Taking your children for holidays during school is illegal in the UK

[Ember]

Explained in full here: http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/jan/29/parents-children-holiday-school-terms

I was talking with someone who mentioned this, but I didn't believe them. It's controversial, and there are groups fighting it. But right now, you face fines or even jail time (if you fail to pay the fines) for taking your children on a holiday while they're in school. Huh.

 

[BadPinkTink]

UK families hate this rule, as flights and holidays during school holidays are hugely expensive. Sometimes the same holiday could be nearly double the price during school holidays compared to 2 weeks before school holidays. Also it means that parents who work and may have to take their holidays from work during term time which means they can not go on a family holiday as the children are in school.

 

[cjbcam]

I think that is crazy. Until they are paying for your child to live (food, clothes, housing ect) they should have NO say. They are your kids. You should be making the decisions.
Our vacationing as a family can only happen when my DH can get off work. If it's not when they have off from school then we take them out (every year we have actually).
Not only that children learn a lot when on vacation. A lot more usually than they would that week of school.

 

[jrmasm]

How is this different from US truancy laws?

 

[MIGrandma]

How is this different from US truancy laws?

I don't think taking your children out of school for a week for a family vacation is anywhere near the same as being truant.

If the parents let the teacher know ahead of time and work out the homework issue (either get it done early, or have a certain amount of time to turn it in after the kids return to school) I see no problem with parents taking their kids out of school for vacation. We had a wonderful Disney trip this past January with our DD and her DH and their two children (ages 9 and 6), if it was illegal here to take kids out of school for vacation we wouldn't have had that opportunity, and I'm so thankful we did have it. Wonderful memories!

 

[jrmasm]

If your trip isn't approved by the school, the days are unexcused and your children are truant. That happens in the US. I imagine the number of days truant before fines and court appearances are required varies from state to state. But the linked article wasn't clear about if fines would be charged day 1 or if 10. That's why I asked.

 

[sam_gordon]

UK families hate this rule, as flights and holidays during school holidays are hugely expensive. Sometimes the same holiday could be nearly double the price during school holidays compared to 2 weeks before school holidays. Also it means that parents who work and may have to take their holidays from work during term time which means they can not go on a family holiday as the children are in school.

"Family Vacations" aren't a "right", which means people aren't entitled to one. And ok, maybe parents can't get vacation time while the kids are out of school. That doesn't mean they can't find other times for "family time"... weekends, evenings, mornings, SOMETHING. Saying it's "too expensive to go another time" is a cop out to me. "But, we can't go anywhere because we don't get good vacation time." Sorry, life isn't "fair".

And before someone brings up the "kids will learn more from vacation then a week at school", those learning opportunities are around you every day. Your kids don't need to go somewhere else to learn.

 

[TLSnell1981]

I don't think taking your children out of school for a week for a family vacation is anywhere near the same as being truant.

If the parents let the teacher know ahead of time and work out the homework issue (either get it done early, or have a certain amount of time to turn it in after the kids return to school) I see no problem with parents taking their kids out of school for vacation. We had a wonderful Disney trip this past January with our DD and her DH and their two children (ages 9 and 6), if it was illegal here to take kids out of school for vacation we wouldn't have had that opportunity, and I'm so thankful we did have it. Wonderful memories!

Parents no longer have the discretion, nor do the teachers. Absences are considered unexcused and teachers are required to give students a big fat zero. It has been this way in our system for YEARS.

 

[sam_gordon]

Parents no longer have the discretion, nor do the teachers. Absences are considered unexcused and teachers are required to give students a big fat zero. It has been this way in our system for YEARS.

Is there some kind of policy for excused absences (sickness, death in the family, etc)?

 

[BadPinkTink]

@sam_gordon hey no need to get snarky. Im Irish and I dont have kids, so this does not affect me. I am just reflecting the views of my UK friends who do have kids and who are affected by this rule. I guess those people who are affected by this rule will have a different viewpoint to those who are not affected

 

[MSLRAC]

Is there some kind of policy for excused absences (sickness, death in the family, etc)?

Yes and many schools still excuse absences due to travel.

 

[srferson]

Does a week make that much difference?
A child who takes a week's extra holiday each year at school will have missed at least 70 days – or the equivalent of more than three months of teaching – by the end of their time at school.

Yes, by the end of 12 years, they would miss 70 days. That's 70 out of how many? In the U.S. it would be 70 out of approx. 2,160. Or ~3%. Three percent. And that is assuming they take a full week out of normal school days every single year of schooling.

Any long-term solutions?
Parents could accept that their child's classroom education is far more important than a week in Europe, no matter how many museums they visit. That's especially true for young children: the evidence is unanimous that early-years education is vital for future attainment.

How about their future mental health? Their future familial ties? Their future interest in what else the world has to offer?

Frankly, I don't actually buy the idea that a week of vacation is as educational (possibly more) than a week of school. I think that can be true. But it depends on the vacation and the family. Regardless, there is more to life than what traditional education offers. And for families that can't afford to travel during official school holidays or have parents who may not have as many choices for when to be away from work, taking the kids out of school may be the only reasonable way to have a family vacation.

Just seems like overstepping to me.
To be fair, I don't have kids and I haven't sat and thought about this in depth. But these are my first thoughts.

ETA: Like at least one previous poster, you may not agree with the arguments I've brought up. But some other people do. One size does not fit all.
Don't think kids should miss school? Then don't take your kids out of school. There you go.

 

[kamik86]

"Family Vacations" aren't a "right", which means people aren't entitled to one. And ok, maybe parents can't get vacation time while the kids are out of school. That doesn't mean they can't find other times for "family time"... weekends, evenings, mornings, SOMETHING. Saying it's "too expensive to go another time" is a cop out to me. "But, we can't go anywhere because we don't get good vacation time." Sorry, life isn't "fair".

And before someone brings up the "kids will learn more from vacation then a week at school", those learning opportunities are around you every day. Your kids don't need to go somewhere else to learn.

I also don't have kids but even as a student I found all of those "You must be in class or you will fail" to be stupid. I had one of these in college where they would make you fail if you missed more then 3 classes of calculus no matter what your grades on the tests were. That is insane. If I know the material and pass I should pass the class.

I missed days in high school all the time. Sometimes for vacations, sometimes for other school activities (If not missing a few days of class is SOO important why could school let us miss classes for sports or other competitions and activities?) Frankly in the US the schools really care that we are there because of the money they lose every day a student is absent. It has nothing to do with the quality of education anyway.

 

[sam_gordon]

@sam_gordon hey no need to get snarky. Im Irish and I dont have kids, so this does not affect me. I am just reflecting the views of my UK friends who do have kids and who are affected by this rule. I guess those people who are affected by this rule will have a different viewpoint to those who are not affected

There was no snark in that reply. I disagree with the reasons why people MUST take their kids out of school.

 

[sam_gordon]

I also don't have kids but even as a student I found all of those "You must be in class or you will fail" to be stupid. I had one of these in college where they would make you fail if you missed more then 3 classes of calculus no matter what your grades on the tests were. That is insane. If I know the material and pass I should pass the class.

I missed days in high school all the time. Sometimes for vacations, sometimes for other school activities (If not missing a few days of class is SOO important why could school let us miss classes for sports or other competitions and activities?) Frankly in the US the schools really care that we are there because of the money they lose every day a student is absent. It has nothing to do with the quality of education anyway.

Right. Because heaven forbid we teach kids at a young age what "real life" will be like when they get out of school. Here's a lesson for you... take an unexcused absence from your job and see what happens.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I just have to wonder how we ever survived all those years of schools allowing vacations and letting kids make up the work.

 

[sam_gordon]

I just have to wonder how we ever survived all those years of schools allowing vacations and letting kids make up the work.

There's always the inverse though also... "I just have to wonder how kids survived WITHOUT being taken out of school for vacation."

 

[verleniahall]

How is this different from US truancy laws?

- to me its not

I don't think taking your children out of school for a week for a family vacation is anywhere near the same as being truant.

If the parents let the teacher know ahead of time and work out the homework issue (either get it done early, or have a certain amount of time to turn it in after the kids return to school) I see no problem with parents taking their kids out of school for vacation. We had a wonderful Disney trip this past January with our DD and her DH and their two children (ages 9 and 6), if it was illegal here to take kids out of school for vacation we wouldn't have had that opportunity, and I'm so thankful we did have it. Wonderful memories!

It is in our school district - family vacations during the school year are unexcused absenses and they DO count as being truant

If your trip isn't approved by the school, the days are unexcused and your children are truant. That happens in the US. I imagine the number of days truant before fines and court appearances are required varies from state to state. But the linked article wasn't clear about if fines would be charged day 1 or if 10. That's why I asked.

Yup! It does here

 

[tvguy]

I don't think taking your children out of school for a week for a family vacation is anywhere near the same as being truant.

If the parents let the teacher know ahead of time and work out the homework issue (either get it done early, or have a certain amount of time to turn it in after the kids return to school) I see no problem with parents taking their kids out of school for vacation. We had a wonderful Disney trip this past January with our DD and her DH and their two children (ages 9 and 6), if it was illegal here to take kids out of school for vacation we wouldn't have had that opportunity, and I'm so thankful we did have it. Wonderful memories!

You opinion is held by many, but in many states, taking your child our of school for a family vacation is truancy.

 

[tvguy]

There's always the inverse though also... "I just have to wonder how kids survived WITHOUT being taken out of school for vacation."

LOL. Sort of like here, wondering how kids survived WITHOUT getting Thanksgiving week off instead of just Thursday and Friday, getting Presidents Day week off instead of just Presidents day, and having a half day every Thursday.