Term time holidays

Personally I don't believe it has any effect whatever on a child's education, especially a young one and can actually be much more beneficial than sitting in a classroom.

It was a school holiday (during term time) that gave me a lifelong love of history and I spent most of December every year out of class practising for carol concerts. Whatever it was I missed by not being lined up in front of a blackboard -  I never missed it.

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Comments

  • Term time holidays are disruptive to the class, the pupil So should be banned



    And it would mean the price of flights and apartments wouldn't suddenly halve on Sep 1st
  • Is that for or against? Two contradictory comments there Dave...image

  • Children should be in school during the school term



    Nothing contradictory about holidays dropping in price after the schools have gone back, if you haven't got school age kids Think we travel on 1st sept
  • StiltsStilts ✭✭✭

    Kinda annoying for the teacher who can't deliver their planned lesson cos half the class have buggered off on a cheap holiday, or for the rest of the class who miss out on a planned activity cos there aren't enough to make up the numbers. Teachers and the rest of the school staff are required to be there; so are the children.  Unfortunately most don't see it that way and only consider the impact on their own child and holiday budget.  And in my experience (parent and partner of a teacher) the vast majority of parents who take their children out of school for a cheap(er) holiday can well afford the more expensive version during school holidays, so it's rarely a case of 'cheap holiday or no holiday'

  • To be clear: I'm sure it  can piss  teachers off and I don't dispute that - I'm talking specifically about the actual effect on the child.

     

  • Dave The Iron Ex- Spartan wrote (see)
    Children should be in school during the school term

    Nothing contradictory about holidays dropping in price after the schools have gone back, if you haven't got school age kids Think we travel on 1st sept

    Oh I see, yes, because it  benefits YOU.  Given the conversation about the NHS I should have realised. Sorry about that.

     

  • MuttleyMuttley ✭✭✭

    If my kid came home from school one day and said that geography was being done by a supply teacher for two weeks because Mr Jones had found a really good deal on Expedia, I'd be mightily pissed off. Because that would indicate a cavalier attitude to the school and to education ... ditto when it's parents doing the same with the kids.

     

  • As a teacher, it's a pain in the arse because our performance is managed, and a holiday can have a big effect on test scores. However, in the long term, I don't think they cause the child any problems and can have a beneficial effect. So if only the Department of Education would stop being so bloody short-termist, everything would be fine.
  • Being honest CJ that's what it's all about for the government really isn't it? Concern for the kids is just a smokescreen.

    I definitely think they should leave it up to the school's discretion.

    I'm pretty sure the parents who do it aren't asking to do it every year. 

     

  • It isn't always an economic thing  though is it Mutts?

    If you work in somwhere where lots of people have school age kids, chances are you aren't always going to be able to have the holidays that fall out of term time. 

    I've had to take all sorts of less than ideal holiday dates because of the way my OHs leave works and the job he does. I'm pretty sure parents aren't immune to that

    Interestingly, neither of the parents I saw interviewed on the new this morning cited economic reasons. One had a child with cerebral palsy who wanted to take her son to a place that had special facilities for him. It was booked up during the school holidays so she requested to be able to take him towards the end of term. The school refused.

    Another bloke had been unable to book leave during the holidays for 4 years running. When the same thing happened on the 5th year he took his kids away during term time and accepted the fine he was given. 

  • Schools should decide on a case by case basis - it should only be an issue if a child has poor attendance and / or poor grades, otherwise leave it to the parents to decide what's best for their child and family.

    For what it's worth, both my kids are now at high school and I wouldn't choose to take them out of school in term time (both 100% attendance this year) but that should be my decision and not the government's. 

  • Big_GBig_G ✭✭✭

    I think the holidays are good for kids.  It lets them, well, be kids.

    It's another topic where the powers that be are trying to play schools/teachers off against parents, IMHO.

  • It's a pain in the arse when teachers go on strike????, I took my kids out for one day which I had to get a letter from work, only then did the school authorise it, saved me ??600.00 apparently the kids classes only watched videos that day. The teachers have had three strike days, we have lost money due to having to look after them.
  • MuttleyMuttley ✭✭✭

    Yeah, these teachers, standing up for their rights and acting within the law as they do so. Outrageous.

    Nice bit of whataboutery there, mind ...

  • No not comparing it all and good for anyone who stands up for themselves. But like everything two sides to all stories and a lot of parents are fed up with having to pay fines, then the teachers go on strike.



    A couple of days around a half time shouldn't need letters from work. Surely.



    When both my kids have had 100% attendance apart from one day. The eldest won the progressive prize for his year and best maths, while the youngest got all straight A's in her report. Does that sound like two kids that have done bad this year.



    As for politicians they are are as bad as each over.
  • popsiderpopsider ✭✭✭

    I think a week outside of yrs 10 and 11 should be automatic, anything else only if there is a good reason.    Yes it is often just to save money but what is so bad about that - times are tight for many people.   

     

  • Let's just be clear, teachers don't issue fines. The local authority do. So why it has anything to do with us taking legal industrial action I don't know.



    Also, a lot of people seem to view a strike day as a free holiday for us, forgetting that we are voluntarily giving up a day's pay.
  • Yes it benefits me now, having had 20 plus years of living with school age kids it's rather nice ....



    If you don't like it, don't have kids or font have holidays, your choice
  • Time off during school time= two thumbs held high for Faithsdaddy.  It's cheaper, there aren't any kids.... image.  My only question is, why ask permission?  Just do it.  30 seconds each day to renew the sickness to the school's answerphone.

    It's pathetic that schools aren't being at least a little bit flexible.  It's weak and overly conformist to ask permission.  My greatest contempt is for the do-gooders who don't care if time off is reasonable, it's that you're breaking the rules.  Pathetic.

  • NayanNayan ✭✭✭

    It probably doesn't affect the child too much in the end but part of that is the teacher having the arise ache of helping the kid catch up. So in the end it's not fair to the other kids. 

    Go on holiday at peak times like the rest of us you cheapskates. Save up longer and go for a less bling hotel if you have to.

    These days the local authority fines you if you (or worse) take the piss anyway. 

     

  • Why ?



    We work hard for our holidays and like nice places, it would spoil things having to share with poor people
  • Nayan, it's not about being cheap.  Differences are huge.

    • Skiing £1600 or £3100 2 weeks later (school hols)
    • 4* Lanza £1300 or £2200

    Also, I noticed ski deals for around £1200 (last minute), but nothing inside of double that for school holiday time.

    They only fine you if they catch you, which seems to only happen when people ask for permission first.  They'll almost always say no, but once you've asked, you've played your hand and they'll pull you if you then take the kid out of school.

  • popsiderpopsider ✭✭✭

    Even hiring a static caravan for a week the difference can easily be £500 - that's the kind of money that can mean a holiday or no holiday for a lot of people - it's not all about whether you can afford a 5 star instead of a 3 star hotel.    The price differences have got worse in the last couple of years as they've clamped down on it meaning the demand in school holidays has increased.   

  • Whereas teaching your kids that it's fine to miss school by phoning in sick is fine? Each to their own, but I'd rather pay the extra or trade down than do that. 

  • Dave- we do it all the time and the kids never have any worries about getting left behind.  The eldest is doing his GCSEs, so he has to spend 5 minutes after, talking to the teacher, to get the work.  9 times out of 10, it's either continuing work they already did, or a case of spending a couple of hours going through it.

    Don't believe the hype people.  Missing a week of school will make no difference to your kids.  The schools only care (and this is the real reason they don't let kids out any more) is because it lowers their quality figures.  To them, it's easier to say no and keep their numbers up. See, this is the bit where I have the problem.  Really, schools are controlling the kids & parents, for their own gains- the kids welfare doesn't come into it at all.  It's just a smokescreen.  I honestly can't believe most people don't see straight through this.

    Also, I think it is a good thing to teach them that missing school is fine.  I wouldn't want a weak, controllable kid, who grew up to feel they have to ask permission to do anything.  Rules are only a guide for intelligent people.

  • Managed to get all 4 thro school without any unnecessary abscences



    Doesn't seem to have done them any harm
  • What would make you think I'm a politician? Seems an odd question to ask.
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