Hurray! The High Court backs Mr Platt....

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

It's Hurrah for our family. How much more a child will learn in a week abroad than preparing for boring and irrelevant SATS in school. (I guess you can all tell where I'm coming from! Some of our friends' grandchildren are home-educated...and it's wonderful.)

A government spokesman said that a week out of school (at age SEVEN) will lead to poorer performance (performance...are they race-horses?) at GCSE.

B******s!!!

It is, indeed, as you say codswallop. BUT, for those who have not taken the route of home schooling, and have instead opted to use the services of a school to educate children, should there not be a sense of obligation to that school to work around the term-time in order to accommodate such weeks' learning abroad? There are, after all, thirteen weeks in each year to provide this (I agree, invaluable) additional education?

[french frank]

There are, after all, thirteen weeks in each year to provide this (I agree, invaluable) additional education?

One of the arguments was that holiday prices all go up for the school holidays. 'High season' presumably.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

There is a danger that schools are regarded as Childminding facilitaties; that they're useful to look after kids whilst parents go to work, but teaching patterns can be interrupted to facilitate the best "deals" parents can get from their employers aa to when they can have their annual holidays.

Do children from other countries also take weeks away from their schooling in order to have the educational opportunities to come to the UK during term-time?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

One of the arguments was that holiday prices all go up for the school holidays. 'High season' presumably.

I trust that that "argument" was immediately thrown out of court!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

The problem is that some parents really do take the ****.

Even as a retired teacher I don't feel that I should give specific examples, but I will anyway.

Hermione goes on holiday to CenterParcs (excuse spelling) for two weeks and then returns to school for three weeks. Then her friend Cho Chang goes to her parents' second home in southern France for two weeks, and invites Hermione to go with her.

Draco Malfoy has had 100% attendance at school during the year, but in the summer obtains permission to go to America for six (6) weeks in the summer term. When he arrives back, he is told he will not get the 100% attendance award. Draco is annoyed, saying it shouldn't count as an absence because he has had permission to be away from school. His father Lucius complains to the school. Draco then gets his 100% attendance award, but Ginny Weasley, who has attended school every day but was ill for one afternoon, does not.

And more recently:
Neville Longbottom was to take Grade 2 clarinet, and was entered for the exam. His grandparents filled in some of the paperwork, but failed to say that he would be going on holiday shortly before the exam. On returning to school, he is hopeless behind in his exam preparation, becoming extremely distressed. His grandparents withdraw him from the exam, but blame the school.

I could go on. . .

I've always regarded it as legalised truancy.

[MrGongGong]

I've always regarded it as legalised truancy.

I used to play truant from the grammar school and go to the Art college in Birkenhead to play with their synthesisers and tape recorders.
Never did me any harm

[teamsaint]

There is a danger that schools are regarded as Childminding facilitaties; that they're useful to look after kids whilst parents go to work, but teaching patterns can be interrupted to facilitate the best "deals" parents can get from their employers aa to when they can have their annual holidays.

Do children from other countries also take weeks away from their schooling in order to have the educational opportunities to come to the UK during term-time?

British governments have done an " outstanding" job in promoting schools as childminding facilities.

[french frank]

I trust that that "argument" was immediately thrown out of court!

Not an 'argument' in the legal sense. In the legal sense the argument was that it hadn't been shown that the child had not attended school "regularly" . But I do have sympathy with the complaint that as everyone wants to go on holiday during the summer holidays the prices rocket.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

But I do have sympathy with the complaint that as everyone wants to go on holiday during the summer holidays the prices rocket.

Yes - but that is no reason to arrange holidays around term time. If it were, then why should not teachers take holidays during the cheaper periods - would such parents agree that the weeks lost thereby were equally irrelevant to their child's education? Schools should not exist for the convenience of adults, but for the education of children. Alpie has pointed out what happens (and happens regularly) when parents behave in this inconsiderate manner; the disruption to the children of the more responsible parents is another factor.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

British governments have done an " outstanding" job in promoting schools as childminding facilities.

Ain't that the truth

[P. G. Tipps]

I used to play truant from the grammar school and go to the Art college in Birkenhead to play with their synthesisers and tape recorders.
Never did me any harm

Wasted a lot of public money, though .. ?

[Flosshilde]

But I do have sympathy with the complaint that as everyone wants to go on holiday during the summer holidays the prices rocket.

But if school terms were adjusted, so that here were 4 terms (& only a couple of days, or nothing, instead of a week for half term) 'everyone' would want to go on holiday in May, & the prices then would rocket. & what's stopping people going on holiday during the summer half term anyway?

[Flosshilde]

I used to play truant from the grammar school and go to the Art college in Birkenhead to play with their synthesisers and tape recorders.
Never did me any harm

Maybe we should be the judge of that.

[P. G. Tipps]

The problem is that some parents really do take the ****.

Even as a retired teacher I don't feel that I should give specific examples, but I will anyway.

Hermione goes on holiday to CenterParcs (excuse spelling) for two weeks and then returns to school for three weeks. Then her friend Cho Chang goes to her parents' second home in southern France for two weeks, and invites Hermione to go with her.

Draco Malfoy has had 100% attendance at school during the year, but in the summer obtains permission to go to America for six (6) weeks in the summer term. When he arrives back, he is told he will not get the 100% attendance award. Draco is annoyed, saying it shouldn't count as an absence because he has had permission to be away from school. His father Lucius complains to the school. Draco then gets his 100% attendance award, but Ginny Weasley, who has attended school every day but was ill for one afternoon, does not.

And more recently:
Neville Longbottom was to take Grade 2 clarinet, and was entered for the exam. His grandparents filled in some of the paperwork, but failed to say that he would be going on holiday shortly before the exam. On returning to school, he is hopeless behind in his exam preparation, becoming extremely distressed. His grandparents withdraw him from the exam, but blame the school.

I could go on. . .

I've always regarded it as legalised truancy.

Spot on!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Another anecdote:

Colin Creevey went on holiday during term time, but his parents asked that he be set work to do while he was away, so that he didn't fall behind in his schoolwork. Dumbledore wisely commented that if they were so concerned about it, they shouldn't be taking him on holiday during term-time.