Term Time School Holiday Fines

Westyfield2

Westyfield2

Westyfield2

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So as you've probably read about there's these new fines of £60 per day per child that parents have to pay for taking children out of school during term time. Evil Michael Gove, etc :mad:.
This came up in conversation yesterday, and even friends who are teachers disagreed with it! :p Two questions were raised that no-one knew.

My google-fu is letting me down, but surely the intellectual power that is OcUK will know! :cool:

The £60 per day per child fine, where does the money go? ;)
Someone I know had worked it out as costing them £600 to take their two children on holiday during term time, and were going to go ahead with it. That's a decent amount of money!
Does the school get to keep the cash? Thus eliminating the need of the summer fete to raise funds! Or does it go back to the general sinking fund of the LEA/Council/Central Government?​

Someone had been told by the headmaster at their child's school that they'd get the £60 per day per child fine, and a criminal record. Is that true? :eek:
I'd have assumed that an unpaid fine becomes a criminal record, but that if you pay the fine on-time then it doesn't go any further.​
 
I think this is disgusting!!!!!

If I could afford it, I would make sure my son was home schooled by my wife meaning we would have some more freedom. If holiday prices during school holidays were cheaper, this wouldn't be an issue.

I'm not sure they would get a criminal record, but I've heard/read about jail terms around this seriously ridiculous rule!!
 
I just fail to see how a week or two away from school can seriously impact a childs leanring. Surely parents should/would be teaching them outside of school aswell, so impact would be reduced quite a bit.
 
Problem is some parents completely take the mick with it. I don't agree with fines/criminal record though.

If a school really cares about a child's education though parents taking them out for 1-2 weeks at a time means they need to put extra resources into getting that child caught up on what has been taught.
 
I believe it's £60 per child per parent per absence (so up to £120 for a holiday for one child if there are two parents).

The stupid thing is, the prescribed reason for it isn't even the right reason for not allowing term time holidays.

Generally it's trotted out about children missing valuable learning time etc. This is quite obviously fallacious when applied to a yearly family break, particularly for primary children.

The real reason to oppose term time holidays is not the harm to the children fortunate enough to be taken on such breaks, but the message the break sends out to those, mainly from more disadvantaged families within the class, who see the way their peers are allowed to skip school just to go off on some jolly. It undermines the message of the importance of education which the school are trying to engender.

I still don't agree with the opposition to term-time holidays, though.

The irony is that the hard-line approach precludes a negotiation between the school and the family on making up for any missed work by getting materials from the teacher for the break.
 
You're surprised (some) teachers don't agree with it? Why would they? (Some do.) Too many people think it was their idea and they're the ones making the charges - they're not. They're not the ones responsible for the ridiculous rules.

There's still a lot of control in the hands of the headteachers. If I remember correctly, there's scope to be let out of school if the child's track record is good enough (no more than 10 days absence, or something similar).
 
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cheesyboy said:
The irony is that the hard-line approach precludes a negotiation between the school and the family on making up for any missed work by getting materials from the teacher for the break.
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Which on its own means the school has to stretch its resources extra for that child - which having to pay towards I wouldn't be against but as a fine doesn't agree with me.
 
I'm for it personally, and have been burnt plenty of times in holiday costs having a gf who worked in education.
 
G-MAN2004 said:
You'd sacrifice your child's development just to have more freedom when booking holidays?
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Ok....your assuming his development would be hammered by homeschooling? There is still a curriculum to follow so no sacrificing involved, especially when my wife is doing a sterling job so far!
 
fornowagain said:
Thought it was £60 per period not per day.
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Hmm… My memory might be wrong but I'm pretty sure they said the Headmaster had told them it would be £600 for the two children for a week.

Either way, where does the money go? Are the councils pocketing it or can the schools at least spend it on improving their facilities?
 
Nonsense. You should have x days before fines apply.

I don't see why people should be shoehorned into taking holidays on half terms and summer holidays where holiday agents double their prices.
 
MooMoo444 said:
I don't see why people should be shoehorned into taking holidays on half terms and summer holidays where holiday agents double their prices.
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Anyone who isn't self-employed needs to have their leave approved before they can take it.

The education sector auto-approves leave, provided it happens outside of term time.

Prices go up because of supply and demand, just like most things.

Also, everyone knows having kids is expensive. :p
 
G-MAN2004 said:
You'd sacrifice your child's development just to have more freedom when booking holidays?
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Why is it one extreme or other? Taking a youngster out for a few days is not going to 'harm their development'.

Taking a child out while exams are close or in final years of education then yes, it could have an impact. Common sense is needed.
 
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