Taking term time holidays.

[Noodlebear]

That was the case when I was a kid (Maybe not 85% but a similar system) so it's not like it wasn't policed before. I understand having a line, I'm not condoning poor overall attendance at all. It's very different now though and totally ridiculous. We don't even have to send them to school, we can home school them, so if we catch them up why is it acceptable to have someone dictate to us what we can and can't do with our children? Especially while they're at primary school!

 

[monkee12]

I do agree with you, unfortunately many people now keep their children off school for no reason which means the government/council/schools are taking action to prevent that happening, its just a shame it tares everyone as I said before I am happy for this to be enforced, however i'm not happy that holiday companies, decide to jump on the price hike bandwagon..

 

[Noodlebear]

They should've been more vigilant with the previous rules if they were having issues, perhaps as attendance started nearing the lower limits they should've given more warnings and made more serious steps to preventing it. I don't think it's acceptable AT ALL to tar everyone with the same brush. I work with countless other parents, when my son goes to school what happens then? We can't all go on holiday at the same time so we're not only meant to pay ridiculous prices for it or face a fine but are we meant to alternate so that we're only allowed 1 holiday every 3 or 4 years so that everyone gets a turn? The same with my OH, so then what if we can't get the same week off? That is a joke. Their prices have ALWAYS gone up in school holidays, it's not them jumping on the bandwagon it's the government making life difficult.

 

[monkee12]

I agree with you, it's not fair, 2 years ago I got to go Egypt in April halftterm a week all inclusive with my Los less then a grand all inclusive, this year it would cost us around 2 grand so prices have gone up alot, My OH is in the forces and is unable to get a half term off until Aug when prices are at the highest

 

[Rachel_C]

I think people focus on the wrong thing when criticising the rules. I'm sure it's beneficial to the child concerned to go on holiday - quality time with the family, new experiences, new cultures etc but it's not just about them, is it? What about the teacher who will have to either spend their own free time helping the child catch up or take time out of teaching other children/planning lessons for the whole class to help the one child who's been away? I don't think other children and the teacher should 'pay' for my child to go on holiday like that.

I have no issues taking MY children out of school but I won't do it because it's not fair to OTHER people's children. It's not all about my family, which I think people forget. I've chosen to send my kids to school so I need to think of the other kids. If I want to live by my own rules, I need to home educate.

I don't think it's fair that prices are so much higher in school holidays but I think people should focus on getting that changed - perhaps the government should look at ways to make sure companies can only charge a set percentage more than the average for the rest of the year during school holidays? Or maybe different local authorities should move their holidays around so it's harder for holiday companies to set the dates for increased prices. I don't think it's the schools' faults so I don't think the schools should be the ones dealing with the problem of children causing disruption to the rest of the class by going away in term time.

 

[Noodlebear]

It should be up to the parents to catch their children up, not the teachers. If you wouldn't take your child out during term time then that's cool, the new rules won't make a difference to you.

 

[monkee12]

Many parents won't though, that's the problem. If I had enough time in the day I would home school, I do as much as I can with my children but find it hard to dedicate alot of time to catching them up, I try doing day trips to compensate not going on holiday, however even that gets expensive now x

 

[Rhi_Rhi1]

The schools should set their own holidays (I know academies can) so schools within the same area are off at roughly the same time but so it is varied across the country... my lo happens to be at an academy but they haven't changed their holidays which alot of people are annoyed about. Even moving the summer holidays around a week in either direction would make a huge dent in the cost etc x

 

[Foogirl]

The schools should set their own holidays (I know academies can) so schools within the same area are off at roughly the same time but so it is varied across the country... my lo happens to be at an academy but they haven't changed their holidays which alot of people are annoyed about. Even moving the summer holidays around a week in either direction would make a huge dent in the cost etc x

Not really. If the school holiday season was extended by half the schools, either side of the holidays, then these weeks would simply be designated as peak season too. This is already the case where some places consider the last two weeks of summer term as peak season because that is when the Scottish Schools are off.

The argument the travel industry make is, they have to make a profit during peak season to make up for the fact that in the low season they run at a loss. Speak to anyone involved, especially folk who live and work in tourist destinations. If you own a hotel or restaurant in Cornwall, You are only making money 6 months in a year. You have to make sure you can afford to live on your profit for the whole year. And during that 6 month period you have to employ more staff, which is a costly thing to do. That is the real reason why prices are much higher during the holiday season. It's about supply and demand, rather than profiteering which is what they are accused of. I know it seems unfair that some people can't afford to go on holiday but that's just the way of the world. We rarely had overseas holidays when I was younger. We went camping in the UK every year. Cheap holidays are still possible to have and we enjoyed every minute of them. Because of our daughter's disability we find it impossible to travel abroad. So guess what? We don't. We have managed to get away somewhere, every summer, in the UK, and at a fraction of the cost of an overseas holiday. It can be done and for us is far less stressful than having to take her and all her equipment on a plane.

 

[WW1]

The schools should set their own holidays (I know academies can) so schools within the same area are off at roughly the same time but so it is varied across the country... my lo happens to be at an academy but they haven't changed their holidays which alot of people are annoyed about. Even moving the summer holidays around a week in either direction would make a huge dent in the cost etc x

This could potentially become a nightmare for teachers with families. My daughter is in one authority and I'm just over the border teaching in another. Our half term and 1 week of Easter have not matched so DH has had to use annual leave to cover it. Thankfully I'm part time so it's not two full weeks but given my hubby only gets 4 weeks per year (which we have to take at peak times), it's quite a proportion of his leave. If all schools have separate holidays, prices will go up all year and many teachers will be left with holidays separate to their children. I know this wouldn't impact on everyone but staff who work in schools do make up a fair amount of the workforce!

 

[SarahP13]

The schools should set their own holidays (I know academies can) so schools within the same area are off at roughly the same time but so it is varied across the country... my lo happens to be at an academy but they haven't changed their holidays which alot of people are annoyed about. Even moving the summer holidays around a week in either direction would make a huge dent in the cost etc x

Not really. If the school holiday season was extended by half the schools, either side of the holidays, then these weeks would simply be designated as peak season too. This is already the case where some places consider the last two weeks of summer term as peak season because that is when the Scottish Schools are off.

The argument the travel industry make is, they have to make a profit during peak season to make up for the fact that in the low season they run at a loss. Speak to anyone involved, especially folk who live and work in tourist destinations. If you own a hotel or restaurant in Cornwall, You are only making money 6 months in a year. You have to make sure you can afford to live on your profit for the whole year. And during that 6 month period you have to employ more staff, which is a costly thing to do. That is the real reason why prices are much higher during the holiday season. It's about supply and demand, rather than profiteering which is what they are accused of. I know it seems unfair that some people can't afford to go on holiday but that's just the way of the world. We rarely had overseas holidays when I was younger. We went camping in the UK every year. Cheap holidays are still possible to have and we enjoyed every minute of them. Because of our daughter's disability we find it impossible to travel abroad. So guess what? We don't. We have managed to get away somewhere, every summer, in the UK, and at a fraction of the cost of an overseas holiday. It can be done and for us is far less stressful than having to take her and all her equipment on a plane.

Thank you for saying this! I've been meaning to post about this for a while. My husband works in the travel industry - business rather than tourism- but he is well aware of the loss the travel company's suffer during off peak times. If they are forced to lower their prices during school holidays then they will simply have to raise them for the rest of the year. So, yes, you may then get lower prices but people without kids will have to pay a lot more. Then they'll refuse and travel companies will go out of business. That's simplified hugely but as Foogirl said it's all about supply and demand, not profiteering. And they are a business after all!!

 

[WW1]

The schools should set their own holidays (I know academies can) so schools within the same area are off at roughly the same time but so it is varied across the country... my lo happens to be at an academy but they haven't changed their holidays which alot of people are annoyed about. Even moving the summer holidays around a week in either direction would make a huge dent in the cost etc x

Not really. If the school holiday season was extended by half the schools, either side of the holidays, then these weeks would simply be designated as peak season too. This is already the case where some places consider the last two weeks of summer term as peak season because that is when the Scottish Schools are off.

The argument the travel industry make is, they have to make a profit during peak season to make up for the fact that in the low season they run at a loss. Speak to anyone involved, especially folk who live and work in tourist destinations. If you own a hotel or restaurant in Cornwall, You are only making money 6 months in a year. You have to make sure you can afford to live on your profit for the whole year. And during that 6 month period you have to employ more staff, which is a costly thing to do. That is the real reason why prices are much higher during the holiday season. It's about supply and demand, rather than profiteering which is what they are accused of. I know it seems unfair that some people can't afford to go on holiday but that's just the way of the world. We rarely had overseas holidays when I was younger. We went camping in the UK every year. Cheap holidays are still possible to have and we enjoyed every minute of them. Because of our daughter's disability we find it impossible to travel abroad. So guess what? We don't. We have managed to get away somewhere, every summer, in the UK, and at a fraction of the cost of an overseas holiday. It can be done and for us is far less stressful than having to take her and all her equipment on a plane.

It's interesting how expectations have changed over time. When I was a kid (late 70s and 80s) very few of my friends went abroad for our holidays - we simply didn't have the money and it wouldn't have occurred to us that we should go. My family holidays as a child involved camping or going in a caravan. We loved it! Even in the midst of August you can get a campsite pitch for a reasonable price. Holidays don't have to coat the earth - but I accept camping is not everyone's cup of tea!

 

[RachA]

I totally refuse to sign petitions regarding allowing term time holidays. We have 13 weeks of the year in which to take family holidays and i think it's down to the holiday companies to reduce the cost of the holidays.
I also don't think it's hugely more expensive to take holidays during school holidays anyway - we are going to rhodes this year for two weeks half board in the summer holidays and it's costing us less that we paid for 2 weeks to crete in september a couple of years ago. The hotel we are staying in this time is a better hotel too. If you are savvy then you can pick holidays up for really good prices.

The only time that i think there should be exceptions are for those people who have no say in when they are allowed their time off work.

 

[Noodlebear]

So don't sign it then I've posted for those that would be interested

 

[Pearls18]

I've signed, it's too controlling and draconian in my books. As a military family we have very little say as to when DH can take leave (in the posting he has now at least). I totally understand why this has needed to come in but I think it's a lazy way to resolve the issues and punishes everyone, I won't go into it anymore as this isn't a debate thread but just wanted to say I agree with you and have signed

 

[HPmum2B]

I do not have school age children yet, but I resent someone telling me how to parent my own children. I will decide if a holiday is worth missing school for.

When i was a child, we went on lots of holidays and I was very well traveled and mostly in the school holidays. However, my parents took us out of school on two occasions.

When I was 12 we went to Australia for christmas, as it was such a long way to go, my parents decided to take us for a month. For this I had to miss about two weeks of school. I am one of five children, three of us missed a week of school. My oldest brother and sister were 17 and 18 at the time, and they flew out a week later as they were studying A-levels at the time, so my mum and dad did not want them to miss so much. We always went to 'education' places too. (eg Cooks landing place).

Two years later, we went to South Africa, this was in a half term, however, we went for about 11 days, so it overlapped into the school term. While I was there I visited Nelson Mandalas prison cell and toured the whole of Robin Island (where the prison is). I learned a lot about apartide. Saw shanty towns. And went to boulders beach (where you can literally sunbathe with penguins).

To me these were experiences worth missing school for, I got so much from it that you just can't get from books.

I don't think a fine will stop me taking my kids out.

As for the person that thinks it makes a teachers life harder... I don't remember any teachers 'catching me up'. I remember picking up missed work off my friends. And my parents going through it with me.

 

[Foogirl]

I totally agree travel can broaden the mind and can be as much of an education as school. Mostly though, parents are doing it for two weeks on a beach in Magaluf. Not much broadening there.

 

[SarahP13]

Our first holiday with DD1 was to Australia and we are planning to go to South Africa this year. Obviously the kids are too young to get much out of it at the mo but, on the whole, these types of holidays can be educational and worth taking kids out of school for.

However, as foo girl said, a lot of people are just going to the beach for a week. I do think family holidays are very important but I don't agree with taking kids out of school for a beach holiday. It is possible to get cheaper holidays closer to home during school holidays.

The only exception are those who are in the military for example, I think some special treatment should be given there.

Unfortunately it's not a black and white issue but education should take priority in my opinion.

 

[Noodlebear]

I agree that education is vital and yes, it's not black and white. It's not about whether or not you personally would do it but whether it's right to have the restrictions forced upon everyone. I'm not saying I ever would take LO out of school for a holiday but I'm not having someone tell me I can't. My child, my choice. Especially as, for working parents, you have to jump on whatever time off you can have together.

 

[monkee12]

Our first holiday with DD1 was to Australia and we are planning to go to South Africa this year. Obviously the kids are too young to get much out of it at the mo but, on the whole, these types of holidays can be educational and worth taking kids out of school for.

However, as foo girl said, a lot of people are just going to the beach for a week. I do think family holidays are very important but I don't agree with taking kids out of school for a beach holiday. It is possible to get cheaper holidays closer to home during school holidays.

The only exception are those who are in the military for example, I think some special treatment should be given there.

Unfortunately it's not a black and white issue but education should take priority in my opinion.

This, I'm a military wife and we barely get anytime with hubby as it is
I do agree with the other posters in the sense that we shouldn't be told when we can spend time with our children, where does it end? first fines, next it will be child welfare and jail time