Unauthorised school absences

Schools - so inconvenient, aren’t they? 😏

Pippa22

GrannyGravy13 that isn’t quite it, after two periods of unauthorised absence you are taken to court which results in having a criminal record.
This has already started and is law so no ifs or buts and understanding headteachers that’s it.

Only if those unauthorised absences are reported to the council by the head .....which won't happen in many cases ....many heads will only refer on if its repeated .....most kids will be able to take a term time holiday per school year without getting referred to the council....it won't be authorised ....still logged as unauthorised....but the head still has discretion to decide what will be passed on for fines

I only realised this year what a terrible mother I was when DD confessed that she used to double back when I'd dropped her at school on my way to work, then go home and watch Wimbledon.
She seems to have done ok and the school never mentioned the unauthorised absences.
It was about 35 years ago.

No, not 35! More like 25 years as she was at senior school, I'm not that terrible.

I find the hypocrisy of the government/councils/authorities, etc, appalling.

I take to and collect children from four different primary schools.

Two of them in the same academy trust, barely half a mile apart, are always required for polling days and both schools close completely for the day.

Another school on the other side of town, a different academy trust, makes the use of one room available for the election day and the rest of the school carries on as normal.

The fourth school, a Catholic church school, is never required and never closes for polling days.

Very unfair on the parents who always have to be inconvenienced and the children who always miss a day's education, while others never do.
I've heard some say this is one reason why they have no qualms taking their child out for a day if it suits them 🤷

V3ra
I’d love to know which schools close completely for polling. Local schools in our area have to close a classroom and make alternative entrances for children for H&S reasons-those classes are catered for elsewhere in the school.

Fascinating that people who would absolutely frown on those who say quite truthfully that “spanking never did me any harm” are happy to use the same excuse for taking term time holidays.
The answer, as many have said is to persuade holiday providers to stop hyping prices. But that’s not going to happen.

LOUISA1523

Pippa22

GrannyGravy13 that isn’t quite it, after two periods of unauthorised absence you are taken to court which results in having a criminal record.
This has already started and is law so no ifs or buts and understanding headteachers that’s it.

Only if those unauthorised absences are reported to the council by the head .....which won't happen in many cases ....many heads will only refer on if its repeated .....most kids will be able to take a term time holiday per school year without getting referred to the council....it won't be authorised ....still logged as unauthorised....but the head still has discretion to decide what will be passed on for fines

Not these days. The new rules make it so the Head is duty bound to record all absences and to notify the appropriate authorities.

Lots of schools close for polling day, Mollygo. I'm in the north west of England. We have a few here that close.

will take place during term time and as local returning officers can take over any state school to use as a polling station your child’s school could be closed

I think I'd find it very unlikely that schools would open with numerous people traipsing in and out all day.

Rekarie

Lots of schools close for polling day, Mollygo. I'm in the north west of England. We have a few here that close.

will take place during term time and as local returning officers can take over any state school to use as a polling station your child’s school could be closed

I think I'd find it very unlikely that schools would open with numerous people traipsing in and out all day.

I’m talking about NW schools it is the decision of the individual schools’ leadership teams whether they stay open or not

As I explained, we open one classroom. Voters are not allowed in the rest of the school buildings. It is possibly more difficult for older schools to do that.

I'd say you're the exception, not the rule

I couldn’t do it as I was a teacher ! Also as a single parent - with no help from the father. couldn’t afford holidays very often .

Rekarie

I'd say you're the exception, not the rule

No. Not in local schools where I live, nor in schools in other parts of the north west, but I’m not claiming it doesn’t happen.

I don't think it impacts negatively on childrens' education if they & their parents make sure the topics missed are looked at at home on their return. I used to be taken out for holidays as we were a family farm harvesting soft fruit all through the summer but I hated the copying up after. (from friends' notes). I guess the issue is, do parents these days take responsibility for this or do they just expect the school to catch their children up? & if they leave it to the school, where are the resources for this coming from?

Valdavi if you have read this thread, it seems it’s the school’s job to catch children up, regardless of the impact on other children, and the parents’ job to teach their children to choose which rules to follow and which not.

If holiday companies didn't put prices up during school holidays it 6 be like trying to get tickets for an Oasis concert. When my chijdren were at school my husband had holudays allocated to him eg May one year, June the next and so on up to October.He had no chouce unless he coukd find someone with same rank, experience who was willing to swop. We didn't do holidays by the pool/amusement parks. Travelled over Europe camping. Family has great memories of all the experiences, countries visited. Schools were informed of situation ie no choice when to take holidays and we never had any issues or problems with falling behind.

Once we had done our GCEs my friends and I regularly "bunked off" school for the afternoon. My mother worked afternoons in Vernons Pools and didnt get in til 5 30 so she never found out. Or we went into Liverpol and hung around the shops.

The trick was to get your name on the register first. Then instead of going to the class you were supposed to be at you sloped off. The class teacher knew the register had been taken so never remarked on absentees unless it happened several days in a row. This was the late 1950s so things were a lot more relaxed then,

Holidays for us was a week in a caravan in Wales and we always went in the school holidays. There were no trips abroad for working class kids in those days.

Classroom is not the only place where education takes place. Holidays, particularly abroad are not only educational and memorable experience but serve to develop child’s social skills. And the memories last a life

Shelflife

I understand why parents feel this way , however......school is school and our children are fortunate to be given free education. Going on holiday in term time is not acceptable , I know it's expensive - so what !? They should go away in term time and if this means having a modest holiday in this country then so be it! I have no sympathy what so ever. We are privileged to have a sound education system and if parents can't appreciate that they don't deserve it ! No patience at all , if children are taken out of school for foreign holidays then a heavy financial penalty should be the ' price' they pay. They don't recognize how fortunate they are !!!!!!!

Am with you all the way on this.
Schools have leeway to make special exceptions for pupils where there are circumstances that merit time away but generally pupils need to attend in term time.

Actually biglouis there were overseas holidays for 'working class' people in the 1950s.

Cheap packaged holidays to Spain and the Ballearic Islands started in the mid 1950s. DH's father worked on the assembly line at Vauxhall and DH had his first holiday abroad in about 1957. His parents continued to have a annual holiday in Spain or Majorca for the next 25 years.