http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-36277940

This set of rules should never have been brought in. Hopefully they’ll be scrapped or amended now.

A victory also for irresponsible parents. For every parent taking their kids out of school during the “dead time” after exams, for an educational trip to an eco-village in Costa Rica, there will be a dozen knuckle-draggers taking Sharon and Wayne to Malaga in the middle of term and then kicking up a fuss when the little bleeders screw up their results.

As you never know what and when in a lesson is going to make something click for a child how do you know that they won’t miss that eureka moment when you have removed them from lessons – how will they catch up?

Won’t somebody think of the children?…..

Won’t somebody think of the children?

But! But! CHEAP HOLIDAYS!!!!!

[edit] waits for thread to follow the usual course of such things….

Prioritising a week in Disneyland over school is not responsible parenting in my book.

I’m minded to think that its a victory for the me-me-me generation.

A reminder to the state that it does not own my child.

Open season on chavs taking kids out of school now.

man thinks rules don’t apply to him
court agrees
or that they apply to anyone
funny old world

I can understand why parents want to take kids away in term time, what happened to letting parents parent?

If the parents value their childs education then they will generally leave them there and let them get on with it, especially during important exam prep years. My parents could have taken me on holiday without a fine but never did… Not sure the government should ever have got involved.

A victory for travel agents?

Expect holiday prices during term time to take a sharp rise sometime soon.

Prioritising a week in Disneyland over school is not responsible parenting in my book.

There was a context around a break down in a relationship that isn’t mentioned in this article, that a holiday was thought to be an attempt to get things straight.

I think by going to Disneyland he’s dollied this up to be smacked out of the park by the haterz. Could have been worse though, he might have gone skiing or something 😉

The question was whether the child had failed to attend regularly and the act does not define “regularly”.

cue definition being swiftly brought it.

Will this lead to parents sending sick/unfit kids to school rather than keeping them home as they don’t want attendance to fall and potentially disqualify them from cheap term time holidays?

I’m not sure why you’re all getting so worked up? As responsible parents you won’t be taking your kids out, will you? So all that happens is the knuckle-dragging parents of Sharon and Wayne (what is this, Eastenders in 1989? Never mind, carry on) **** up their kids educations, your kids do better than them and go on to get better jobs, climb the greasy pole, earn more money, and eventually employ stupid old Sharon and Wayne as cheap labour.

Also, your educational holidays to Tuscany outside of term time are now a bit cheaper as demand for peak-season flights falls because povvo Sharon and Wayne’s mum and dad are messing up their kids educations by taking them on a term-time jaunt to somewhere ghastly and working class. It’s win-win for pushy middle-class parents!

My wife’s a teacher and I’m involved with supporting Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and in no way would we rely on statutory education on its own for our kids education.

Expect holiday prices during term time to take a sharp rise sometime soon

I should think it would level out the prices, anyone taking term time hols are currently being subsidised* by those going in holiday time.

*well not them personally obviously.

Won’t someone think of the adults?
I book my holiday in term time so I don’t have to put up with screaming brats.

I have no kids, I like that I can take cheaper holidays when everyone with kids can’t, I also like that this means there are no kids around on said holiday.

This ruling is therefore an absolute disgrace.

Irresponsible parents will always be that – this ruling won’t change a thing for them. Little Kanye and Beyonce will always come way down the priority list.

Perhaps if the holiday companies didn’t take the opportunity to ramp up their prices during school holidays this probably wouldn’t have made this guy think that rules don’t apply to him

Junior has spent several weeks each Winter skiing in term time. Something which would have earned me a series of fines in the UK. His school results haven’t suffered (he’s got a place at Science Po Paris, the French equivalent of a cross between Oxford and LSE) and he’s already got one career to go to as a ski instructor.

Whether it’s Malaga or an eco-village in Costa Rica they’ll learn more than in school. And it really won’t affect their results in either case. The bright kids will catch up and those who make no effort wouldn’t have learnt a fat lot even they’d gone to school.

Has anyone on this forum ever had a “eureka moment” in school? I’ve had a few since but in school it was just learning and regurgitating.

Edit: I missed months of school with asthma and got the best exam results in the school – I think the two were linked.

My wife’s the head of a special needs school.

She *always* approves term time holiday for children in her school. A number have autism and can’t cope with crowds, others have needs which require special facilities for which demand is high.

Parents often have to ask her to write letters to other schools so that siblings can also join them on holiday.

I struggle to think of other circumstances under which a child would *need* to be taken on holiday during school terms.

this is terrible news for those of us free from kids.

a holiday during term time is, or was, guaranteed to be a peaceful break from other peoples’ screaming children.

Expect holiday prices during term time to take a sharp rise sometime soon

Not really it’s just supply and demand, demand is always lower during term times than holidays.

He was on radio 4 this morning. For me he came across as a self centred blinkered thinking throbber of the highest order. No doubt he is correct in terms of the current state of the law, and yes the head being able to exercise some leniency and discretion is a good thing.

But as a society we only want to pay for ‘mass education’ in cost effective groupings. Schools can’t plan effective teaching if there is a constant coming and going of kids missing (outside of the minimum unpreventable illness). If a ruling like this starts a free for all of taking holidays when you like the only folk to really suffer will be the kids who will receive a poorer ‘collective’ education.

Awhiles – What do you do that means you need a break from screaming children?

i live in a world where parents seem oblivious to the screaching anti-social behaviour of their** kids.

holiday destinations are usually nice and quiet during term time.

(**i know, i know, children are like farts, etc.)

I’m not sure why you’re all getting so worked up? As responsible parents you won’t be taking your kids out, will you? So all that happens is the knuckle-dragging parents of Sharon and Wayne (what is this, Eastenders in 1989? Never mind, carry on) **** up their kids educations, your kids do better than them

Except of course that Wayne and Sharon now sit in class firing ink pellets at the teacher because they can’t follow the lesson and prevent Tarquin and Jessica from learning

Whether it’s Malaga or an eco-village in Costa Rica they’ll learn more than in school. And it really won’t affect their results in either case. The bright kids will catch up and those who make no effort wouldn’t have learnt a fat lot even they’d gone to school.

Could not miss the point more if you had tried. This is not about the individual but about the collective. The whole class makes less progress if students are constantly coming and going. Parents (as you ably demonstrate) only focus on their own and are unable to see the big picture. Not sure if this is wilful or just an inability to decentre.

Except of course that Wayne and Sharon now sit in class firing ink pellets at the teacher because they can’t follow the lesson and prevent Tarquin and Jessica from learning

Surely Tarquin and Jessica go to a Private school and never have to meet Wayne and Sharon?

I for one look forward to the time when teachers can take their kids out of school during term time. I wonder if said bloke would be equally supportive.

Oh and if it was the same bloke who was on R4 this morning then yeah he did come across as a self important knob.

Whether it’s Malaga or an eco-village in Costa Rica they’ll learn more than in school. And it really won’t affect their results in either case

If this were the case then why bother with school at all.

A reminder to the state that it does not own my child.

The state has never claimed any such thing if it did then going to a state school would be compulsory whereas the state only mandates that an education be provided.

this is terrible news for those of us free from kids.

It really isn’t is it……..

Not in light entertainment then?

But as a society we only want to pay for ‘mass education’ in cost effective groupings. Schools can’t plan effective teaching if there is a constant coming and going of kids missing (outside of the minimum unpreventable illness). If a ruling like this starts a free for all of taking holidays when you like the only folk to really suffer will be the kids who will receive a poorer ‘collective’ education.

This. It also makes it harder for the teacher delivering the lessons when the children are on different pages. Multiple children popping off for 2 weeks at a time here and there is not conducive to classes of 30 or so.

It was always about common sense discretion that was taken away from head teachers.

If your kid is attaining above the required levels, and the time off doesn’t bring their school attendance below 95% in a rolling 12 months, let them take it.

If they are not attaining (and don’t have special needs to justify that), or attendance will drop below 95%, then the fine should be double the cost of the **** holiday.

If my absence from work dips below 8 days/3 incidents in a rolling 12 months, I face a disciplinary review, don’t see why parents and kids shouldn’t be facing the same real life pressure.

And that’s speaking as a parent who has not had a term time holiday for 8 years, and kids attendance never below 98%.

No one has a “right” to a cheap holiday. You only have a right to time off work. Though I accept that people who do not control when their leave is rostered should get special consideration from the schools.

a holiday during term time is, or was, guaranteed to be a peaceful break from other peoples’ screaming children.

+1

With the recent sunshine we’ve had to get our passive aggressive “I hope that kids not going to scream like that all summer” voice out early for the benefit of our neighbors. The problem with such early escalation is it doesn’t leave many options for later in the summer other than a foul smelling smoky bonfire to drive everyone else indoors and NWA on full volume.

Not sure which is worse, goading the kids or the dogs.

“come here, come to mummy”
“RAAAA WAAAAAAAA RAAAAAA”

“come here, come to mummy”
“WOOF WOOOF WOOOOOF”

The whole class makes less progress if students are constantly coming and going

The best way of learning stuff thoroughly is teaching it (see the learning pyramid). When kids take notes for their classmates to help them catch up they learn more themselves.

Kids are always coming and going as they catch colds or worse. It really doesn’t make any difference to what happens in class. As a teacher I used give kids who had been absent the handouts and ask if they had a mate to catch up from. Worked fine.

Everyone did the same in my classes. Those that did it quickly and easily were given something more of interest but everyone did the same core.

ads678 – Member

It really isn’t is it……..

that’s the weird thing about parents, no sense of humour.

When kids take notes for their classmates to help them catch up they learn more themselves.

You really think my kids are going to salve your conscience for taking your kids out of class in term time by taking notes and then giving up their own learning time to go through the notes with your kids when they deign to attend while the rest of the class move on to other stuff? Really?