El Cid Posted January 26, 2014 Author Share Posted January 26, 2014 No - I think people have been prosecuted, fined and even imprisoned for allowing their kids to truant, for a number of years now. The couple are among 164 parents who have been fined since the beginning of the school year, when tough new rules were introduced for parents who take their children going on holiday in term time. Previously, it was at a head teacher's discretion whether to allow children some time off, but they are now duty bound to report parents who flout the rule. http://www.nottinghampost.com/Family-s-anger-pound-480-fine-term-time-holiday/story-20263207-detail/story.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/10574965/Couple-fined-over-term-time-holiday.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruno Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Teachers who strike to obtain a pay increase should be fined for making children miss out on their education. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iansheff Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Gove should be cutting the amount of holidays teachers get so that children can enjoy flexible holidays. ---------- Post added 25-01-2014 at 18:49 ---------- No it isn't, some children hate school and won't learn no matter how much time they spend in one. Does that mean teachers can have flexible holidays then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna B Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 I have the answer. If, as many of the posters on this thread appear to believe, a couple of weeks off school isn't going to damage a student's prospects much, let's just give every school - students & staff - another two weeks holiday a year, to be allocated during the fortnight of their choosing. This would scupper the holiday companies' business model, solve the problem of different students having different work to catch up, fulfil El Cid and the others' desire to avoid paying ridiculously inflated holiday costs and, of course, have no negative effect on anyone's education. Who's in? Actually, that's already the case I believe. Children are allowed 10 days per year discretionary leave. It is discouraged that it be used for holidays obviously, but if parents put a good case (and the children are generally good attenders etc) there's a good chance it will be agreed. But therein lies the problem. If it's discretionary, that means that some parents will get it and some won't - and you try explaining to a bolshie parent why X can have it, but Y can't... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iansheff Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 In practice schools tend to know when kids are away ill and when they have been taken away on holiday. The unanswered phone calls home to arrange work to be sent (with absences of 3+ days) are often the clue. Plus, kids are often worse liars than their parents and give the game away when they return, if not by the newly acquired tan, then the holidays photos they insist on showing their mates in registration...plus the fact that other kids will often tell you quite openly that X is in Benidorm and not at home with flu or whatever. Schools have every reason to discourage term time holidays - for the logistical reasons explained by Cyclone and myself in previous posts, plus the fact that most teachers genuinely want the kids to get the best exam results possible, even if the parents think two weeks on a beach is more important. Clearly, to lie to the school and to instruct your children (and everyone who knows you) to lie to them about where your family has been for the week/fortnight is to set an appalling example and no parent should do it. The message the kids get is 'It's OK to lie your way out of trouble'. Is that really what you want them to think?[/quote After two weeks in the sun the tan is a dead give away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
top4718 Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Can I ask again why didn't the education system totally collapse and pupils all leave school illiterate before this nonsense started? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dizzybird77 Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 (edited) Actually, that's already the case I believe. Children are allowed 10 days per year discretionary leave. It is discouraged that it be used for holidays obviously, but if parents put a good case (and the children are generally good attenders etc) there's a good chance it will be agreed. But therein lies the problem. If it's discretionary, that means that some parents will get it and some won't - and you try explaining to a bolshie parent why X can have it, but Y can't... This was the case up until september... Now there is a strict list of the things that authorised leave can be granted for. Basically the only time it will be granted will be for bereavement, religious festivals and I couple of other things that I cant remember right now. ... but they are definitely not for reasons like " we cannot get holidays booked at work at the same time" or "this is my allocated holiday at work" etc Edited January 26, 2014 by dizzybird77 spelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkey104 Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 I've already booked a fortnight in Biarritz in June. I love Biarritz. Me and the wifey were there last year on the Harley, during term time as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
francypants Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 The taking away of discretion from headteachers and the introduction of fines, is in my opinion penalizing hard working parents who go out to work and cannot always take annual holidays during the school holidays. On the other hand, parents who do not go out to work do not have this problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoroB Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 That's not a bad idea, and much as I would welcome more holidays for teachers, I maintain that most GCSE syllabi cannot be taught in 4 weeks fewer than they are already (2 in Y10, 2 in Y11). Normal allocation of weeks, just 2 of them when the school chooses? Preferably when other schools in session so holiday firms can't rip people off as much.Problem is, everyone school in the land would want them the last 2 weeks of September... The other problem would be working round public exam dates but if Gove has his way, they will all be crammed into a 2 week slot at the very end of year 11 anyway (no coursework deadlines or modules to be taken through the course), so it won't matter. ---------- Post added 26-01-2014 at 15:15 ---------- No - I think people have been prosecuted, fined and even imprisoned for allowing their kids to truant, for a number of years now. ---------- Post added 26-01-2014 at 15:18 ---------- In other words...you cannot [produce any evidence of your subjective impression]. So stop flinging silly accusations around, please, and concentrate on the argument itself (if you are able). You mean 13 weeks a year are not enough? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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