child taking time out of school , what are the consequencies if i do

[philkool]

i have booked a 5 day holiday and the school says my child cant take the time off. i intend to go on this holiday as its the first one for 5yrs, what can the school do as far as fining me or what else can i do ? thanks

[redcrx]

a friend of mine would be charged £100 per week per child per parent if she took her kids from school.

its almost cheaper to go in school holidays lol

[dothawkes31]

It depends on how old the child is, if they are due to sot SATS tests and therefore may mean a detrimental mark for the school results wise. There are plenty of school holidays and the expense is not considered a reasonable excuse. You should not have booked the holiday before checking with them. I doubt they could fine you, but what if half a dozen parents have all decided to ignore guidelines and take their kids out of school that same week? School term especially this spring has been hit dramatically by the late return after the Christmas break. It is your child that will miss the full week of school and never get it back, teachers don't have the time or resources to mnake one to one sessions available. My suggestion would be to book some private tuition for your child and pay for it to avoid the child getting behind, depending on whether they are average at school and whether they are due to sit sats.

[cazzz1975]

yes and please bear in mind that when your child returns to school they will have to struggle to catch up with everyone else which isnt fun. there are enough school holidays to avoid having to take them out during term time

[Buenchico]

If you're lucky, your actions could result in just a single fixed penalty notice (which requires a payment of £50 within 28 days, or £100 if you leave it until after that).

However the education authority could choose to issue a separate penalty notice for each day that your child misses school (so that's £250 to pay, or £500 if you leave it longer than 28 days).

Fixed penalty notices don't create (or add to) a criminal record but a court conviction does. The education authority is under no obligation to use one or more fixed penalty notices. They could choose immediate court action. The maximum fine is one of £2500. A community service order could also be imposed upon you. (Theoretically you could be sent to jail for up to 3 months, but no court would consider such a penalty unless a child was regularly missing school and the parent was condoning it. A parenting order is also a theoretical possibility but, again, it's unlikely).

In addition to any action by the education authority, you might find that the school would suggest that you find a different school for your child. (That was always the policy of the school which I taught in, under similar circumstances).

http://www.direct.gov...areAtSchool/DG_066966

Chris

[buildersmate]

"i intend to go on this holiday as its the first one for 5yrs".
There are plenty of weeks in the year when kids are not at school. A rethink of your priorities is recommended.

[philkool]

we dont want other kids there while we are on holiday

[craft1948]

Well as you don't want other kids there yours is going to be a bit lonely. Leave it at home with grandparents then you can go off and enjoy yourself without worrying.
A few years ago one of my neighbours took his 2 kids out of school for a holiday, he didn't get fined but found himself with a social worker monitoring the family when he got home..........

[sherrardk]

I was under the impression that you were allowed to take up to 10 days off school for holidays at the school's discretion. I taught for 16 years and always said that if I wasn't a teacher I would take my children on holiday in term time (provided that they didn't have any exams or anything important going on). I recently took them away before Christmas for 5 days and I will be using a week of the summer term and a week of the summer holidays for our Summer holiday. I really do not believe that they miss enough 'education' in one week to make any difference what so ever.

[brenda]

Think that in all probability you will be fined.
Is it too late to change the time?
What is the objection to other peoples children, surely children playing together and making new friends is all part of a holiday.?

[ummmm]

My son's school still gives out holiday forms. I think if their attendance is good they tend to authorise it. I've never been refused anyway.

[Hymie]

If you are an MP and/or the Priminister - then there is no problem.

Otherwise, apparently you can be fined!!!!

[momcj]

I think what some people have posted in here is unrealistic. Depending on how old the child is, and if they are not at a crucial exam, realistically missing one week will not put them far behind! We all ideally would not take our children out of school, but it is a fact that the prices are considerably higher in the holidays, and not just a few quid, hundreds of pounds more. It is unrealistic for the government not to realise this! Of course education is importent, but i believe holidays are also an importent experience for children.

[Captin Kirk]

We are undergoing the same considerations at the moment as my in-laws wish to take us and my sister-in-laws family away in October to Spain for a week as it's a big wedding anniversary for them.

Whilst they do treat their grandchildren's education seriously, they cannot avoid booking this in term time due to the considerable rise in pricing during school holidays and feel the break which would do all of us the world of good outweighs the difference missing a week of school would make to a six year old in the early part of a school year.

Missing school in the later part of the school year I feel would make a more significant difference with completion of course work and exams but in our situation this is not the case given their age.

The school our 6 yr old attends does not condone "unauthorised" absence but would rather it occurred earlier in the year rather than later and would not take action as long the average absence is no lower than 90% for the child.

I believe it is very easy to get unrealistic about the effect missing one week will have on the child but it would probably vary given the child's age and abilities.

How many of our parents did exactly the same with us and do you really truely feel it has made that difference to your education and life.

The last few weeks showed many headteachers were all too willing to leave schools closed during the snow when a school a couple of hundred yards away would remain open ... double standards to suit their own ends I feel.

I feel the original poster did themselves no favours by admitting their choice of time was to avoid other children ... no consideration somewhat for the people on holiday who may have to tolerate your child when they may have booked to avoid school hols.

[Buenchico]

I sincerely hope that Captain Kirk meant to type 'average attendance', rather than 'average absence'! ;-)

Chris

[TCL-MUMPING]

Captain Kirk if the in-laws can not afford to pay for the holiday during the school holiday, could you not chip in to help out?

[Captin Kirk]

Give us a break Chris, it is half eleven on a Sunday night! :-)

I suppose I may blown my view regarding the non-detremental effect straight out of the water. lol

[Captin Kirk]

Actually no Mumping ... the whole point to their kind and generous gesture was because we haven't been able to afford a break of this kind since our child was born and they wanted their family with them.

[joko]

a family holiday is something the child will remember for ever, a treasured treat- one week of school wont matter one iota in the grand scheme of things

i think schools have got a cheek to start trying to fine people

just say your child is ill and go and have a great time.

[Sarah15]

try writing a letter to the school asking to get the time off
include things like if your child has good attendance? good grades ect.
also a slight sob story works haha

enjoy your hols =]