Getting kids out of school

[andip1967]

Hiya

Going in Feb 06.

Girlfriend's child is 14 and at school when we go.

Is their a form to fill in to get them out of school or have the rules changed.

Would hate not to take her (got surprise at discovery cove).

 

[Deedee]

Yes you have to fill in a holiday request form from the school and send it back a least a few days before you go. i took my 14 year old DD out last sept, just at the time this £100 fine rule came out but i had no problems. My response would have been i am not on a teachers wage and can`t afford to go in peak times!!!

 

[Disney Bint]

I have had many a moan on this subject and i agree about the wage thing. I'm taking my kids out of school the week before half term. I have spoken to a lawyer friend and he said they have to let you have 10 days max. Sorry i cant help my kids school up the league tables this year!

Disney Bint

 

[BONZO]

I have spoken to a lawyer friend and he said they have to let you have 10 days max.
Disney Bint

I don't think this is strictly true - my understanding is that 10 days is discretionary and up to the individual school - not a legal right.

May be worth checking directly with the school involved.

 

[Stella_the_Staff]

My children's school have just introduced penalty notices for parents who take their children out of school during term time for school holidays or for persistant late arrival. However they can not fine you until 10 school days (or 20 school sessions) have been missed. They are not authorising any requests for holiday so my children will have unauthorised absences showing on their school attendance record.

 

[carolfoy]

Hi Michelle thats really unfair!!! I would try and speak to the local council or authority to see if they can get that waived, its not right your children will have to go through school life looking like truants! Its also not right that the only time schools break up for a long time ie summer is not a great time weather wise to go anywhere but eurpoe, bring on the 3 term year!

 

[VSL]

My response would have been i am not on a teachers wage and can`t afford to go in peak times!!!

I can assure you that teachers don't make that great money (teaching is one of the poorest paid graduate jobs around) and they have to go during peak times if they want a holiday (whether they can afford it or not)

 

[carolfoy]

Ah yes VSL will agree on the wage issue but as a travel agent I can guarantee that 90% of my 'last minute' enquiries come from teachers (and those workers affected by school holiday patterns) when it comes to summer holidays. No, you can't get a free child space they all went months ago, No there isn't any room in that particular hotel, its been on sale for 12 months! What I'm saying is, they more than any one knows exactly when schools break up and they still don't book early enough to take advantage of early discounts and low deposits free child spaces etc!

 

[Deedee]

We are going next sept my DD leaves school in june, for exactly the same holiday in august it would of cost us £1300 more. how can any one justify that. What would we be getting extra in august than what we are getting in sept.

 

[carolfoy]

I know Deedee its rotten and no, you don't 'get' more for your money, unless you count the possibility of Hurricanes!
They've got you by the short and curlies because they know we'd all PREFER not to take our kids out of school but finances dictate when we can take our hols

 

[Shooby doo]

At our DS school we normally just write them a letter explaining that I have no choice when it comes to holiday dates,as we have them allocated by work.Which isn't strictly true:I've actually swapped July for someoneelse's Sept! I've done school hols at WDW & I can tell you what you get for all that extra money.....You get to stand in very big queues all day!!
Let's face it if they fine you £100 & you've saved £500,are you going to be bothered!? Schools realise this & normally only fine if it's a really extreme situation.
SD aw:

 

[patdavies]

Here we go again

Facts,

A headteacher may authorise up to 10 days per academic year for family holidays. It is absolutely at the descretion of the HT. The 10 days is a legal maximum. There is no right to these 10 days and a headteacher cannot authorise more than 10 days

If you are fined for unauthorised absence, you can be fined for each school session missed. One school day is two sessions.

Those of you who have not had permission or taken more than 10 days are not examples of the law being different from that stated above, only that you are fortunate in the attitude of your school or headteacher that no action has been taken.

 

[Netty]

why is it that a simple question about school forms/taking kids out of school at term time, then results in having a go at teaching staff
the question can be answered with out all of that, i for one am getting so fed up with it.

 

[andip1967]

I didnt mean for it for people to have a go at the teachers.

A simple answer would have done.

whoops stirred up a bit of a hornets nest haven't I

 

[Netty]

I didnt mean for it for people to have a go at the teachers.

A simple answer would have done.

whoops stirred up a bit of a hornets nest haven't I

dont worry andip these education threads always end up this way!!
have a great time in Feb, discovery cove is fantastic!

 

[mark&sue]

I hate these threads so much I usually can't even bear to open them. These usually end up in a slagging match and are very hurtful.

I have real problems at work getting two weeks off during school holidays and have so far taken DD out of school for a week with a week's half term.

Interestingly there is a thread on the US board about this subject where they do not argue or debate (which is unusual if you look at these US boards) the link is

http.//www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=907432

I hope this works


Susan

 

[rpbert1]

i work as a building supervisor i.e caretaker in a school and we dont have any problems with going during school .
many go on holiday during term time, they ask our head about he says he cant condone it but cant stop them , and asks them to put it in writing to keep him right with the board of governors, maybe our school is the exception but if he can do it i dont see why the others cant

 

[Oddjob]

My 2 have been given permission to have 2 weeks in December from 2 different schools but they were told 10 days max in a year
RE,Teachers wages They rake it in!
Friends of ours are a teaching couple and they are money mad ,If we do something with our kids they dont they have to copy!!
They do extra marking for Foreign countries and also get paid again for checking each others marking,Just valued their house at 400K and he was 40 this year same time as me and it was obscene and OTT all the stuff what she bought him,I was happy with my fleece and new spade!!

 

[Mrs Dazzle]

My 2 have been given permission to have 2 weeks in December from 2 different schools but they were told 10 days max in a year
RE,Teachers wages They rake it in!
Friends of ours are a teaching couple and they are money mad ,If we do something with our kids they dont they have to copy!!
They do extra marking for Foreign countries and also get paid again for checking each others marking,Just valued their house at 400K and he was 40 this year same time as me and it was obscene and OTT all the stuff what she bought him,I was happy with my fleece and new spade!!

As always these "should we take the kids out of school" threads - like someone else has said - get personal and nasty. I expect to be flamed, but I can't believe some of the replies, especially this one . . . what on earth has this got to do with taking children out of school. These people obviously work hard if they're doing all this extra work so why shouldn't they spend their money

Until I worked as an Admin Officer in a school I had always taken my DD out for a week and a half before either May or October half-term for our Florida trips. Summer is always one of my DH's busiest time in his job (meaning he will be away from home) so it was not a good option to go then. However, before Katie started at senior school I decided I would not take her out for that amount of time, it would not be fair on her, even though she is an able child. But things change, I now working in a school, don't have the option of taking time off during term time - one because my contract means working during term time (how could it be any different working in a SCHOOL), the same as teachers, and secondly I'm sure the parents wouldn't appreciate the office being shut for three weeks.

I promised myself I wouldn't reply to any more of these threads, but I too can't believe how so many people think teachers (and other people working in schools) are happy paying extortionate amounts of money to go away during school holidays. Our trip this August cost us far more than any time we've ever been before. BUT, we wanted to go for three weeks so August it was. We saved our money to pay for it because we had no alternative.

 

[Bilboo]

Hi,

Quite a timely news item:-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4257236.stm

Cheers