"Guess which day half term starts on?" Topic

…and they wonder why people still take their children out of school to take them on holiday early.

In the UK we are actually fined for taking the children out of school. The school/head no longer has any discretion about authorised absence (so if the child is attending well and performing well it makes no difference). It's the LEA (Local Education Authority) that can fine parents £60.00 GBP for taking their child on holiday without permission. The fine is per child, per absence (and in theory each parent can be fined…)

I could be looking at (£60/child/parent) £240.00 GBP GBP in fines for taking them before term ends. The difference for 3 people between Wednesday and Saturday is a whopping £765.00 GBP, so by taking them 3 days early and paying the £240.00 GBP fines I save over £500.00 GBP….

Bloody ridiculous.

I took my son out of school for three school days before Thanksgiving, so that he could see his mother three states away. He is on the football team, causes no trouble, and has perfect grades. Didn't stop the school from sending me a letter indicating that my son is truant and risks expulsion from school. I learned my lesson; they are forcing parents to fudge with the truth…

Can't you have a relaxed weekend and leave on Tuesday and save even more?

But fines worth paying are annoying. Particularly when they're fining parents regardless of whether it will adversely affect the kids. It reminds you that the people making the rules have no idea how real life works.

If I leave on the Tuesday we still have to be back by the weekend for school to start again on Monday

I see.

Call in Sick each day.

Get authorities involved and it gets stupid, but…

I have a student assigned to my class that has been in class twice this year. The whole process was started in September and it is still going

Oh I don't doubt there are students who really should not be granted time off (because they are hardly there anyway) and the parents of those children really don't help, but my rant wasn't so much about "you can't take your children out of school in school time" as "why can the travel companies charge three times the fee, when you have no choice about when to go", assuming you follow the rules…

Yes I cold call them in sick. I wouldn't, but I could. That's the difference. When you are a responsible parent who won't do that, it ends up costing nearly £1.00 GBPk more due to price increases, and so the system encourages less responsible parents, whose children probably do need to be in class, to take those extra few days a year off.

My wife is a teacher. We haven't been away on holiday for years….

My problem is that I deal with the international students arriving in September, so we can't go before the end of July, and I'm busiest throughout August….