amazing adventure was way more then they could teach them in the same time!
We have our schools 'blessing' and we are absolutely confident with our choice to remove them from school for this trip!

 

[Babysaurs]

I have recently spoken to our school administration and also each of my childrens teachers about this exact thing.
We are going to the US in September and our 3 school aged kids (yr1, yr3, yr 5) will miss 1.5 weeks before the sept/oct hols and 1.5-2weeks (depending on how tired they are) after the hols.
Administration werent at all bothered. Stated that the principle would just sign off for our 'approval'. The childrens teachers were all very encouraging, checked nothing important was happening then (not that we wouldnt have gone if there was lol) and they all said that what the kids would learn on such an amazing adventure was way more then they could teach them in the same time!
We have our schools 'blessing' and we are absolutely confident with our choice to remove them from school for this trip!

Im glad you got positive results hope i get the same! Really must talk to school asap about it get it out of the way but im such a woss lol!
I know that out 1st trip will be great and school should be positive about it as he will see the grand canyon, monument valley, zion national park, bryce canyon etc and they are leaning about "landforms" at the moment so does fit in
Its the second disney trip im more worried about lol.
Im working tomorrow but will make myself do it monda.........maybe lol

 

[aussie shaz]

We took our kids out of school every year for 7 years. We only stopped when my eldest started Yr7 last year. Really only so I could get an idea of how high school worked, and what time of year would be best to take them out.
We usually did 2 weeks at a time, but both our Disney trips were about 3 weeks each.
We did miss something every year, whether it was school photos or the school play. I told them that that's the chance you take when you get to go on holidays every year!
I did worry once that my sons lack of knowledge of basic quick maths might have been because he missed the weeks that they'd learnt it, but I got over it.
I think,it's great that they can travel and experience lots of different things, and most teachers have agreed. Especially in the younger years.

 

[dabecs]

On our last trip my girls were in grade 1 and grade 2 and we took them out for just over 4 weeks with no problem

I think a lot depends on the child, if either of my girls were struggling academically or socially I might have felt differently but in my mind in primary school anytime is good time! Once they hit Highschool we will stick to travelling in school holidays so best make the most of these early years

 

[Meemoo]

Whilst the kids are young it is fine I think. I know what you mean though, I don't like telling the teachers either! It depends on the teacher. My daughter has 2 teachers this year, she is in yr 3 and the teachers split the role, they are both mothers and always talk of the importance of family time so I know they will be easy to approach regarding it. My son's teacher is a very academic type, my daughter had her for yr 1 also, and I took my daughter out for a holiday Disney related then too, now i have to tell her I am taking my son. I might just say going to America, not specifically mention Disney, my son can do that when he comes back and tells his 'news'

 

[Montanabel]

Totally understand your apprehensive

Last year my DD10 in Year 4 and DD7 in Year 1 missed 15 days of school due to a USA/Disney holiday. The year before, they missed 13 days. On both occasions both teachers were incredibly supportive, as was the school principal who tried to tell me that Universal Studios Orlando is better than Disneyworld. We had to agree to disagree on that subject.

The teachers can always give you work for your son to do whilst on holiday if need be (my youngest was given a supply of books to read). I agree with the other comments here, embrace these opportunities while your son is young (and before he is too cool to what to hang out with his parents).

 

[lffam]

We took our son out when he was 7 & 10 for 1 or 1.5 weeks each time. My personal view is before about grade 9 or 10 there really shouldn't be too much of an issue, but I know different schools have different policies. Learning is not just about schooling so when we travel my son gets to experience things that schooling wont give him which is one of the reasons I feel comfortable doing it. I agree its harder as they get older. DS is in year 7 this year and we have chosen not to to take him out of school. this was moreso because he is new to the school and high school this year so we didn't want to disrupt this year while he was getting accustomed to new rules new expectations of high school etc. Plus it turned out our plans ended up revolving around christmas so we could wait till he finished for the year.

 

[jevs]

I've taken my 3 out of school 2 weeks this year and 4 last year. I write a letter with dates etc which is a pretend asking for approval letter lol. You shouldn't get much grief, most principals support family travel and understand (naturally) that holidaying in school holiday time is sometimes too expensive. My personal more arrogant take on it, is they are my children and I know them best *shrugs*, also there are a million ways for them to do school related tasks while away - money handling, miles traveled, museums visited etc etc.

 

[dollarmite]

I wouldn't hesitate in taking your son out of school for both trips. It's highly unlikely that missing two weeks of grade two is going to make any difference whatsoever to his overall school career.

My children have missed up to 4 weeks of school at a time for overseas trips (not just the US but other countries as well). It's never made any difference to their school results (one came top of his year in 2014), and the teachers have always been overwhelmingly positive about it. We try and plan it around school holidays as much as possible, but sometimes it just doesn't always work out that way.

I never "ask" the school for permission; I tell them (nicely!) that my children will be absent. We have to take into account many different factors when taking our trips, but seeking permission from the school isn't one of them. Sometimes the teachers offer us work to take, sometimes they don't. It just depends on the individual teacher. I always try to let the school know soon after the flights are booked so that the teacher/s can take an absent child into account when planning things for that time (numbers needed for a specific project for example).

I had originally planned on not doing trips during school time once the first child started high school, but as it turned out we took a trip during his grade 12 year and he missed three weeks of school (plus 2 weeks school holidays). We're currently tossing up whether to take a trip to the UK/France later this year which will mean second child will miss about 3 weeks of grade 10, plus 2 weeks school holidays. It's not ideal, but if we don't do it at that time, it could be another 2-3 years before we can do it.

 

[Franrose]

My year 3 & 4 kids will be out of school for four weeks this year... our primary reason for travelling though is to attend their uncle's wedding. They have never met their new aunt (or another new uncle-in-waiting travelling with us) and we are the only members of our family living in Australia, so it's the first time they will have spent any time with all of my side of the family in one place. They don't get to see their cousins, aunts/uncles or grandparents often so there's no way we'd miss this opportunity.

I will write to the school to let them know we are going (I also won't be 'asking' - it is happening baby, and we make the decisions for our kids, not a school or principal), but I will also include all the different benefits that will come with the trip to identify the positives for anyone who might not see them. The family time, the exposure to different cultures (we'll be visiting a number of states and & countries [thanks to a cruise, heh heh]), and the different museums & aquariums etc we have planned. This trip will be one big long excursion.

 

[losfp]

Our older girl (The Superseded Model) is going to miss 5.5 weeks in Oct/Nov this year (our last trip, she wasn't in school yet). She is in year 2 now.

It's a long time, but my wife is a school teacher, and we are confident that The Superseded Model will get by just fine. We are going to have her sit down each day if possible and write a recount of what happened that day so she can practise her writing, and my wife will teach and supervise any prepared work that her teacher provides.

 

[LisaAJ]

I'm a teacher and I would definitely take my kids out of school if I could to save some money. We spent a fortune on our flights because we are restricted to school holidays. I have heaps of kids who miss school for holidays. As long as parents realise that I am not going to be able to personally catch them up on everything they have missed I don't have a problem with it. I usually have them do a diary for me as a special project. It's a great keepsake too

I know the WA Ed Dept is cracking down on it soI would definitely check with the school.
If you did it next year you would need to make sure you weren't gone during NAPLAN.

 

[Babysaurs]

Spoke to his teacher today made hubby come with me lol and was no big deal at all! She even said don't worry about taking school work with him just take lots of pics maybe a journal and he can do a presentation on it when we get back
So relieved lol

 

[Lionsy]

Sorry, but I'm going to add a little rant to this thread.

Here is the quick version:
I don't see any problem taking kids out of school for something like an overseas vacation, because they learn so much more than they would if they're stuck in their home town (especially if they're from a small town). We've taken our DD10 (year 4) out of school 4 years in a row now to go on vacation, and this is the first time we've encountered a little resistance from school.

The long version:
We "applied" for leave last year (like we did for all the other trips), and when we went to school at the start of this year we were told that there was no longer an exemption (we're in Sydney) and that the form we filled in is no longer relevant. We were told that our DD would just be marked absent, and that there maybe consequences. So I said, sure, we'll cancel our 25 day vacation so our daughter can go to school- NOT!
I think the school system has to give the parents some credit for making the right choices for their kids. We are both professionals, and we do not believe for a second that our DD would suffer academically from being out of school for a month. The teacher was cool with it, and she's being doing her blog whilst we're in the US.
These are the reasons why I would not hesitate to take her our again:

1. Cost- Our flights were nearly triple what we paid this time when we went over the Christmas holidays
2. Crowds- DL is crowded anyway, and I see no reason to make it worse by going at "peak" times, unless there is a specific reason (ie. You want to see Christmas lights, Easter egg hunt, Halloween, etc)

And did I mention, cost?

I heard that parents in the UK get fined for taking their kids out of school, and there is talk that it might be introduced here. If this is a statistic- improving exercise, I will be very annoyed. One argument is that taking a kid on a worldly vacation is going to be way more beneficial to them than sitting at home playing on the PS4 or Xbox.

We are getting our daughter to take pictures, write in her blog, and keep a journal (with keepsakes) so that she has great memories of our trip. Who knows when we'll next get to go? Enjoy!

 

[Meemoo]

100% agree and being in Sydney myself, I heard that there is no form anymore either and that they would be marked absent - On the up side my kids school is very very multicultural, and kids are always going 'back home' to visit relatives, so in that respect it is not so hard for me, I think the school is use to the kids going on leave!

 

[carnivalkid]

Loinsy - did the school ever say to you what those "consequences" might actually be?

I have been following the recent changes to the policy..... but no where does it ever say what might actually happen. They dont ever do anything to kids who are forever absent for no reason.... so i very much doubt they would ever do anything but interest in the official version.

 

[Lionsy]

Loinsy - did the school ever say to you what those "consequences" might actually be?

I have been following the recent changes to the policy..... but no where does it ever say what might actually happen. They dont ever do anything to kids who are forever absent for no reason.... so i very much doubt they would ever do anything but interest in the official version.

They weren't specific, but it sounded more like a "please explain" scenario. I would seriously not allow them to put you off.

 

[aussie shaz]

Are these schools that have problems with kids taking time off school for holidays private schools, or public schools?
I've taken my kids out of school for 7 years in a row, and I have never, ever had any conversation with the school about it. I have advised the teacher of their class a few weeks ahead of time, and then reminded them with a day or so to go. I ask if there's anything the kids need to do, and have always been told just to get them to read and maybe write a journal.
I've never had to fill out forms or speak with the principle etc.
Just interested to know if it's a private school thing, or education department thing.