High Court Ruling on School Holidays

[jaybee]

We went away last year with the kids. I wrote to both schools telling them that we were taking them out of school. I did not ask. I got two letters back saying both had been authorised. This was however for a wedding. We fully expected to be fined which at the time was unclear as to what it would be. Some said it was per child per day x 2 (2 parents) that was over 5 days and it was a 2 week holiday. So I suppose on that basis it could have been hundreds. No matter...going a couple of weeks later during school holidays would have been about 3-4 times more expensive anyway.

I'd prefer not to pay over 10k for something I can get for 3k. Simple as that. My children are all achieving above expected levels and have very good/excellent attendance.

I didn't really give it much thought. We were always going to take them out of school and I would do the same again.

I disagree with fines to try to prevent this practice. I think the fines did nothing. I think you will have the same amount of people doing it with or without the fines. I think it does not harm the children or the class' progress. There are other areas we need to look at to improve education before worrying about time missed due to holidays.

 

[albert]

Well i pulled my kids out of school last year and paid the £60 fine. Nothing wrong with a bit family time.

We took them to Disneyland Paris and pulling them out of school a week before the Easter holidays saved us £600, so £60 was nothing .....

 

[RaohNS]

Well i pulled my kids out of school last year and paid the £60 fine. Nothing wrong with a bit family time.

We took them to Disneyland Paris and pulling them out of school a week before the Easter holidays saved us £600, so £60 was nothing .....

Write a letter to LA and ask for money back in the case of Mr X vs Govt (case law will be released as to its case number etc already i am sure. The LA now have a legal obligation to refund all monies provided it meets a similar or better criterion than the specified case.


In response to Bear again... Not all parents do make an educational experience out of holidays no. However I can say that all my friends and colleagues when they go away do something very similar to myself. This is obviously going to be skewed somewhat by the fact we all teach/work in an educational setting.

When I were in High School a good percentage of a certain demographic used to go to see family for 6weeks.

Holidays to have an experience benefit. Spain is probably not the best example to give as something educational imo. One of the reasons why other than a single stag do I will never go Spain is its far too much like the UK. I go away to experience other cultures and to learn a few things.

I am already considering my next short trip without the kids thanks to this thread!

 

[Freakbro]

Well i pulled my kids out of school last year and paid the £60 fine. Nothing wrong with a bit family time.

We took them to Disneyland Paris and pulling them out of school a week before the Easter holidays saved us £600, so £60 was nothing .....

I'm sure the cultural enrichment of going to Euro Disney far outweighed what they missed at school

 

[bayo000]

As long as the kids have good results and behaviour I don't see a problem why parents couldn't take them away for 5days once a year. Maybe even slightly longer if school aloved.

 

[SickAsAParrot]

Spain is its far too much like the UK. I go away to experience other cultures and to learn a few things.

Malaga has a shedload of museums and roman stuff, it's plenty educational.

 

[RaohNS]

Malaga has a shedload of museums and roman stuff, it's plenty educational.

Really? I wouldn't know as like I say had it not been me being best man and having arrange a stag do then Spain would not have been the choice.

We were looking at Gibraltar but it cost £200 more

 

[Parmesan]

I think its an absolute joke, luckily the primary school my children attend do not enforce the fine yet.

I agree that taking older children out for holidays. during important terms say leading up to GCSE's or other exams is a bit silly, but as an example my youngest is currently learning about "foods of the world".

We are taking the family to Rhodes for a week in June, he will miss a single week, where he may spend a couple of days sticking some cardboard to another piece of paper, practicing some handwriting for half an hour, trying a piece of cake from a different country..... During the week we are away, he will get to experience a full week of a different culture, get to sample all sorts of foreign foods, even the flight is a learning experience for him as no doubt I will spend an hour trying to explain how the big thing with wings stays in the sky.

If we were to go a few weeks later, during the summer holidays we would be paying roughly another £3000, and whilst I could probably afford that, I dont want to pay it. I would rather the kids lose a week of "vital learning time"

 

[zom247]

Whilst not having any kids myself I do feel sorry for parents having to pay extortionate markups on holidays, I've seen this this with both my family and friends. However, the selfish side of me hopes nothing changes cos I like to go in term time when all the little lovely well behaved darlings are in school

 

[RDM]

Unless a child has learning difficulties, there is no reason why they can't get A* grades. If a child has all their faculties about them, the only reason for not getting an A* is a lack of effort (effort can even overcome poor teaching). If that lack of effort is then compounded by lack of attendance, then that child is going to be screwed.

That really depends on the subject. Not all GCSEs are created equal...

Not to mention a whole host of other reasons as to why children don't get A* grades other than lack of effort.

This is almost as simplistic as "The only reason you are poor is because you don't work hard enough".

 

[stewski]

This is about right.
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/...ll-never-catch-up-on-colouring-20160515108831

 

[wez130]

Well, one thing i can see from this thread is that you can certainly tell who has kids and who doesn't.

Can we go waaaay back to before these 'fines' were brought in? Was our education system really that bad? I remember year after year schools boasting 'best ever GCSE results' year on year, there were no fines for taking your kids out of school for a long weekend break, or a week holiday.

Is there any significant proof that since these fines were introduced, Exam results have improved as a direct result of these measures?

Everyone is entitled to a holiday*, whether you earn six figures as a family, or are living on state benefits as a result of being a single parent who cannot find employment due to their restrictive lifestyle.

Personally, i'm lucky that i can afford to take my kids away during school holidays, however, given the choice, i'd love to save money on the cost of the holiday and have what i have saved to use on the holiday itself, however, a lot of people don't have this choice, as others have posted, a holiday in the summer comes at a premium of around 3x what it costs to go in school term, (£3000 for 2 adults and 2 kids compared to £1300 in term time), if you 'choose' to go during holidays, then you obviously didn't take much financial advice at school!

I'd hazard a guess that maybe 50% of parents (could be more or less), can't afford to pay £3000 for a family holiday in school holidays, so want to go when they can afford to go. Therefore, what actual benefit to these parents is a £60 fine going to gain? It's going to be even more of a hardship and a kick in the teeth to an already struggling family who just want what everyone else wants, a family holiday.

*I don't agree that those who are clearly employable but choosing to live off the state should get holidays courtesy of the tax payer.

 

[Deleted member 66701]

Well, one thing i can see from this thread is that you can certainly tell who has kids and who doesn't.

Do you think I have children?

 

[RaohNS]

.


I'd hazard a guess that maybe 50% of parents (could be more or less), can't afford to pay £3000 for a family holiday in school holidays, so want to go when they can afford to go. Therefore, what actual benefit to these parents is a £60 fine going to gain? It's going to be even more of a hardship and a kick in the teeth to an already struggling family who just want what everyone else wants, a family holiday.

*I don't agree that those who are clearly employable but choosing to live off the state should get holidays courtesy of the tax payer.

£3000? That must be for half a child. £5800+ would have been the price if we had have gone away the week before. More than double the cost.

*Agreed and they are the least likely people to genuinely care about their kids education.

 

[Hades]

£3000? That must be for half a child. £5800+ would have been the price if we had have gone away the week before. More than double the cost.

*Agreed and they are the least likely people to genuinely care about their kids education.

Similar here. We haven't been able to afford a holiday for three years (and that was the first for four years at the time). We are trying to plan one this year and it's almost double the cost out of term time. We simply can't afford it and had already decided to apply to take them during term and pay the fine if refused.

I'm not going to pretend it would be a life changing holiday. But I do feel one week every three or four years is not unreasonable.

 

[wez130]

£3000? That must be for half a child. £5800+ would have been the price if we had have gone away the week before. More than double the cost.

*Agreed and they are the least likely people to genuinely care about their kids education.

That still fortifies my point though, even more so.

 

[Deleted member 66701]

Similar here. We haven't been able to afford a holiday for three years (and that was the first for four years at the time). We are trying to plan one this year and it's almost double the cost out of term time. We simply can't afford it and had already decided to apply to take them during term and pay the fine if refused.

I'm not going to pretend it would be a life changing holiday. But I do feel one week every three or four years is not unreasonable.

I've just done a search - 5 nights camping in August at Park Foot @ Ullswater, Lake District, £187.50 with electric hook up, £152.50 without electric. It's the same price in term time or in the holidays.

There are plenty of holidays you could have afforded in those years if you had adjusted your expectations to suit your finances, you know, like everyone else does.

 

[Tosno]

Do you think I have children?

You have something better, migrants

I've just done a search - 5 nights camping in August at Park Foot @ Ullswater, Lake District, £187.50 with electric hook up, £152.50 without electric. It's the same price in term time or in the holidays.

That's right and for £600 a year he can have 15 nights camping in August at Park Foot @ Ullswater, Lake District AND have enough change left over for a bag of fish n' chips

 

[wez130]

Do you think I have children?

You said in your first post in this thread that you have three kids, do you force them to go to school when they are ill too? After all, their education is far too important to let the flu make them miss out on a few days education! You sound like a militant father and i'm glad i'm not your child

I was taken out of school to go on holiday at school a few times as my parents couldn't afford proper holidays in school holidays, i went to a Grammar school, my education never suffered as a result, i have a decent job etc.

 

[Amp34]

Out of curiosity - how does going away during school holidays stop any of the above?

Imagine every child takes off 1 month every school year? The disruption to the class is going to be huge. It's a backward decision.

But most people aren't going to be taking their kids out for a month. We're generally talking a week or two max, and in many cases just a couple of days at the end of a school term. That was the whole point of "reasonable". A few days off at an unimportant time is perfectly reasonable to a vast number of people.

The law states that you can't take your kids on holiday during term time. So some people decide they don't agree with the law and proceed to do whatever they like.

What next? I don't agree with 70mph speed limits, so I'll just drive at whatever speed I like and refuse to pay the fines?

It's also a new law that is heavily disliked. It's not a law that has been around for decades. What is essentially civil disobedience seems perfectly reasonable as a way to push the government into removing/replacing/modifying the law.