Query: Year 1 - taking a week out in term time

[minder]

Pickle I've not accused (bit of a strong word) somebody of being flippant, just their remark 'do it anyway'. Where was I rude in any of my comments? It seems from one post of mine on 29th Jan everybody assumes I'm against parents taking their children out of school during term-time (I don't care if they do) but the posts have flowed from there.

From these posts, I must be in the minority of parents that have worked around any absences for my 3 during the 13 weeks holidays and weekends?

Edited to add that my Mum's funeral and brother in laws wedding were days when I didn't care.

[Tallulahdoesthehula]

We are off skiing next week, booked a year ago thinking it was half term but it's actually a week early. My daughter is in year R. We completed an absence form, I then spoke with her teacher.

The teacher was very supportive. Said they wouldn't be doing anything new next week and workwise for us to just practice phonemes, letters and reading. Her view was it's a fantastic experience which she will benefit from.

She said if we wanted to do more to get her to write a diary of her time away.

Said that permission. Wouldn't be granted as the heads have no discretion now, permission only granted for deaths! It will be an unauthorised absence but as her attendance until now is 100% no real issue.

We got the official rejection letter tonight which tells us if we go anyway we may be fined ?60 per child per parent - ?120 total in our case as my son is in nursery.

If we are fined we are fined......

Annoyingly she has just turned 5 - if she were 5 a month later we couldn't have been fined!

[Family Room Moderator]

Minder, it's more your assumption that the absences are something that can be planned/avoided. Admittedly it's a touchy subject for me due to the way our family has been treated by the school - but 2 out of 3 of our absences in the 4 years my eldest has been in full time education have been due to death or serious illness. Not something that can be worked around school holidays.

[Pickle]

Minder, it's more your assumption that the absences are something that can be planned/avoided. Admittedly it's a touchy subject for me due to the way our family has been treated by the school - but 2 out of 3 of our absences in the 4 years my eldest has been in full time education have been due to death or serious illness. Not something that can be worked around school holidays.

In terms of "do it anyway" - in the case where we were not granted absence for my brothers ashes burial, of course we did it anyway. Would you feel comfortable telling the rest of your bereaved family that you weren't attending as the school didn't grant 2 days off? I know it's an extreme example, but highlights just how ridiculous the system has become.