American Couple Reacts: UK Law: Illegal To Take Your Child Out of School, For Even ONE DAY?! 😯😯
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- Опубликовано: 18 янв 2023
- American Couple Reacts: UK Law That SHOCKS Americans! We Didn't Know This! FIRST TIME REACTION! We love diving into cultural differences and we were truly shocked by this Law! We don't have anything like this in the USA. We would love to hear from you about your thoughts on this. We do ask that you please be respectful in the comments. We are learning in real time, giving real reactions. Some things are so different for us that they do spark discussion and debate even. We always offer our respect when dealing with things like this. All we ask is for the same thing in return. Again, please let us know your opinions and thoughts. We also had quite a number of questions, during and after the reaction.
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Original Video: • I can't believe this U...
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I don't remember my parents wanting to keep us out of school it was the only time they got peace and quiet from all 5 of us 😄
As a retired teacher there's nothing worse than a parent taking a child out if school for 1-3 weeks holiday during term time. Either they expected you to di all the work they missed when they come back or they want work prepared and 9 times out of 10 its not completed.
Of course it's OK for a day no school I've ever worked in would ever query it. He's making a mountain out of a molehill!!!
It's life .kids deserve a holiday and so do there parents not all can afford full price holidays ,wat exactly do I learn in a week ,bugger all really ,using remember the week in school but the holidays u will.
It was brought in because so many parents were taking their children out of school for a week or more for vacations to save money. (Flights and accommodation are generally cheaper during term time because demand is lower.) Not only were their children's education getting disrupted but the extra work it meant for the teacher was disrupting the education of other children too.
Few schools would be so harsh as to stop you taking a child out for one day for an important family event.
As others have mentioned, the fines are not there to punish someone for taking their kid out for a one-off day or two. The fines are there to deter people from doing it every year or even multiple times per year as some used to do. And also to deter parents turning a blind eye to their kids paying truant.
Poorer kids are already at an educational disadvantage so while the fines might seem harsh, or even classist as he suggests, it is also those kids that can least afford to miss multiple school days.
As an English man with 6 kids I 100% agree with this law
You just don't want them at home.
@@paulmidsussex3409 lmfao not at all we enjoy weekends and holidays and have took them out of school on occasion, including for holidays but some people were just hardly ever sending their kids to school and that's a problem.
I overheard two mums talking about taking their children out of school to take them on holiday during term time. They were willing to pay the fine for each of their children because it was still cheaper than paying the price of a family holiday during school holidays.
It was brought in because there are a certain group of parents that don’t care if their children play truth or not. There was another group of parents that would take their children on a two week holiday abroad during term time because it was cheaper. Obviously things like that interfere with education and when pupils fall back at school it’s very difficult for them to catch up
There are circumstances that would be allowed anyway such as funerals have you mentioned cultural reasons. The head teachers are flexible and reasonable about enforcing such things normally fines are the last resort and mainly for parents that continually do this
Exactly what I was going to say. Thanks dude.
Surely you mean truant?
THIS!
Read the above comment.
Also the over-controlling, ultra-possessive "it's MY child" parents. You know that there are restrictions on what you can do with or to your child. They are individuals - human beings - and if you are an irresponsible, abusive or neglectful parent, there are rules and laws to reign you in.
This law was put in to place to make sure that parents do the right thing by their children's education. It was not put in to force to prevent USA-born people from celebrating thanksgiving with their future imaginary children. It was drafted to make sure that children don't miss out on their full education because of lax and irresponsible parent.
you saved me a job, thank you
The Holiday firms were told by the Government to lower their prices during the summer time as the gouge the parents on doubling the Holiday prices and during the winter time they charge less? It as Sunny in some parts of Europe than in the summer time so you'd think the prices would be in reverse? But no the Holiday Firms were warned about this which some keep to now but it's starting again were the Holiday Firms are putting their prices up again 😕a single day off would not be a problem unless they are in Test phase of their school,
And 16 is the leaving age which I had a job before my 16th birthday were I was paid the same as what Adults get which is hardly done nowadays, my headmaster got me on stage during the morning assembly and said you don't want to end up like me and be on the dole when he leaves then I interrupted him him and said I got a job when I leave here and I'll be paid more than you Headmaster! Which he didn't like and when he took me by the collar down to his Office the first thing he said is "Why did you humiliate me like that!" I actually laughed in his face and said that's what you did to me lol
You’re more likely to be told no than yes! Exceptions would be something like a funeral of a close family member. I asked a few times for my son and it was only allowed once… my dad was in the end stage of cancer during the ‘school holidays’ so we couldn’t go away. He passed just as the kids were going back in to school from the break, and the headteacher agreed it would be good for the family to get away for a break after such an awful time. All the other times, we got told no. They’re really strict about it.
Education in the UK is taken very seriously. School holidays are spread out with a number of consecutive non-school days between terms and longer weekends holidays at half-term time. Parents can book in during these times. The US has a long summer holiday. Parents in the US who have vacation time off work do not generally have a very long period where they can get annual leave from work. The problem came in where foreign holidays are a lot cheaper when schools are in session. Parents were booking school time holidays of a couple of weeks and missing the education. Dental and medical appointments are preferred to be booked after school hours whereas funerals of close relatives and emergency hospital visits may be taken. It is not as rigidly enforced with younger children. Examine where the UK and US stand in terms of educational performance and how successful the British have been in terms of inventions and scientific progress.
I don't know. We don't have that in France and the educational performance of French and British students is very similar. It sounds pretty harsh to me.
I have watched Reaction videos on the total lack of basic education so many American teens exhibit!#Simple
questions like name 3 countries in the world ! They couldnt! When asked where is Africa ... in Canada !
I suggest you ladies look at some of those sites yourself. totally shocking.
The US could do with a few rules I think !
As an afterthought, if every child was allowed to take time off for the many special days of
the vry diverse inhabitants of the UK,Indian, Chinese, American, Japanese, etc etc schools would
be half empty !
@@marycarver1542exactly... Well said! Yet US states such as Florida, think that making cross dressing or gender fluidity illegal is totally ok! At least here in the UK we have our priorities right!
@@marycarver1542 Im not an American, but watching those videos, though entertaining, is hardly scientific. You could be right, but it could also be they have to stop 30 people before they find one that makes good youtube footage. ie these videos are obviously edited and they are not going to show the ones where the people got all the right answers
If it's medical you of course get all the time you need no problem. Same for things like the funeral of a close relative. I worked in a school for a bit and am only aware of two instances where a "no" was given to a request for time off, both children from the same family and both with under 60% attendance. The no was given to stop them falling further behind to go on a holiday.
As far as some schools & councils are concerned children are said to be truenting if they take time off for sickness, resulting in the parents/s being fined & paying court costs if the councils/school decide it should be so. .
Prices for package holidays are massively increased during the school holiday periods. So, parents would simply book the family vacation during the school term, so much so that the government outlawed the practice.
saying that, I have heard a lot of people factor in the fine as part of the holiday costs, and still make a giant saving. When we went to florida, we asked permission and it was granted anyway, no problem.
What I’ve wondered about the US is if you have 12 weeks off school and holidays off work are rare who looks after the kids for 3 months??
@@barbarajw1 That is a very good question.
It's not just because it's cheaper. If you work at a large company you might struggle to get time off work during school holidays I have to book time off 12 months in advance
A holiday company has to make a profit across the entire year so the peak rates + off peak rates have to equal better than break even. Has anyone considered that off peak rates are so low because there is little business to be had and they need to pick up anyone they can? Fewer people can go away off peak so maybe things run at a slight loss during these times just as a retainer to keep the hotel/resort ticking over. Maybe just maybe high season rates are so high because the whole year has to balance out?
We recently had to ask the school for 2 days off for a my mum's funeral. They said they can only authorise 1 day. As we had to travel to Wales, we live in England we just couldn't travel that far and have the funeral then travel back. We went to the school board and they said yes as my son previously had 100 attendance. Lots of parents hate these rules but most of us are OK with it. People used to fake doctors appointments to get their kids out of school so now most appointments are after school. They also need proof of any appointments even hospital appointments so you don't get fined
The rules are definitely a bit strict and could use a bit of nuance but have the right spirit
When I was eleven, my parents took me to New Zealand for a month, for the trip of a lifetime to see family from my Mom's side and of course, the country itself.
My school allowed me to go. But I had to keep a diary of the trip and tell my class all about it when I got back.
I agree with this law it was tightened because some parents were taking children out to often and regularly ,teachers do give permission in my grandchildren s case it's maybe once or twice a year, for one of 2weeks,quite often people get around it by using sickness as an exscuse,,I also think it's to protect children in abusive families who might take advantage of sending children into employment to young
Me to I agree with this law. Parents took things to extremes taking children out of schools some that I knew took their kids out twice a year for at least a week each time. On top of the time kids had for holidays already, but then the parents would moan because their kids were behind. It's ridiculous. So in the end the government had to step in. I've seen people in the comments saying this government has clamped down but a child's education should come before anything in my mind.
Yeah I'm dutch. It's the same too. I have never gotten a no. Cultural or something special/important has never been an issue. But for vacation i never asked. Some parents tried it and gotten a no. Because a vacation isnt important enough for your child to miss their education, nor are you finances. There's always next year.
This rule came in because the 5% would take advantage .
so the 95% have to suffer / like most thing's , in law
I went to a lot of schools due to moving house a lot (born and went to school in the UK) and I now have a child in school. If the child is sick (has to be worse than just a cold or cough) or has an appointment that the parent can prove with a letter or slip, then the child can take time off school (for an appointment not a whole day). However our 6 week summer holiday plus scattered days and weeks off throughout the year mean there is no need to take your child out of school for a vacation. Obviously when it snows or there's a heatwave the school would be closed anyway, they also closed for a short time when covid was at its worst then reopened with restrictions, children are never put in danger by this law. I can't speak for all schools but the school my child goes to aims for 96-98% attendance, but excused absences like sickness aren't counted as absences in the overall attendance of the whole school, and count as accepted absences in the child's personal records. My child has special needs and I've found the school to be very flexible, allowing a staggered start to his first school year which included Wednesdays off every week for months until he could cope with 4 full days a week without having sensory meltdowns, and as it was agreed by the school I never got in trouble with the law as the parent.
We took our daughter out of school at age of about 8 (Primary School) here in the U.K. for one week to go to Italy for a family wedding. The Head Teacher approved it as they felt she would learn so much from it but she had a lot of work to catch up on afterwards! 😳😂
The UK school year is 195 days, the kids get tons of time off. The parents also get at least 28 days of paid leave per year (thats leave) not sick days.
Rough breakdown would be 6 weeks for summer, 2 weeks at Christmas, 2 weeks at Easter and then a two 1 week breaks inbetween.
The reason this law was brought in was mainly because parents of certain children were booking 1-2 weeks out on holiday during term time.
The length of the school year varies from one part of the UK to the other, 195 days is for England only, the holiday periods also differ.
That's because they can't afford a family holiday in school holidays. The alternative is no family holiday.
Granted, it's been a good 4 decades since I had to wear a school uniform and stand up when teachers entered the room, but the law was always "you may not remove your child from school without prior permission." - sickness and such were exceptions, but had to be called in. Vacations (holidays to us Brits) HAD to be pre-arranged, but were possible as long as you did the work that was missed.
It is really dependent on circumstances. On my 40th birthday, we took my daughter out of school, with permission from the school. We went to Paris on Eurostar and had a lovely day, her teacher told me she would probably learn more doing that than going to school for the day! I think provided you don’t do it too often and have overall good attendance there should be no problem. This law âme about because there were certain people that weren’t bothering getting their children to school and had no interest in getting their child educated or in education full stop. To this day there are parents that don’t bother to potty train their kids before they start school, usually the academic year in which the turn 5, and some parents are so tardy, they don’t get themselves properly dressed before they drop their children off and turn up in their pyjamas. Most schools aren’t that draconian, it depends on goodwill on both sides.
I think this is right, previous attendance should be taken into account. My three children have hardly missed a day of school in the last 12 months. If I went to the school next week and said we were going for a long weekend in, I don't know, Barcelona for example, and could they take the Friday and Monday off, I don't think there'd be any problem.
It’s a bit harder to give kids work to take with them because our system leans more towards written exams in exam conditions, and with coursework / assignments that count towards your grades they’re always marked by an external assessor - your teacher has no say over your grades, the work has to stand on its own. We don’t have anything like the GPA. It’s not impossible and there’s ways around it but they wouldn’t allow for someone taking a 2-week vacation when there’s plenty of time off throughout the year (it’s spaced out more than the US Spring and Summer breaks)
We still have 6 weeks off for summer, it’s felt like a long time to us - a lot of teachers say students regress too much with the 10 weeks off
Completely agree with our school rules here in the UK. The disruption caused to the class teaching plans and exam preparation is huge and unfair on teachers and other class members. Stops selfish parents doing as they wish.
Also, Thanksgiving is totally not a thing in the UK. It would be like us celebrating Independence Day 🤣
Which Independence day? :)
@@peterjackson4763 The one wiv Jeff Goldblum and Will Smiff.
A multinational where I worked only allowed nine people off at the same time, so not everyone could take a family holiday during the school holidays. Therefore they had to take their children out of school to go on holiday during term time.
A kid being out of class has absolutely no impact on the teaching plan for the class. But I will agree that kids shouldn't be taken out if exam prep is in progress, or coming up during their holiday. Other than that, it's fine.
As a former teacher a child being out of class did not affect my teaching plans at all, not when it came to the class as a whole. It DID mean I might have to give extra attention to that child to cover what they missed in the curriculum, and ensure that they were able to catch up what they missed.
But yes, children being taken out of the classroom at different points for vacations does disrupt, but it does not so much disrupt the class as a whole, but it *does* mean my life as a teacher (at the time) is made far more difficult because my job was to teach all students under my care a minimal (at least) standard in my field (Biology). It meant that I had to constantly adjust, and it meant MY free time went away.
I left teaching for a reason. That reason is while I may only have to take 25 teaching hours a week, my teaching hours are only a quarter of my job, and I was only paid for those teaching hours with 5 or 6 hours added on top for essential paperwork and the like.
I was teaching for 25 hours a week, also marking for 20 hours a week (not paid), running assessments for 10 or so hours, attending meetings, and so on. 80+ hours a week were not unusual.
As a teacher, it is extremely difficult to have kids popping in and out all the time. I have 30 kids in my class, how exactly can I manage that? The fact is headteachers give permission for lots of different things including leaving early on Friday to go to Disneyland. They always give permission for cultural traditions like Eid, Diwali and Thanksgiving. The reason for the law is because frankly attendance was a huge issue in England. If children are school avoiders or have anxiety issues, there is help available and parents are supported not penalised. As for the heat this summer, it was awful, particularly in the afternoon. Children with headaches and nose bleeds. The reality is that none of these sanctions are ever used apart from the fine. Although, no one in my school ever pays. As for make up work 😂😂😂, that never gets done! Might just be my school, but it's just a waste of photocopying. Apparently, they are your child until you have to get them to do make up work. By the way, in England teachers aren't allowed one day outside of holidays, even to get married! Outright no! No personal days for us, we're teachers so we are not allowed a personal life. Yes, I am striking and yes, I am looking to leave the profession. Joining the ever increasing stampede. You get your Driver's license at 17. In London, you don't need a car. I am five minutes walk from a train station ( 15 minutes into Charing Cross) and access to about 100 buses. I was glad my kids didn't learn to drive at a younger age, remember they can drink at 18 here. I would have worried they would be tempted. I am not sure how it is for other places as I don't live there before anyone says something snippy about London. Must be difficult in rural areas but few people can afford the insurance for under 21 anyway!
As a retired teacher, I agree with everything you say.
I had 4 children and always had to go on holiday in the school holidays because, as you say, teachers aren't allowed to have a single day off for anything except sickness.
And I wish I had a pound for all the extra lunchtime sessions I've had to organise to help students carch up the work they've missed, or had to work late, preparing catch-up work ( at the request of parents) to hand to students who I know won't even look at it, never mind do it.
I attended school in the UK - Suffolk - in the sixties and seventies and it's only just recently that I found out that all my difficulties were - and are - due to Asperger's Syndrome. It would have been so much easier on us had all the information available - and is still being gained - been there for us then. I remember being taken for a 'mysterious' little 'holiday'. This was in the very early seventies and my mother was relatively newly widowed. It was a stay with other children in an empty school and we had various activities. This was for a week and we all slept in one dorm. To this day, I have no idea what that was about and it never happened again. My mother didn't say anything about it afterwards and it remains an oddity of my childhood. At the time, I was eight.
I agree with the premise that children ought to go to school unless there is a very good reason not to and even feeling under the weather was never an excuse. However, there needs to be some latitude and we came up against an intransigent Council. My daughters were at the time full members of the England Taekwon Do team and one year they were picked to compete in the European Championships in early May. My older daughter was encouraged to go by her university but my younger daughter was refused even though she was the junior team captain of the squad. At a meeting with the headmaster it transpired that the head had consulted with the County and it was the County's decision to refuse the application. As I pointed out to the head, my daughter would be mortified not to compete in the European Championships especially as she was the captain that would definitely impinge on her studies in both the long and the short term. The head clearly agreed with me and I left with the unsaid but well understood premise that she could be absent from school and nothing more would be said. At the time there were very many young school pupils being absent from school due to sports training commitments in the run up to the Olympics. Indeed, my daughter's school crowed about another pupil taking time out to represent the East Midlands region at hockey that apparently the County gave approval for. (Had the head supported the County then rest assured that my daughter would have gone in any case and I would have challenged the decision in court as well as in the blaze of publicity for shear discrimination)
A car is a must in the UK provinces as the bus network is poor to non-existent: we are one of the lucky ones as we have two bus routes connecting a city and two town, buts we are to lose one route shortly and then it will be a bus every two hours. Its also a fact that the cost of travelling to any employment by bus is astronomic and more than to run a car. London car insurance is the most expensive in the Country and rural locations the cheapest. There are no trains other than those that interconnect the towns with stations at a minimum of 10 miles away
My nephew who lives in south London and well within the commuter belt passed his test at 18 and didn't do any driving until aged 34 years when he changed jobs. Fortunately, I managed to persuade him to take a lesson or two (that ended up being twelve!) as a refresher before he dare go out on the road. My sister-in-law, who lives in south west London would take a route to her destination that only involved LH turns as she was fearful of any other - these are the people who exemplify London drivers?
@@clivewilliams3661 Absolutely ridiculous decision. She would definitely get permission for this now. I had a child who was a talented tennis player and he was allowed time for quite a few tournaments. There is flexibilty in the system. You must be so proud if them both.
In Scotland the children have 2 weeks holiday over Christmas, I week in February, 2 weeks at Easter, and 8 weeks summer holidays plus Bank Holidays. Parents are advised to take their children on holiday during these times and not during term time, if you need to take your child out of school they are usually OK with it x
More or less the same in England, perhaps slightly shorter summer holidays.
We get six weeks summer holidays in England but other than that we do everything the same
Same in Denmark and in Norway
I think the way to act is "When in Rome, do as the Romans do", maybe as Jack Nicholson said "suck it up buttercup" 😆
A colleague of mine once took her kids out of School a couple of days before the holidays started because it was MUCH cheaper to pay the fine and off-peak flight price than it was to pay for flights in the holidays! It's nuts really!
Yes! Friends of mine have done this too!
There's always ways round this. If your child doesn't go to school over a period of a couple of days, then the school automatically assumes they're ill. Which should be time enough to do whatever you want to do to celebrate short holidays. The illegal part is when you take them away from their schoolwork for weeks or even months at a time, for instance, to take them on holiday. It's depriving them of their education. They get roughly 40 weeks a year to be educated, so even taking them out for a fortnight is considered a disadvantage, as they have to make up for that missed time, somehow. It's more to protect children's education than anything else.
We have school holidays for a reason. That’s when you take your children away. All our holidays are non school days. It never used to be this way, but lots a things happened which caused this.Usually, if you give enough notice, there is no problems
As a general rule 'Thanksgiving' is celebrated in all of Europe on the first Sunday in October and is usually referred to as 'Harvest Fest'.
Education here in England is very serious, and having children from 5 to 16yo is very stressful too , you have to look after them & send them to school , when my child turned 17 y.o. I have a feeling of relief and free, then she can decide for herself as an adult.
The argument for saying "I should have the day off because its American culture", or indeed any other culture, only goes so far. It might be American culture, but it isn't British......and you are in Britain, so you know, when in Rome. I don't see many French kids in the UK likely to get Bastile Day off either
It's more a debate about fining people for spending quality, family time on an important cultural holiday.
@@TheNatashaDebbieShow, except, for many they aren't on an important cultural holiday - they're sitting around a pool or on the beach at some holiday resort.
Or staying in the UK doing things they could be doing every weekend anyway.
I can confirm this. My son had a missed day recorded as an unauthorised absence when our flight home (last day of the school holidays) was diverted due to a medical emergency (a different passenger). The pilots ran out of hours and we had to wait for another plane to arrive to take us home. As a result he missed one day of school. They wouldn't accept the reason, and refused to record it as an authorised absence.
Luckily we didn't get a fine.
If something like that happens again, I'll tell them he's been vomiting which means it's authorised and he'll be required to be off school for 48 hours.
Another interesting point is that holidays are so expensive during school holiday period, it can be cheaper to pay the fine and save money going on a term time holiday.
With regards to holidays we have
Summer 6 weeks
Christmas 2 weeks
Easter 2 weeks.
Then each term between those has a one week break in the middle.
As I child I found six weeks was just enough in the summer. I was starting to get bored by the end of it.
No, there's no AC in schools, or most other buildings. You just wear light clothing, and they open the windows.
I work in a school office and, as per our council’s guideline, we wouldn’t actually put anyone forward for a fine unless they’d missed 5 days consecutively or were missing like every Monday or something. We grant permissions for cultural holidays, weddings, funerals, special occasions, all sorts of things. The children’s attendance is expected to be 95% or higher, if it dips under that then they get a couple of warning letters and then attendance meetings with senior teachers or the head and if things still don’t improve we would involve our parent support team which includes someone employed by the council who can advise on the actual laws, resources etc that we wouldn’t have access to. There’s a lot of support in place, the punishments are always last resorts.
Also, part of my job is to call parents and ask where their children are if they aren’t marked in for morning registration. Legally we have to speak to a parent and have a reason recorded. So, parents would absolutely know if their kids are skipping school pretty much immediately. In my experience it hasn’t happened much here
You don’t actually get fined after 1 day. You may get a warning of unauthorised absence but that’s it. You only get fined after a certain amount of days off, within a certain time period. Within the area my children went to school it was actually really hard to get authorised absences after the new law came in. But as many have said that depends on individual teachers and their stance on what they will permit or not. Thankfully mine are all at college now and can choose for themselves if they take time off or not.
It has nothing to do with the teachers, it’s to do with council, admin and HT
In Australia the term breaks are similar to the U.K
I don’t have children myself but over the pandemic I lost both of my parents and the school noticed that my nephew was struggling around the time his Nan had passed away so we requested a day to take him out for a day. And it was accepted so we took him out to do something on her birthday that she had planned to do before she had got sick. I think they could see that it would be beneficial in the long run and it was the end of term so didn’t affect his education losing 1 day under the circumstances
If a parent takes their child out of school not during the 6 sets of breaks from school including 2.5 months in the summer, the child misses out on really important and essential learning. The fines are more aimed at senior (high schoolers) who are at the age where they will be preparing for 6th form college or uni.
I am from ex Yugoslavia/Bosnia. In case you want to stay out of school, a parent has to explain later why you weren't able to attend your classes to the teacher/professor who leads your class. Each class has one teacher who is leading one class and is responsible for that class' behavior, problems, talks to parents etc. That professor can be any but she/he have to teach at least one subject to the class.
If you are sick, you need to go to the doctor who then has to do a check-up and write down on a specific document that you were actually ill and were not able to go to the school. A parent can also go to school and explain the problem. Literal translation is "justification of absence". In a case you cannot prove why you were out of school, all of the classes you missed will be marked down. Usually during the day, you will have 5/6/7 classes, so if you missed a school for 3 days, you will end up having 15-21 classes missed. If you have 9 classes missed, and were not able to explain why you were not there, your "Behavior grade" goes down from 5 to 4. Then at certain number it goes to 3. When it reaches 1, you are out of school. The "behavior" grade can be lowered down if you misbehave, as well. This goes for the high school, too. Our grading system in elementary and high school goes from 1 to 5, where 5 is the highest.
If you have missed too many classes, even if you can prove there was a good reason (example, you were sick), you might be asked to repeat the entire year. Of course, in that case they will try to help you out to take extra exams but it can happen.
Also, there is no "home schooling". First 9 years are mandatory.
A class can have from 20-40 students. Depends how big is the school. There is a huge book called journal (dnevnik) with all the names of the pupils in that class where grades are written. Each week two different pupils are the ones who are responsible to keep the class in order and at the begging of each class they have to report to the teacher who is missing from the class. Once per week, leading teacher will have one class where he/she would talk to pupils about problems and go through the list of classes that were missed by certain pupils. That is when a student can say "My parent will come" or show the little document given by a doctor. One class is 45 minutes long.
Another factor is that summer holidays are region specific. Depending on where you live in the country you can have weeks of difference on when the break starts and ends, but with the same overall time off. I think that this is in large part to allow for flights abroad or local tourism to be spread out more. My Mum was a teacher and had a two week difference on start/end dates than my nephews, despite living less than two hours drive apart.
I did not go to school that much and missed out on an education so I am glad they brought this law in, my mother suffered with bipolar and dad was always working. So when I had my sons I made sure that they did go and they both did very well.
I know I am responding months later, but the low down on this where I live in the UK is a) If you want to keep your child home for 1 or 2 days then just ring in that they are sick. B) If it is for a week or more for a holiday then just pay the fine, usually the overall price of holiday + fines is still cheaper. Only ask permission if someone is seriously ill or dying as most of the time the answer will be no to deter other parents
It is a legal requirement in the UK to allow your child to be educated. If this guy is living in the UK and a citizen, why would he make an issue about not being allowed, without permission, to take his child out of school for Thanksgiving, a US holiday? I'm afraid there would be massive abuse of the system if parents here could just take their kids out of school for 'odd days' of their choice. We have enough problems here with literacy and numeracy as it is!
If this law had been in place when I was a child then I would never have had any holidays at all. My parents were farmers and so the school summer break and our busiest time of year, the harvest, were at the same time. Realistically, May and June were the only possible times we could go away as a family. I had two weeks out of school every year and it certainly never harmed my education in any way.
Yarp !
Whaaaaaaat!!!! Not even a few minutes in, just wanted to comment on those gifts! Crazy good! Beautifully done , aww ❤️ so so good xxx
If your child goes to an American school in the uk you would probably find the school is closed.
It came about because children were missing so much school.
There was a show a few years back here in the UK called benefits britain, it followed people living on benefits in the UK, there was a mum of 10 who had a daughter that refused to go to school and they got into legal trouble, all the episodes are available on RUclips
Medically, you'll get a yes, if you want to take your kid on holiday it's definitely a no.
To answer your question about what happens if your child skips school… Yes, still the parents’ fault. It’s also still the parents’ fault if the child has a disability and is unable to go to school. Our son is autistic and has barely been to school for three years, yet we still receive letters about fines and prosecution. Have been round and round in circles trying to get help for him. And I’m a special needs teacher; you would think I would know how to sort this out!
My sons are adults now, but when they were both still at school we had a family wedding in Tuscany which was during the school term. I had to write to their teachers, and the headmaster to 'apply' for extra work to do so they could be excused for 2 weeks during term time. Luckily, both teachers thought it would be a great learning opportunity for the boys, and they took minimal school work with us to an amazing family wedding and holiday in Italy. In the UK, it's very expensive to go on holiday abroad during the kids school holidays, and even booking a holiday 1 week before term time ends saves 100s or even 1000s of pounds.
It sounds draconian but this law is in place for a good reason, it's to stop parents from basically withholding their child's education. I was a competitive gymnast and my parents always had to fill in a 'holiday form' to request time away from school so I could go to competitions, training camps etc, luckily my school was very supportive and always granted time away as under the condition I complete all tasks my teachers give me whilst I'm away. But not all schools are the same, I know some who very rarely granted time off.
I was 7 in 1980 and my parents took me out of school for over a week at the beginning of the school year to go to the USA, which was quite a big thing back then. I remember that holiday so well over 40 years later and barely remember anything from that school year other than I wasn't keen on the teacher and getting a love letter on Wombles notepaper from my class boyfriend. Sometimes travel can be of huge cultural value that usurps a fortnight staring at a blackboard.
Agreed. This is the very reason that I will continue to take my kids out of school during the term. I wouldn't do it if they were in year 10-11, but other than that, it's fair game.
This law was brought in so that children could have an education. There were some parents who were taking children out of school for no good reason and for months at a time.
Even one day of missed school can be serious for some kids. A week of missed schooling could be detrimental. No child is doing schoolwork on holiday, then they have to catch up for the next couple of months.
*UPDATE*
*Sadly, most people have completely missed the point of this video and also didn't bother to watch all of it. The comments have been absolutely vile and disrespectful. No one is saying Thanksgiving should be a Holiday in the UK! It was merely used as an example of a day that you would take your child out of school as it's a family holiday. Also, Americans DO NOT take their children out often and for large chunks of time as many have commented. The point was for us: the idea of asking permission is incredibly different to us, Parents here tell the teacher's when a child will be out and with no fine. The anti-American comments and all the disrespectful comments will be and have been removed and quite a few people have been blocked. We give respect and only ever ask for the same. Too many failed to understand the point of this video and just threw comments in that did not pertain here.*
If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our channel, it is the BEST way to support any RUclips channel and it's FREE! Also please click the Like button. Thanks so much for watching!
Hi ladies.
This strict law is partly why come the summer school holidays, summer recess you would say, that's something like five or six weeks, every mum and dad wants to book their holiday entitlement off work all at once. Because they want to go away to Disneyland or whatever altogether.
This led to such problems in the workplace because employers like mine run a skeleton crew of one man, one job. There's no spare workers. So all these workers making up a large % of the whole staff wanting the same time off was badly affecting production as little staff means little production.
In the end my employer was forced to fix our holidays off work to one week out of every eight. So you work seven weeks, the. Have a week off, then repeat the cycle. You can negotiate movement of some of your holidays from elsewhere in the year to this period if you don't have any set ones but if there's already two people in your department that have that time off then you can't go away on holiday as a family.
I hate this law, holidays are double in cost. it really impacts low income families. I don't agree with the law but have to follow it, there is usually a petition against it every year (always fails). Ive got my son out for weddings, doctors and dentists. It really does depend on the head teacher. there are exceptions for instance, if your child has refuses to go to school, social services usually gets involved, not nice for anyone, but the parent does not get fined. local governments can and have been fined for not providing suitable alternative education to children, for children with illness, SEND, and other issues.
For one day except public holidays and weekends.
As far as I knew there's no legal requirement to send Ur children to school. You can home school. It's just that if you sign up for education it costs money. Having a child off school is costing the state money why should they pay for a child's schooling if they not there hence the fines. That's why there's the law. If I'm wrong let me know.
Father never had a problem getting permission to take me or my older Sister out of school during term time to go on a week's (max) holiday that fitted his leave period from the Navy (we were given homework to do). The boarding schools never reduced the fees though! He was often called back so the holiday would often be cut short. Sometimes during school holidays we would travel to see him for a week or two if he had no leave (in the UK) that year. That was fun often travelling courtesy of the Navy on a warship or the RAF. Times have changed. High ranking officers no longer have that perk.
I completely agree with this rule..for safe guarding children cause of the parents who get away with abusing their kids under the guise of homeschooling..
You can still take your kids out and home school as long as they do test and other little things
@@manchesternick4012 I never did any of that lmao
Some children do better with home-schooling especially when they've been badly bullied at school & the school wouldn't know a robust bullying policy if they fell over it. Don't knock it, some children really do need to be home-schooled for the benefit of their mental health & future mental health problems.
School days are the best days of your life , because everything is free .
I am not talking about the bullying part .
I'm talking about the fact that everything is free " food , clothes , holidays etc etc etc . Until you grow up , leave home and have to pay your own way in life , everything is free .
Even when you are older and working , and still living at home .
all as you have to do is pay some lodge .(rent)
normally around about 10% of your wages (salary) on average to your parents so the longer you stay in your parents house
and they die
say for arguments sake when you are in your late 40s early 50s you won't know anything about bills things like that
or cook even because . Because you will be used to mummy having had your tea (dinner) on a plate when you come home from work .So the moral of this story is leave home in your mid 20s 😅
Don't judge homeschool. Some kids need to be homeschooled, don't generalise or be so bloody ignorant. I know plenty of home schooled kids who thrive..
I think the difference is that children are not 'your' children, but individuals who have rights, including the right to an education. If, as a parent, you are failing to give your child an education, there are consequences in the UK.
Headteachers will usually authorise a day or two for cultural celebrations or family events (weddings, funerals) as long as the child otherwise has good attendance. The other side of it is schools are rated badly and punished if the % attendance of pupils falls below a certain level (typically about 95%). General good attendance is one of the metrics they are inspected on by Ofsted.
There are several things I noticed. (i) From the US there seemed to be an emphasis on 'my' child as if the right of a parent to take their child out of school supersedes the right of the child to be educated. Children are not considered property here in the UK and the welfare of the child is paramount in any situation. Further, this emphasis on 'my' child does not quite gel with the comments that parents should not responsible for getting their child to school each day. (ii) There was a great emphasis on fines and prison for one day. in practice, there is unlikely to be action taken against a parent who takes a child out for a day. You do not have to 'beg' for permission, just write a note asking politely and giving the reason. If the reason is good - eg Thanksgiving - there is unlikely to be a problem. The law is intended to ensure that all children get the chance to be well educated. Sadly, not all parents are responsible or, for a whole host of reasons, are not able to appreciate education and do not encourage their children to learn. It is these parents that the law is aimed at. Teaching a child that they have a commitment to go to school is, in my opinion, teaching them that they are expected to be committed to their future employment. Here, it has always been the case that responsible parents would not dream of taking their children out of school for a holiday. Presumably this attitude is a cultural difference. (iii) It must be lovely to have a long holiday in the summer when children are older. However, many children, especially young children, need frequent breaks because they get tired, especially towards the end of term. Tiredness is not conducive to effective learning. Finally, I must declare myself as an ex-teacher who is passionate about children having a good education. in my opinion, it is vital for children and the society as a whole. Taking them out of school for frivolous reasons - holidays - is not, in my opinion, justified if a parent takes their child's education seriously.
The NO is very common regardless of cultural or not.....but depends on the head teacher.....one way round it is sickness.......not that I've used that one lol
Yes the fine is £60 per child.....
It's very strict here in the UK.
In my experience, the school usually says no. Then you will have to phone in sick every morning that your child is away from school. It's completely bonkers and unnecessary.
The was a story about a school(s) wanting parents to get a sick note from the doctor for more than 3 (or was it 5?) days of illness as if they were at work. I recall the local doctors being less than happy about the influx of kids but I don't know what eventually happened.
@@I_Evo My old school implemented this and our local doctors started charging for sick notes for school children :/
@@I_Evo My local surgery has a sign that says sick notes will not be provided for children ( These are for adults to provide to their employers as many have to prove the illness is the reason for being off work - don't forget many employers will pay sick pay - some up to 100% of pay - you can usually self cert (no doctors note) for 1 week and will be believed)
@@I_Evo i think the doctors wrote letters to the schools saying, they would not do it as they only decided if they were sick or not, not of they were fit for school and refused to do it
@@sheepsky yes, my friends school did this, she told them if they wanted to give her the cash to pay for the doctors note, she was willing to ask for one, if not they could go whistle! They never gave her the money and never insisted on it from her after that.
He is making a mountain out of a molehill. No school can refuse a child to have a day for religious or cultural celebration. Parents have a responsibility for their child and should play a key role in their child's education and their success in life.
Getting permission for medical appointments can also be a minefield. My granddaughter was diagnosed with a condition she had had from birth but was 15 before she got the diagnosis. With such a delay in treatment, the hospital was making up for lost time and giving her appointments every two or three deys. The school kept telling my daughter she should arrange appointments out side school time and even asked her to wait until the holidays. The hospital said that problems caused by the delays were now serious and the appointments had to be attended. Thankfully my grandaughter has left school now and her health is improving.
My experience has always been ok. Once we had the chance for a holiday to Disney world mostly in the half term holiday but we needed two extra days and both kids’ schools were fine with it. My daughter was a roller figure skater competing internationally and she got time off for training and competition. My nephew was allowed a day off to attend the court session where the adoption of his sister into his family was completed
It definitely sounds like it’s been made a lot stricter than it was when I was at school. My parents put requests in for us to be out of school here and there and they were always granted. Admittedly, timing can make a big difference in this. When my brother and I were taken out of school it was usually because we were going away outside of school holidays, because the cost of a trip goes up massively during school holidays. As we’d normally go towards the end of an academic year, or in the first couple of months when nothing really impress happening, there was usually no problem. I don’t recall requests to take me and my brother out of school during term time ever being refused, but as I say, timing is probably a big factor in this. It really does seem like there is way less wiggle room in it than there used to be though.
What you're missing is that the kids are his step children, born in the UK, so thanksgiving is not a cultural holiday for them - only for him. The reasons for the law (and it IS a law! - not negotiable!) are many. Instead of paying for day care people were taking older children out of school for extended periods to watch over younger siblings while both parents worked. Children were playing truant and forging notes from parents. Vacations were being taken during school terms for the sake of off peak rates and the children's education was being negatively affected. In the USA you can get all their work and assignments, etc., to take on holiday with you but what is the point of being on vacation if you have to sit with your child doing schoolwork every day so that they don't miss out on anything. Also, please remember that UK has 3 months' worth of breaks during the school year during which you can go on vacation with your kids without negatively affecting either their education or your quality time with them.
He doesn't have kids. He said at the beginning if/when he has kids with his GF...
@The Natasha & Debbie Show oh, OK sorry, I thought he said his gf had kids. My bad!! Tks 🥰
In the early 1970's, when the Tutankhamun artefacts came to the British Museum, I wanted go down to London to see it, so my dad had to apply to the headmaster several months in advance for time off to see the exhibition, and we got permission. We eventually got 3 days - one to go to London, one for the exhibition, and one to come back to Lincoln. I was 10 years old at the time, and that was my introduction to the law
Hey Ladies. It depends on the school head as to how strictly they apply the rules. Obviously they are more likely to ok it for a day or so than 2-3 weeks holiday which was happening a lot in some schools before these rules came into play.
In most cases it does seem to work ok. Natasha as to not attending due to extreme heat or snow then it's usually a local government issue that decides if it's dangerous for kids so will close schools. It happened rarely when I was a kid although I remember in the 70's the UK got hit by one of the biggest snow storms that closed my junior school for a week I believe but then my dad had to dig us out of the house door it was that bad!
Thw split up of school holidays was great as i was lucky enough to have 2/3 major family holidays each year. One in the February half term, one in the summer and one in the October half term.
Gooooooood Morning Natasha and Debbie! Sitting with the first cup of tea, watching you guys and am knitting! Just a usual morning in this household! Much love,
Stuey ❤️
I love a man who loves to knit
@@fayesouthall6604 it's like meditation for me! This is the 14th scarf replica of the Tom Baker Dr Who I have knitted. They end up being about 18 feet long! Keeps me out of mischief 🤣
Same in the Netherlands: not allowed and when it hapens too often you can be fined (from €750 and up) or/and prosecuted.
Holidays are the same as the UK. 6 weeks school, week off, something like that. 6 weeks summer holiday. Dont take your children from school earlier or come back later. Big probles with the inspection. When its very hot with a heatwave in summer, school might start and end earlier, so there is more time to go to swim.
Hi! British here! Whilst in writing, yes the education system in the UK is pretty rigid and days off are frowned upon - and can be fined for. I know plenty of people, including myself who had the odd day off and would just tell the school we had a stomach bug or something along those lines. As long as the parent called up to verify this then typically it is not a problem. All British schools are very strict on the overall percentage attendance annually and if it falls below 96% then it is often looked into by the school and/or safeguarding. Lower than 80% is usually local authorities. But he should be able to call in a sick day and all the kids came down with it :)
because so many children were being taken out of school to take advantage of cheap holidays the government had to put its foot down
when I was at school some children had days off in September for hop picking or fruit or potatoes
Yes it’s truly a thing, unfortunately there are parents who don’t care if their kid misses school or not, so it was implemented I think in part as a sort of deterrent, and I know of schools telling kids if they keep skipping school their parents will get a big fine and possible jail time 😮
Obviously medical is ok, if the child is sick or has a doctor or hospital appointment. Also the one day thing, most people just say their kid is sick or something and then make a miraculous recovery the next day
A kids taking a couple of weeks out for a holiday will not impact their education. Exam preparation time for GCSE would be the exclusion of course.
During the heat wave we had last year, all children were in school. Yes, there is no A/C as the majority of the schools are old buildings, but they had all the windows open and have constant access to cool water.
When my son was 4, I asked permission to take him out for 1 day (it was the last day of term) so we could fly to Dublin for a Catholic christening, he attends a catholic school, and got told no so I phoned the school the day before and told them that he was ill and I didn't get fined.
As to cultural reasons, we have many cultures living in the UK and if you honour one, you have to honour all so the disruptions would be many and cause a great many arguments as to what is a "national' cultural event that warrants inclusion. So, none are included to be fair to all.
It's very hard on parents whose children don't like to go to school has you can not drag them there ,most school don't fine you unless your child has a lot of time off, before this money making law came in force a lot of children was missing a lot school time ,but what make me mad it's a one side law when the close schools for teacher training or when teaches go on strike the parents can't fine the school the law should serve everyone not just one side,the school do not worry about kids missing out on education for one day when it's suits them ,
He may get permission. But people need to remember, that he will not be the only parent that will like to take their kids out for one day. No you can't take your child out just because there is a heatwave LOL.
Also, the many major cities are multi-cultural. So, there would be many different ethnicities/cultures wanting to take time off for certain celebration days. So I understand why it's not allowed to just be able to take your child out.
In the early 1950s I was 5 ish, my mum needed an operation the only slot the hospital had free was two weeks before the start of the summer holidays. With permission from school I was taken out of school for those 2 weeks as all my family ( Dad, Mum and Gran too) could not take time off work. So I was sent to my mum's family over the other side of the country. I didn't miss out at all as I had lots of "educational" trips. All my aunt's and uncles helped me learn things ad hoc . Some children here in UK are still taken out of school for arbitrary reasons.
If your kid has been off a lot sick, they’ll decline the request, if they have good attendance they’ll allow the holiday request
Morning girlies, unfortunately there are kids that just don't care and will skip school knowing that their parents could get a prison sentence. This wasn't a thing in my day at school ( some 44 yrs ago) and my parents couldn't afford a holiday away but my Aunt and Uncle would take us all away with them and my brother and I would get an extra 2 weeks summer holiday meaning all our friends went back to school after the holidays and we didn't. But can't do that now. Another great video girlies very interesting. Xx
I'm afraid it was a thing "in your day" . The legislation was a feature 1870s Education Act but for much lower ages. The legislation has seemingly tightened as people and society have grown in wealth an sophistication, there are more resources for enforcement and more attention paid in media.
My teenage education was disrupted by the war( I had left before the School Leaving age was raised to 15 in the 1944 Education Act). At that time if not in school you effectively had to be in work. You only got a Ration Card in you own name when Registered at 18. There were no resources in the Country to enforce Truancy rules and in places there were "feral" children. It is covered in the social history of the 1940s. After War service I went into Education (in London). I was exposed to how deprivation had effected the areas I worked in (The Depression and the war years)
Never knew that, thank you.
@@denisrobertmay875 ... I was going to say more or less the same thing, as I was in school in the 60s and 70s and agree, it was definitely a thing.
Hi ladies ... I'm quite surprised that people in America can have holidays in school time off at all after watching a video about Americans getting next to no payed or unpaid holidays so how can they Celebrate bank holidays 🤔 and also I'm interested to know how the situation works when the kids are off school for three months in the summer when like I mentioned some works may if they are lucky get 5/9 days off a year.
We cal the Autumn celebration "HarvestHome" when Churches accept food donations which are passed on to the needy,
Schools celebrate it, "celebrate" meaning recognising it and thanking God for the Harvest, which goes back many hundreds
of years and was introduced by British settlers, first emigrating to America. So, it originated here, and was
adopted and changed by Americans !
In the UK standard school holidays the price jumped UP drastically for staycation get-aways, flights & hotels abroad that it makes economical sense to pay a cheaper fine for taking holidays during term time. Many years ago I took trips to Egypt to work as a tourist guide for an Egyptian friend of mine. I took my step-grandson, aged about 9, to Egypt out of term time, asking his mother to write to his headmaster that his Grandad was going on an archeological trip to Egypt to help in the digging of Tutankhamun's Palace, plus some sightseeing. The headmaster agreed wholeheartedly.....as long as the grandson gave a talk to the whole school on his visit upon his return to school. He managed to do it with sincerity !
it has been quite a few years since I left school, 43 years to be exact and we didn't have these rules in my day. I do know people who have taken their children out of school for the odd day. I think the law was brought in to make parents responsible to get their children to go to school.
You should do a reaction video on then UK school examination system which is completely different from the US.
As some one who often does exam invigilation, that would be interesting.
I'm old too but 'the Wag Man' existed back then. Persistently truanting children could be marched back to school by an employee of the Local Authority.
@@Iconiccreative I used to work at the examination board in Manchester.
My son had a medical condition and had a few days off school weekly over a few months. His school was fully aware of this, yet i still recieved a snotty prosecution letter from the education welfare office. Went into his school for a meeting with the education officer, head of year and form tutor. They basically said it was ok for the time off. Good thanks for that because he was suffering from paralitic migraines, and couldn't even attempt to go to school. Also I had to prove that he had this condition so it would all be authorised!
Wow!!!
so why the intended prosecution letter then if the school was aware?
My youngest grandson is going through a similar situation.
The secondary school that my daughter goes to monitors the patterns of when a child is off, why and how often. She got covid and had to stay off school, which they were fine with. Unfortunately her nan passed away in the same term and she was off for a day and another for the funeral, we got a letter to say that she wasnt allowed any more days off that term. So they don't automatically fine you over here. They break down the school year now to help parents who can't be off for months to look after the kids and they believe it helps your child to focus more on their lessons after a short break away from school.
I was told by a teacher that if my child needed to be at home because of being stressed anxious he was aloud to do so, he stayed home on the odd day. I live in UK
They're more like guide lines backed up by the threat of a fine. It's not on most people's worry list.🙂
My son and his wife took their daughter on a weeks holiday abroad they couldn't get permission when they got back they were fined £120
And likely saved more than that on the cost of a term time holiday.
Yep cheaper to pay the fine! Don't blame them x
I pretty much had to be dying for my mum to allow me off school. I was never off, except for the hols. This was to stop parents pulling kids out randomly to take them abroad… you can get bereavement leave etc, or time for medical appointments - u just have to inform the school in good time so it’s not marked down as unauthorised absence.
The law is there for good reasons. Our children are our country's future. It is our responsibility to make sure they are educated and give them a good start in life. You can take children out of school for funerals and also if they are sick etc. You have to inform the school and gain permission, nothing wrong with that. Also you can be jailed for not sending your children to school, not just fined. Obviously this depends on the severity of the offence based on how long your children have been absent from school. Parents can self educate their children at home given legal permission.
Very common to say no, Only exceptions are funerals and family weddings, I took a fine even though they refused
We can totally understand taking the fine
Your reaction is the reaction of a reasonable parent. Unfortunately there's a lot of neglectful parents too which don't care when their child misses school generally so when they get outraged, it's not justified. Ultimately, it's the few that have ruined it for the many as usual.
Hello! I would appreciate at least a link to the video I spent so hard on in the description or something 😇
Either way I usually don’t like reaction videos but I appreciate how often you paused for clarification as opposed to just watching the whole thing with no comment in between (which I hate) so yeah. Great stuff. Have a nice Monday
How many U.S. videos out there that an abused or murdered child has not been noticed that they're missing from school .The parents give excuse one after another . Here the school would or should be on top of that immediately.
The cost of family holidays increases significantly when the kids are on summer holidays. Even double the cost or more. The people who strictly abide by the rules and condemn my attitude to this are the same people with plenty of money and can afford to go on vacation in the summer break.
You could afford to have children!
@@maxbee4460 Yes I could afford to have children but I cannot afford the inflated prices in the holidays. Doesn't matter right? As long as the well off people get what they want. Why should rich families be allowed to have a holiday but not poorer families? Completely unfair.
@@5imp1 You are not worried that the richer kids might be getting an education while your are not?
@@paulmidsussex3409 Mine did very well at school and are now both at university. Just saying that it's a bit unfair.
As a teacher in England, I support the rules in place. It’s important that the kids aren’t missing out on their education. The headteacher can use their discretion on unauthorised absence, but generally unless it’s for a funeral, wedding of a class family member or a religious holiday, then leave won’t be approved. Even if it is approved, it’s generally just for the day of the event, not for anything else surrounding it.
In 2019, I requested permission to take my son out of school for 1 day as we were going on a family holiday. We had mistakenly booked the holiday so that the last day coincided with the first day of term, so obviously, he needed that day off. He was 5 at the time, and the request was denied.
We appealed this decision, stating what we believed to be extenuating circumstances. Our older son would be going away to university straight after the holiday, and it was likely to be the last family holiday my youngest would share with his brother. The request was still denied.
It was really important to us and for a child who has had 100% attendance before and since that time, we didn't feel that one day would be detrimental to his education. So we resigned ourselves to paying the fine and took our holiday anyway.
Requests are denied regularly. From what I gather from other parents, there are very few circumstances where a request will be approved 🤷♀️
As an ex Headteacher, my experience is that the vast majority of parents are in favour of this law until it comes to holidays abroad. The cost of holidays abroad increases dramatically during official school holiday times. If the child comes from a split family they will often want to go on several holidays. It’s cheaper for families to pay the fine and book the holiday during term time. We wouldn’t give permission for cultural events like Thanksgiving but we would for religious festivals. Most families would just lie and say their child was ill if they wanted to take the odd day off!
Yes he is talking absolute tosh to be honest. Odd days here and there is zero issue but weeks that is and even that often allowed
Several years ago I asked my daughter’s primary school to take her out of school on the last day of term so we could travel to France before the price rise the next day. Headteacher said no as she had missed about 7 days during the year - most because the school had phoned us to take her home because they thought she was ill. Never asked for a single day off for our 3 older kids. We went anyway, I phoned the school from the ferry dock and said she was ill,never heard another thing from the school. She now has 4 GCSEs to her name, a year early, including two A grades for maths.
Firstly love the beautiful and kind gifts you received in memory of dear Jazz and Tyson.
As I remember from my time working in education, the register contained 'authorised absences' such as medical appointments, illness, religious observance for example. There were many more authorised absence reasons. However, if you just fancy taking your child out of school for a day out or book a holiday in particular abroad, you will need permission to do this. Schools have lots of holidays throughout the year (which you only have to look at the prices of holidays to know when the school holidays are as the prices tend to go up). The first year after after decades of working in schools, I was like a child in a sweet shop as I could book holidays, which not only were cheaper, out of school term time which felt strange at first but now I don't even think about it. When I worked in school it wasn't the heatwave as much as the cold in the winter when the boiler broke down and the children had to be sent home. Although I know during a heatwave last year children were also sent home as most schools don't have air conditioning.
I took my son out of school for 5 days at the beginning of December to go to New York. I booked it to celebrate my 50th Birthday and as a single Mum, I could no way afford to go during the school holidays plus as I said, we went for my Birthday which isn’t in the holidays. I filled out a permission form before the October half term. I didn’t hear anything from the school until the first day of our holiday where they emailed me to say permission had been denied and they were forwarding this to the local authority. I was then sent a fine which was £60 if paid within 21 days or £120 if paid between 21-28 days. We had postal strikes at the time so I received the fine on the 20th day which I paid there and then. I don’t regret taking my son out of school, I’ve never done it before and he rarely has sick days. He’s Year 9 (age 13) and is doing really well at school and he still had to do the homework that was set that week anyway plus they were winding down for the Christmas holidays so he didn’t miss much.
Ahhh, a bit of Nat and Debs before Uni 😊