What's the general consensus on taking kids out of school for holidays?

[Jamiesfuturewife]

The only families I know that have been fined were always late , having days off as they "overslept" and missed the transport to school the council pays for and provides for them and just silly unauthorised absences all year so when they then ask for a 2 weeks holiday in term time it doesn't get the green light.

[@mwooly63]

The Mrs works for SBC and used to send out the "penalty notices" for unauthorised school absences.
Its currently £60 per parent for each child.
If not paid in 30 days SBC start court proceedings.

The council become involved after receiving a letter from the school informing of unauthorised absence.

Having said all that, have taken mine out before for the last week where they generally do bugger all anyway.
Rang them in as sick.

[RobertT]

Not for me Chubbs. When I was a kid, you had "Trip", when the Works closed down and everybody went on holiday, this of course coincided with school holidays.

Originally Trip was a week, but by the 50's it was a fortnight, and that was your lot for the year apart a couple of festive bank holidays.

My old man would rather have gone without a holiday, than see me miss time off school, as for his generation education was the key to the future....he'd left school at 14, as more or less all working class kids did.

Think it was JFW, who said too many parents see education now as little more than a babysitting service...

Your generation or your Dad's generation were also expected to work with hazardous materials such as Asbestos without protection.   I'm not sure harking back to a bygone time is of any use, the world is different.  Surely the answer is more to worry about your own children.  My first is academic, she'd miss two weeks and be caught up within days - in fact, she'd probably be ahead before leaving.  My second, less so, so we've not taken him out as much as we would have done with the first.  As someone who did well at school, I don't think twice about taking them out when I feel it is ok to do so - I can judge my kids needs much more accurately than the teachers can when having to worry about 30 odd.

A better plan would be to mix-up the holidays a bit anyway, removing the peak demand problem from pricing but also avoiding the issue some parents will face with getting time off as well.

[Reg Smeeton]

Your generation or your Dad's generation were also expected to work with hazardous materials such as Asbestos without protection.   I'm not sure harking back to a bygone time is of any use, the world is different.  Surely the answer is more to worry about your own children.  My first is academic, she'd miss two weeks and be caught up within days - in fact, she'd probably be ahead before leaving.  My second, less so, so we've not taken him out as much as we would have done with the first.  As someone who did well at school, I don't think twice about taking them out when I feel it is ok to do so - I can judge my kids needs much more accurately than the teachers can when having to worry about 30 odd.

A better plan would be to mix-up the holidays a bit anyway, removing the peak demand problem from pricing but also avoiding the issue some parents will face with getting time off as well.

I'm not harking anywhere....Chubbs made the point he suspected that most of the parents of TEF'ers would have taken their kids out of school for a holiday.....I was pointing out I was not one of them.

Indeed the world is different, but many people still work in hazardous conditions....just modern hazards. As we're on the subject of education here....two teachers have been stabbed in Yorkshire  recently, one fatally, one almost. Not something which would have happened when people toiled down coal mines.

Incidentally, Old Etonians like Cameron and Osborne, were used to having 9/10 week summer hols, to fit in with "the season"

The present 6 weeks for the plebs, came about as land owners would only agree to education for kids to 14, if they were free to work during the harvest time, so were granted the time off school.

[Chubbs]

I'm not harking anywhere....Chubbs made the point he suspected that most of the parents of TEF'ers would have taken their kids out of school for a holiday.....I was pointing out I was not one of them.

Indeed the world is different, but many people still work in hazardous conditions....just modern hazards. As we're on the subject of education here....two teachers have been stabbed in Yorkshire  recently, one fatally, one almost. Not something which would have happened when people toiled down coal mines.

Incidentally, Old Etonians like Cameron and Osborne, were used to having 9/10 week summer hols, to fit in with "the season"

The present 6 weeks for the plebs, came about as land owners would only agree to education for kids to 14, if they were free to work during the harvest time, so were granted the time off school.

you're just old Reg :-)

[stfc1975]

How? Lots of people want to do the same thing at the same time, so obviously the price goes up. Explain how that is unfair?

What about charging people to go skiing more in December and January than April? Are peak time train fairs unfair (compared to off peak)? Is it unfair to charge people who want to go the gym outside of normal working hours more than those who go off peak?

No - obviously not.

Obviously it is or this wouldn't be a discussion.

[Panda Paws]

Obviously it is or this wouldn't be a discussion.

Reasonable discussion. It is because it is. How is it unfair?

[inept and tiresome]

Its vital that you keep your brats in school, as I don't want to spend my precious time off work surrounded with peoples prodigny shouting n screaming.

[Pax Romana]

Personally I don't think it will have much, if any, affect on my child's learning but I'm sure you have a different view from the other side of the fence.

What if that's the week where they're taught the difference between effect and affect?

[Batch]

What if that's the week where they're taught the difference between effect and affect?

Then they can look forward to a life of not being a grammar nazi

[Samdy Gray]

And I'm usually the grammar police.

I was always taught that affect means "to influence" whereas effect means "a result". As my suggestion was that I didn't think a holiday (or rather one week away from school) would influence learning that much, I went with the former.

I'm sorry, Mr Romana.

[Pax Romana]

Apology excepted

[Saxondale]

I presume you intended, for comic effect, to say excepted instead of accepted.

[Panda Paws]

First rule of Grammar Nazi Club - get things right when calling others out on being wrong.

[Pax Romana]

I presume you intended, for comic effect, to say excepted instead of accepted.

Yup.  I was hoping for a bite rather than for you to read me so effortlessly.