Taking children out of school

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.

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 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

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!

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. Much depends on the parents whether they can take the place of qualified teachers or not.
What Missfoodlove describes sounds like the sort of holiday that parents who are NOT good at education would take their children to. Such people are teaching their children that what costs a lot of money is good in itself.

Oh no, I am so sorry, gillybob.

No that’s true notanan - but many can, they just choose to get ‘more for their money’ by going in term time.

Sadly no they didn’t Callistemon they had saved very hard for this little break and “paid off it” in the branch with myself and the other grandma paying little bits off too . £50 here and there etc. I feel so sorry for the children .

Perhaps they should do what they do in Australia?
Pupils can take time off school during term time (so many visit family overseas, often for several weeks) but they have to keep up with schoolwork online and send in their work via the internet.

British PRIVATE schools often avoid state school holidays and midterms so British private school kids do get taken on holiday in "term time" but its not their term time

I meant, if someone can afford to spend the £7k the OP was talking about they could spend the same amount or less on a holiday in the school holidays - there are plenty of other options available that would mean not missing school

Not if they cant get leave in school holidays. And many can't.

E.g. me & people with tourism based businesses etc

gillybob I feel so sorry for your family and so many others caught in this - but I wonder if they paid by credit card?
This happened to some of my family with a much smaller firm a while ago, but they did get a refund from their credit card bank.

I took all 3 out of school every year in June, because we could not at that time afford the massive expense of hols out of term time. They all have degrees and post-grad qualifications.

My DD takes hers out too as she and her OH have seasonal work which makes holidays out of term time impossible.

What difference does the type of holiday really make

I meant, if someone can afford to spend the £7k the OP was talking about they could spend the same amount or less on a holiday in the school holidays - there are plenty of other options available that would mean not missing school

Are they British children, Missfoodlove?

I ask because the Australian school holidays have just finished and the NZ school holidays are halfway through.

I never kept my kids off school during term time. I think it's totally wrong. My opinion.

My first year in my last job I went the whole year getting zero annual leave during school holidays or half term as only so many can be off at once and school holidays are booked up a year in advance!

As a retired teacher I've never been in agreement with the government policies on this (many teachers aren't). Did you know that both parents can be fined for absence? It's a bit silly when they may be separated and one may be unaware. Many families just can't afford the costs of summer holidays.

Generally, kids are 'off sick' rather than officially on holiday. One said he'd met his friend (on a Greek island) while off sick! Would I report an incident of suspected 'term time holiday'? No!

What difference does the type of holiday really make ? If someone is fortunate enough to afford a luxury holiday or just a week in a caravan in Yorkshire ? Holidays are valuable family time .

I’m not in favour of taking children out of school, esp when it’s for very expensive resort type holidays. However, teachers don’t put in extra time to bring these children back up to speed and the weeks before term ends when they do very little so perhaps with the October break coming next week (here anyway) there are parents who are taking advantage of the wind down.

Tell me about it,gillybob.

It's the greed which makes me feel ill.

Because other airlines/ holidays have upped their prices I can see them going bust as well because they'll be less affordable than ever where there are families. It's criminal that such companies can be allowed to be so greedy and grasping.

Prices per mile by air are more expensive here than a flight to the other side of the world and it's totally unacceptable. Even the hotels were trying to cash in on those who were left stranded by the collapse which I thought was abominable and in view of that I'd never do business with their like again.

I was talking to an elderly neighbour who'd been stranded in Turkey during that time and was stuck in an airport for over 8 hrs, she's in her 70's. Then finally whatever flight was arranged it only went to Stansted airport and from there a coach to Liverpool then another mode of transport from there across the water to here. The woman has Parkinson's and it took its toll on her.

I hate this world of begrudging.

Anyone who might have missed a week.