Taking the kids out of school to going skiing. Opinions?

Why ski holidays are worth skipping school for (Telegraph)

What sayeth the panel?

I’m guessing a lot of folk on here are back to work today after being away with the family on a stupidly expensive half-term ski holiday to crowded slopes.

While quite a few others (myself included!) will have gone for the “illegal” but considerably cheaper option of taking the sprogs out of school – reassuring themselves that The School Of Life is more valuable than all that fancy buke lurning.

A week of school of a week of skiing, i know which one would be of most benefit to my kids. Skiing it is.

Well I’m getting in early. I took Surfer junior out for 4 days from his studies this year.

*phones social services*

A self serving article if ever I read one. If you want to take the kids out of school for a week, so be it. Just don’t try and sell a holiday as being, in some meaningful way, life enriching.

I’m guessing a lot of folk on here are back to work today after being away with the family on a stupidly expensive half-term ski holiday to crowded slopes.

I’m guessing it may be less than you think. I certainly couldn’t afford to go on a skiing trip with the family.

reassuring themselves that The School Of Life is more valuable than all that fancy buke lurning”

Nope. Would only take them out of school for a good reason.

However I do agree that the way prices balloon during school hols is scandalous and I can understand (but not necessarily agree with) why people think about taking their children during term time.

Depends what you rate as a priority, and how much support you have for your children’s school and teachers. If you don’t give a toss about them, sure, why not take your kids out of school, you can still blame the school if your kids don’t get the results they were predicted, and if they did – result! The extra work and stress the teachers had to do (with no financial recompense for themselves) to catch your kids up was all worth it.

Take the holiday you can afford.

God knows the right answer but that opinion piece read to me as some whiny muppet screaming BUT I WANT TO GO SKIING!!!! IT’S NOT FAIR!!!!

Just don’t try and sell a holiday as being, in some meaningful way, life enriching.

You sad ****. 😀

Does this apply to all forms of holiday or just the particularly middle class ones?

*ducks*

However I do agree that the way prices balloon during school hols is scandalous

And yet, many of the companies causing those “scandals” aren’t exactly raking in the profits. It’s a bit like people complaining about the workshop rates at bike shops IMO.

I often wonder how people would react if their childs teachers took time off work during term time to go skiing with their families.

Oh y’know, skiing, touring vineyards in France, walking trails and swimming in lakes in Austria…all perfectly allowable instead of a week in school. A week’s all inclusive in Majorca however has to be a no-no.

Depends what you rate as a priority, and how much support you have for your children’s school and teachers. If you don’t give a toss about them

Because of course if you take your kids out for a few days “you dont give a toss” do you 🙄

Just don’t try and sell a holiday as being, in some meaningful way, life enriching.

I think it is the very essence of “life enriching”.

Whether it has any educational value is a different thing, but personally I think there is a fair bit of value in exposing kids to other cultures and languages (albeit terribly middle-class ones) as well as giving them interests in the outdoors and sports.

FWIW our school refused to grant permission for us to take our daughter out the week before half term. She is FOUR – she’s not missing Advanced Calculus. We took her out anyway.

God knows the right answer but that opinion piece read to me as some whiny muppet screaming BUT I WANT TO GO SKIING!!!! IT’S NOT FAIR!!!!

Yes god awful article.

but personally I think there is a fair bit of value in exposing kids to other cultures and languages

Whilst I agree with that sentiment, I disagree that you’d find very much of that on a skiing holiday.

but personally I think there is a fair bit of value in exposing kids to other cultures and languages

Does braying loudly actually count as a different language?

All parents should be able to pick and choose when their kids go to school. I’m sure the teachers won’t mind either as many of them are parents and they’ll have the same rights to take holidays in what is, nominally, term time.

Is a holiday more life-enriching when it is taken during term time?

Haha, even the Torygraph doesn’t like Gove.

I expect I’d go in term time if I take the kids skiing – but only if I at least had agreement from their teachers and the head that it wouldn’t be a big problem (even if officially they have to fine me). I’d take the fine though rather than whinge about it and try to justify it – I can understand the reasons for the policy – and would feel at least a little bit guilty.

It is a deeply valuable experience and one I fear could soon be the preserve of the rich

😆 – because taking the kids skiing during term time is something everybody can afford

Because of course if you take your kids out for a few days “you dont give a toss” do you

I think that’s a reasonable conclusion, yes. If you take your kids out of school because it means you can have a nicer holiday, regardless of the extra work you’re loading up on someone else, I don’t think it particularly displays a supportive attitude.

My daughter (Yr7) is going on a 3 day ‘enrichment break’ with school at the end of the school year in July…

…to EuroDisney.

So I’d say a weeks skiing is fine! 🙂

I as a general one would not take them out of school.
But, the last few days of term in the summer we are.
Three days wild camping and white water canoeing in southern France (dahlings 8) ) or a few daft quizzes and some 1990’s video’s back in school? hmmmm…

+1 on that, gonefishing 🙂

If I was going to take my kids skiing during term time, I’d reason it as follows:

– I want to go skiing and can’t afford (or am not willing to spend) the price of a school holiday trip
– I reckon the kids would really enjoy it and it would help encourage them to appreciate sports as fun and a good thing to have an interest in
– My kids are doing fine at school and the impact to them directly is probably very little
– I would also accept that I’m being selfish in that if the above isn’t right or everyone was doing it, it’d be a right pain for the teacher

I wouldn’t try and kid myself that the trip would be ‘educational’ in any way or cultural because I really don’t believe that to be the case beyond the flimsiest of justifications.

I think it is the very essence of “life enriching”.

She is FOUR

How much experience of a life-enriching essence do you recall from the age of four?

Keep the gits in school in term time. Introduce heavier fines and send them to jail (and their parents 😛 ).

… which means the slopes are kid free and quieter for me (yes, I have no kids) 😀

Assuming I avoid the foreign school holidays also that is.

I disagree that you’d find very much of that on a skiing holiday.

Well she met French people, tried out her stock French, learnt some more French, and ate some French food. Plus she learnt a bit about the mountains, sports, the outdoors, travel, currency, and the physics of sliding about on solid water 😀

How much experience of a life-enriching essence do you recall from the age of four?

And how much school education do your recall from the age of four? You can’t have that both ways.

Is a holiday more life-enriching when it is taken during term time?

Of course not, it just makes it available to people that don’t have five grand burning a hole in their pocket!

A week off school is quite a bit certainly once they are in senior school. We know many who have done it though (including ex BIL and his wife was a teacher, she stayed behind with 12 and he took the other 2!). We used to try and squeeze in trips before Christmas if possible and/or in first few days of January.

FWIW a good friend took his kids out of school for a year for a round the world trip. they came back and went straight into the same classes. Hardly missed a beat.

We don’t even get a full week’s February half term. We have to take them out of school or we just couldn’t go. Family and friend commitments at Christmas and we always have to sort our caravan out for the summer at Easter.

I as a general one would not take them out of school.
But, the last few days of term in the summer we are.

So we’ll count you as in favour then?

Well she met French people, tried out her stock French, learnt some more French, and ate some French food. Plus she learnt a bit about the mountains, sports, the outdoors, travel, currency, and the physics of sliding about on solid water

Well you’d get a lot more of that away from a ski resort. Oh and it’s bit of physics fail if you are sliding on solid water.

Depends what you rate as a priority, and how much support you have for your children’s school and teachers. If you don’t give a toss about them, sure, why not take your kids out of school, you can still blame the school if your kids don’t get the results they were predicted, and if they did – result! The extra work and stress the teachers had to do (with no financial recompense for themselves) to catch your kids up was all worth it

My priority is my kids and that is exactly why i take them out for a week every year cycling and trekking on the west coast of Scotland, the ultimate university of life.

In my experience it is the teachers that don’t give a toss about them.

All three of mine have always been at the top of their class, middle one just got 7 straight A’s in his prelims. Spending time with your kids and giving them support will take them further in life than a week in a year of school half of which is make believe anyways- curriculum for excellence, tutor time etc, take all the faf out they are only learning half the time anyway so only missing half a week in reality.

Well that’s my rant………..probably get shot down if flames for it but there you are……yes take your kids out for a week!

Some of you people need to get a grip, a week’s skiing is very supplementary to a kid’s education and it helps with posture when riding (pony club)
It’s not as if we’re talking about council estate kids here, who’s parents don’t care about education.

Just pretend you’re working class, leave the kids at home with some pop, crisps, pot noodles, and a few tins of beans, ask Sharon or Baz from down the road to pop their heads in every couple of days, and head off yourself to have it large in Chamonix 😀

Oh hang on a minute… do you own a Devil Dog? That could be a problem? Nah… actually…. you’ll be fine. He’s probably not bitten any of the kids for a while now

I was always under the impression that these laws were introduced to protect vulnerable and disadvantaged kids with very poor attendance. For example, when I cast my mind back to school, there were a number of kids who rarely attended at all. And in those cases I expect it works pretty well?

Taking your kids out of school for a week’s holiday is a different matter entirely and I don’t think for a second that it’s going to **** up their education. So I’m with the school of life on this one.

Just pretend you’re working class, leave the kids at home with some pop, crisps, pot noodles, and a few tins of beans, ask Sharon or Baz Derek from down the road to pop their heads in every couple of days, and head off yourself to have it large in Chamonix

FTFY

hmmmmm

a classroom filled with a hotchpotch of barely controlled tiny maniacs or quality time with the fam doing summink ace..

tricky one

Just pretend you’re working class

…she said “oh you’re so funny”. I said “Yeah” 😉

Taking your kids out of school against the rules shows them best how to treat authority.

And getting them to lie about the reason they didn’t turn up one day is a useful lesson in honesty,

Do it. We got our fines last week, didn’t realise each parent got fined, still doing it next year though.