Children holidaying during term time.

I really don’t see how the holiday companies are to be blamed, its supply and demand..
Bus and train travel is more expensive at peak times, hotels are cheaper during the week, leisure facilities and gyms have peak and off peak prices.

Imagine if there was no high and low holiday season, there would many families complaining that people without school age children were taking all the bookings.

I wonder how,all the time my grandson missed was dealt with.

The school couldn't have cared less, then.

Are teachers allowed to take a week off during term time to take their families on holiday to take advantage of cheaper rates?

And in a class of 30 children, if each child misses 1 week of school per term, will their teacher be expected to provide 30 weeks of unpaid tuition to help the whole class catch up?

If a child goes on holiday during term time, will the teacher be expected to give her private, unpaid tuition during lunch times to help her catch up?

The ones which get you through exams tend to be.

Not all lessons are learnt in the classroom. 🌸

I was a school bursar for 10 years and even before that only took my children away in school time on the very odd occasion when for eg a flight was on a Monday or Friday at the start or end of a school holiday.
However. It soon became obvious that the only reason holidaying in school time was an issue was that the local authority could fine headteachers if the attendance figures dropped below a certain level. Without exception all the teachers did not believe that a couple of weeks out would make any difference in the long term learning outcomes of the children. In fact one part time teacher always took her children away the week before exams because, as she says, if they don’t know it now they never will and at least they’ll be relaxed.
So I have U turned my view and if my children were of school age now I wouldn’t worry at all about taking them away in term time.

School education is so precious, we never took our children out of school for a holiday and neither did my parents take us out of school. We went camping during school holidays

‘Surely travel companies and the government could put their heads together and see if there is some solution to this situation.’
I agree - as long as holidays are so expensive during school breaks, parents will choose to pay a fine which will still be less costly.
As an ex-teacher, I don’t agree with taking children on holiday at random times during the term, but I think the last week of the Summer term could be the least problematic for the school and the pupil.
We used to have Asian families who took their second language children out of school for six weeks at a time to visit Pakistan and Bangladesh - a nightmare for teaching staff. I’m not sure whether or not this is still allowed.

80s mumisagranny, I think you'll find that the crucial exam years begin well before the age of 15. I know of state schools where pupils do the first of their GCSEs in year 10 and the syllabus has to be started well before then.

fluttERBY123

There is a reason for the fines. Children who miss new work have to.be brought up to date and this takes up teacher time that could be better spent. Of course some children won't ever be brought up to date, to their detriment. I think the fines should be increased if anything. Surely travel companies and the government could put thei heads together and see if there is some solution to this situation.

I agree, the parents who holiday in term time are disadvantaging their own children and also all the other children in their classes.

Our children only went outside term time but we didn't feel deprived because we didn't have super-impressive holidays. Perhaps some of it is down to conspicuous consumption?!

However in some cases, like those mentioned with a parent with a life limiting illness, I think that it might be reasonable to make an exception.

Joseann

Children are such funny little people because all they want is an adventure. It doesn't really matter where, and it doesn't necessarily have to be an expensive trip. My DGC were with me here in Cornwall this weekend. It was a cold 10 degrees, pouring with rain, all the attractions closed, empty beaches, but we did so much together that they didn't want to leave on Sunday evening!
If term time holidays are the only way for families to achieve the shared experiences they want at a reasonable price, then the occasional time-out from school isn't really that detrimental to their children's education.

So agree I had a lovely similar week in Tenby last year with my 2 grandsons … still say it’s best holiday they’ve had and they’ve been to so many ‘wonderful ‘ countries

Totally agree with Ferry23.

One step further: what is a holiday?!!! What is the necessity?

Being married to an alcoholic workaholic for 25 years, we and the three children never had a family holiday!!! What they did not know, they did not miss!!

There is a reason for the fines. Children who miss new work have to.be brought up to date and this takes up teacher time that could be better spent. Of course some children won't ever be brought up to date, to their detriment. I think the fines should be increased if anything. Surely travel companies and the government could put thei heads together and see if there is some solution to this situation.

It really is a problem for teachers, imagine having to re-teach any new work that has been done in the time the children were away. This takes the staff away from new teaching for the rest of the class and slows learning down for the children whose parents don't take them out of school.
Or are the holidaying parents happy for their children to miss out on two weeks of new work? In a subject like maths this could mean that they have real problems catching up.
I'm not surprised that schools are very against term-time holidays and feel it is very inconsiderate of the parents.

Children get ill and have to miss school, which is no different to taking that time off to go on holiday. Maybe a child with chronic recurring illness maybe needs to attend school as and when they can, but otherwise I would advocate experience taking them on holiday affords. We took our children to Australia for a year. One went to Oxford, the other got a double first. Not intending to sound smug, just highlighting the fact that not being in school does not always equate with a ruined education.

I think it must be really difficult for teachers having to help maybe several different children to catch up on differing bits of work while still teaching the majority who weren't absent. How on earth are they expected to do this? On the other hand the cost difference for holidays in term time make such a big difference and can be the make or break of having a holiday or not.
I can see both sides here though we never took our child out of school term for a holiday.

MissAdventure

I suppose the point is, did the children of those parents who didnt holiday in term time go on to become super humanly intelligent, or go much further in life?

Probably not, I'm guessing.

I would guess the same!

I think the current draconian rules are ridiculous. Up until about 20 years ago, the head teacher could permit absences from school for holidays or other reasons.

I took my children out of school on several occasions for holidays and family visits. In one particular year, the eldest (then aged 8) didn't attend school for 5 months.

The only times when I think children's schooling should not be disrupted by holidays etc is during the critical exams years, ie between the ages of 15 and 18.

My son in law has been diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease at 37 and has 3 little school children and they would love one holiday abroad before he is too bad to travel - making memories is so important for them as a family but to book in school holidays a week in Spain would cost them 6,000 so sadly they can’t do it

MissAdventure

I suppose the point is, did the children of those parents who didnt holiday in term time go on to become super humanly intelligent, or go much further in life?

Probably not, I'm guessing.

Oh dear , that is quite “
judgy”!
A response from another GN points out that 4 children that she knew of were home schooled & went on to go to Grammar Schools !

I worked in a school and it was not allowed to take holiday in term time. I was in a low paid job and for many years I didn't have much in the way of holidays as a result. Now I'm retired and still struggle to afford holidays even though I'm not restricted as to when I can go. I thought I'd go away more once |I retired but mostly still just spend time with family who live at a distance or do volunteer roles at places where others holiday.
Whether children's education suffers when taken ut of school for holidays depends on what they do on holiday and also how able they are. Bright children will learn while away on holiday as they have new experiences and they ask questions all the time. They will also quickly catch up what they have missed. Less able children may miss out significantly, especially if they just spend time on a beach or in a pool.
I rarely took my children out of school in term time as I had to get special permission myself anyway, so only for things like a family wedding abroad. Nowadays parents are fined for taking children out of school without permission but I guess even with a fine to pay the cost of the holiday will probably be significantly cheaper. Also some parents may be restricted as to when they can take leave, so taking children out of school may be justifiable.

I can remember coming back to school after a two week absence due to illness, I struggled to catch up the things taught during that time. Got kids at school then they should be in school not on holiday. Yep, it’s wrong that holidays cost so much more in school holidays but, until some sort of legislation is passed to prevent this, not likely of course, don’t have expensive holidays. Go camping, days out, save for a holiday every second year., got grandparents who live in an holiday destination then go for a visit. Education is so important and we all take it for granted. I worked with a person who took her son out of school 3 times in one school year because, he has a right to have a holiday!! He then didn’t see school as important at all, refused to get out of bed, refused to go if he didn’t feel like it. She just couldn’t see that she’d told him school wasn’t important because she’d taken him out when it suited her. I believe the fines, in England, are now really hefty for taking your child out for a holiday. But if it’s still cheaper to go away in school time I’m sure people will still do it.

I can't see what harm a week or two out of school can possibly do, and suspect the rule is there for reasons other than child welfare. Bit of revenue for councils? Making sure the interests of the tour companies are paramount? Or just making us all toe the line and conform, so we are conditioned to accept whatever comes out of the mouths of authority? I do not think taking children out of school for a holiday - which is arguably an important experience in their development, and a type of 'education' in itself - is 'taking education for granted. However, personally, I would never go on a cruise - bingo? - please don't make me!

A bit annoying when you’d anticipated it as more or less an adult only time!
I don’t really disagree with time out if absolutely necessary, maybe a week, during school term as long as it isn’t at the start of a term or at really important times and I understand that it saves money ….but…if you can afford 2k for this sort of holiday and don’t even leave the ship, it tells me that money probably isn’t at a premium….i guess it takes all sorts….