Taking children out of school

Lots of british kids get no "break" in school holidays: theyre in childcare 8-6 mon-friday so the routine is the same. Holiday clubs near me get booked up way in advance and can be as exhausting as school for some kids. The school bullies are still there, peer dynamics, its still a "school run"

If they get a break in term time, they may well need the R&R!

It depends on the quality of the holiday. There is a substantial benefit to a child to be taken on a holiday of educational value on the one hand, and a family jolly on the other.

No it doesnt! It doesnt have to be "educational" to enhance the childs life.

Children get stressed and worn down and tired just like adults do, and a holiday that is pure relaxation/fun is as much a tonic to them as it is to an adult. They will go back to school refreshed and rejuvinated with fresh motivation just as adults who get worn down by work do when they return to work after a proper break!

I don’t think it’s only about education and of course they can all get degrees etc etc even if they go on holidays in term time but surely it’s about teaching children you can’t just go against rules for your own benefit
I just had a disagreement with a friend who thinks it’s nonsense that children have to wear school uniform and she s encouraging her grandkids to break the rules if they want toWhen I said it was a bigger picture than that it was about keeping children on the same level, giving them pride in their school and showing they can follow rules which they will have to keep in the big wide world of work She was having none of it and continued ‘hoodies have been banned so I told my granddaughter to find the biggest one she’s got and walk round with it pulled up ‘ in other words one easy lesson in putting your finger up to any kind of rules or authority
I see this on the same level a rule is a rule even if you don’t agree with it

AIBU? I’m currently on holiday at a very beautiful resort in Greece. You would honestly think UK schools had broken up seeing the number of school age children here.

It just means you are at a British resort.

Brits are often kept quite separate from other tourists as they are unpopular. So go a few miles down the road amd you'll find resorts full of German/Dutch/Irish families, and no Brits!

Brits arent considered good "mixers" abroad so are often concentrated away from others.

I totally agree notanan well said ?

A holiday should be just that . A break from the usual routine . A chance to have quality family time away from the usual hustle and bustle of normal daily lives.

So it will look like there are lots of British kids on holiday and other countries keep their kids in school if you have booked through a British website and found yourself in a British resort.

Maybe the children are from Scotland, where some are already on the 'tattie-picking' holidays. Maybe they're home educated. Who know whey they're there?

Notanan, if any child is in need of a therapeutic holiday then that child should be alllowed time off school. In actual fact therapy and education meld into each other when the teaching and the school are good.

Hope they’re having the best of times . I love the thought of children having fun in the sun , splashing in the pool, putting their best summer clothes on for a special night and the flight ..... wow ..... such a special treat in itself . Who could begrudge that ?

All I can say is that we never took our children out of school for holidays. We often had to 'box and cox' to provide child cover over the long summer holidays and only had one week all together as a holiday. Never went abroad for holidays either.
For us education came first. Not much useful education or cultural integration in those big luxury resorts...

My adult children are always referring back to those wonderful French holidays that we had in school time when they were young. They loved every little detail and hold the memories dear.

There is more to education than school; especially now, when it has become so rigid and proscribed.

My DD and I have just returned from a holiday meant for under 5’s and there were lots of school age children there?. We were saying how,when they were small we never took them out of school, we took our holiday in holiday time but took a holiday we could afford, walking and wild camping or a short break near the seaside. They grew up perfectly well not going abroad on holiday until we were better off when I had started to work when they went to senior school. We paid the inflated prices as we felt that was our only option. I do think that my children learnt more about the world when we went wild camping in Scotland in the pouring rain for 7 days than they ever did in a holiday complex in Cyprus.

I'm on the fence about it.

I would have said no holidays during school time up until a couple of years ago, but now I think life is too short to always follow rules, mostly.

I think the whole system needs a rethink. I saw in the papers that a school has changed to all year and holidays can be taken whenever, based on 4 weeks a year.
The current school system relies on mainly women taking part time or term time only jobs, or staying home, to avoid the huge expense of childcare. This inequality will continue and is part of the reason women get paid less, have worse pensions, and less chance of promotion.
I’ve not taken mine out of school for holidays.

Our children are off now ,we're in the west of Scotland and they get 2 weeks from the middle of last week .I know this because my diary is full of wee girls who will be making christmas cakes .The schools in my area save up the single days and give them the 2 weeks instead .Just along the road in another local authority its different

What a brilliant idea paddyann much better than all the silly odd days they shove in here and there .

Our 3 now AC had a weeks camping in SW Scotland every whit and a French gite for a fortnight in July.
We had great times,the French children and ours plus friends had a UK v France football game at the local stad, we partied and ate with the different French families and our children are still in touch. It was all so happy.
In Scotland and they learned how to collect wood and make fires, harvest mussels to cook and all mucked in with each other.
In hindsight I’m glad we couldn’t afford a luxury holiday for 3 children in or out of term time!?

I expect most people would prefer to take their children on holiday outside of term time. But the costs - even to stay in this country - are prohibitive for many people. And some are quite restricted as to when they may take their holidays.

I honestly don't know what all the fuss is about. We took our children out of school for 3 weeks, adding it on to Christmas holidays, so that we could visit my husband's family for the first time since he'd come to the UK. We asked the teacher for a little guidance as to what would be done in school and set some of the work for them while we were on holiday - though only about 30 mins a day. There was no problem when they came back - they hadn't been left behind. The experience was immensely valuable to them.

Time to relax, have fun and learn on a family holiday is very important, especially when people lead such busy lives these days.

We took our children to America a few times around the October and May half terms adding a week either side, it wasn't that unusual then, we also took our younger one to Mexico in December when the school was winding down for Christmas. A teacher friend of ours was prone to say "quite honestly holidays with family could be more educational and beneficial than school at times" We did take pieces of work with us. Even back then the curriculum was quite narrow and there was little deviation from what had been set in stone for quite a few years. Life is an education and sometimes you need to go off piste when confined to such narrow parameters. Having said that, in retrospect, I think we were lucky that these trips were tolerated, I can see there are two sides to the argument in this respect.

It doesn't just mean extra time to catch that child up, it's extra time for the whole class to wait while that child catches up... And that child, also that one. Sometimes it's not possible so that could mean the difference between children being put in the right class for their ability later on. The responsibility for children to catch up is on me as a TA. So which children do I prioritise? Who do I let down today?

What would resolve this is a more staggered approach to term-times. Term time holidays is a nightmare for educators.

Taking school work on a holiday is a horrible idea.

I had a job once where we were expected to get work done during our annual leave (paperwork & emails) and it made me ill! And they didnt retain many staff!

Why do we appreciate adults needing "switch off" time from work but dont think that children need it?

I don’t suppose the OP approached the parents of the children she saw to ask why they were there? It’s so easy to complain from the perspective of ignorance, and to make judgements based on one’s own personal experience without considering that of the people being complained about.

FWIW, I think that in general annual holidays are intrinsically good for kids, whenever and wherever they are taken.

Tatty howking holiday were traditional break from school for 2 weeks to help wuth the harvest in Scotland. However the kids no longer need to help on the farms and the autumn break is about 10 days now.

If you were in a position to take your family to Greece next week, you wouldn't be missed at school.
I confess to taking my DC out very occasionally. We took DS out for a day once to meet up with some old friends .
Unfortunately for us he wrote all about it in his news at school next day.

Not all teachers oppose term time holidays for children with otherwise good attendance. Many give their unofficial blessings even though they cant be officially approved by the school

Both DH and I worked in the world of education so term time holidays were never going to happen even if we had thought it right - which we didn’t.

Not keen on inculcating slavish obedience but never thought selfishly doing what suited oneself regardless of the effect on others was a good thing either.