holidays

[loopey]

my son is in his first year of comp do you think is ok to take him out of school for a holiday

[B00]

Schools are usually fine with it if you ask them in plenty of time.

[loopey]

does it effect the childs learning?

[kags]

I would say "no", and our local education authority has started prosecuting parents who do it. I think it sets a bad example to children, and whilst it probably won't set his education back this year, in my experience parents who take their children out one year, continue to do so in later years. I don't think it's about his education, it's about the fact that children need to know that going to school is a very high priority in their lives, and not one that should be put on one side to have a cheaper holiday. That's my opinion anyway, probably not a popular one!

[kags]

when I said "I don't think it's about his education", I meant in the sense of missing a week or so of school, not in the broader sense.

[Gef]

Depends on when and for how long. For example last week of summer term wouldn't make much difference as most teaching has stopped and pupils are taking part in other activities. Please remember though that if you do this then the onus is on you to make sure that your child makes up for the lost time. The typical response to the exam question of " I was off that day" doesn't get a lot of sympathy from teachers.

[Genesis]

I think the trend is not to permit children to miss school for any reason and, certainly locally to me, if a request is made to take a child out of school for a holiday, it is denied. If a child is taken out of school without the school's consent - whether it has been sought or not - this is classed as truancy, with all that that entails.

Will it affect his learning? Well it depends on how consciencious he is. He would certainly have some catching up to do when he got back, even if he was off for only a week - is he a good worker, would he be willing to work that bit harder to catch up, does he struggle with his work, etc etc? Even if he is a good worker, it's still going to set him back and put him at a disadvantage for a while I would think.

[mycatis]

I know that local authorities have said that they want parents to start booking holidays out of term time but my son was off school this year for a week because my mum had booked a surprise holoiday for me to Rome for my birthday, the school knew about it before I did! Talk to the school

[phoenixxx]

As a teacher it drives me mad that there is always at least one pupil on holiday. When they return they have often missed a key point. I cannot stop teaching the whole class to teach the individual who has been on holiday and, as an earlier writer mentioned, 'I was away' will not pass exams. What is more important, your child's uninterrupted education or a cheaper family holiday? Your answer will determine the type of parent you really are!

[dailette]

i would like to find a boot camp for my son in the uk he is14 and it take him 5hrs to get home from school every day he took �300 pounds which was ment for christmas he things it ok to bulley his brother of 9 he has no respect for older people so please help me to find a boot camp that will teach him that he has to work hard to get think and there is nothing call free in this life time