Reply to: Should school refuse boy leave for mum's wedding?

[vetran]

In my children's schools there are a hard core of truants who ruin the figures, however they seem to have few successful sanctions. This is just about looking tough.

[CoolCat]

It’s a lot to do with Gove trying to restrict children's days off from school. It's all very one sided.
I have friends with children in public (fee paying) schools, and they are "allowed" to take them out during term time for two weeks holidays no problems whatsoever. Gove and the state are not trying to stop this.
On the other hand, if your children are in a state school, they are trying to introduce allsorts of micromanagement.
Well guess what the reasons state schools produce rubbish results so often is a bit more complex than this.
I look back at my own school days, those who were taken out from school for family events and holidays were often the best performing pupils by all measures.
So my view is it’s a well-meaning attempt to improve standards which aims but misses all of the real problems stopping children achieving their potential.
Gove would do better to address himself to issues like those children who will be starting school next September who are already more advanced than many of that schools children who have already been in the school a few years, and how they will be forced to tread water and get bored for a few years while the rest of their intake catch up. And so on.

[backthemac]

I think the lesson here is to just lie & pull a sickie

[northernladuk]

Perhaps you should find a better school.

Or pull his head out of his arse and try and understand the education his child is getting.

Personally I send my kids on every trip that comes up. I remember all my school trips even now so think it is just as important to go on these as it is go to lessons. Ingleborough Hall outward bound when I was knee high to a grasshopper was still one of the best things I did at school.

just be an excuse for the teachers to skive off

This comment alone shows how much of an ignorant bumhole you are and how little you are willing to think about it. You think all the preparation, planning, expense and then spending time looking after 60+ kids for a weekend is skivving? And none of this will be done during school time

[mudskipper]

The trips that my kids have gone on have had minimal educational value, they seem to just be an excuse for the teachers to skive off. There's the annual trip to the Panto, a cinema trip, the trip to the Good Food Show at the NEC (that was so well supervised that Facebook filled up with pictures of students posing with models at the Bike Show that was on at the same time in a different hall). I also see hoards of kids wandering aimlessly around Castleton while the teachers are in one of the pubs.

Perhaps you should find a better school.

[BigRed]

The trips that my kids have gone on have had minimal educational value, they seem to just be an excuse for the teachers to skive off. There's the annual trip to the Panto, a cinema trip, the trip to the Good Food Show at the NEC (that was so well supervised that Facebook filled up with pictures of students posing with models at the Bike Show that was on at the same time in a different hall). I also see hoards of kids wandering aimlessly around Castleton while the teachers are in one of the pubs.

[original PM]

I don't see how schools can cope with disruptions such as illness but not with notified absence within reasonable limits. They also seem quite keen on days out and extortionate trips abroad organised by themselves but don't seem to rate the quality time that parents want to have with their children.

On two consecutive letters I received this year the first emphasised how they would not authorise leave under any circumstances and the second was regarding a school trip at some sort of adventure camp. I would prefer to organise my own trips for my kids. I think with my youngest I will have to start saying that he won't be going on any of the school excursions but as they aren't planning to teach him anything I'll take him out of school to do things with the family instead.

The problem is you generally find it is the scrotey parents/kids which take 2 week holidays during term time and then expect the school to find the extra resource to bring the back up to speed.

If you handle it properly you can normally get a day or so with no problems assuming your kids are not lagging significantly behind the curve.

Also re not letting the kids go on the school outings is often not best as there is often lessons based on those trips when they come back - and also who wants to single their kids out for special treatment.....?

[TheFaQQer]

I don't see how schools can cope with disruptions such as illness but not with notified absence within reasonable limits.

It's the difference between having to deal with something, and volunteering to have disruption.

They also seem quite keen on days out and extortionate trips abroad organised by themselves but don't seem to rate the quality time that parents want to have with their children.

School excursions have an educational benefit (or very occasionally a reward at specific times of the year). If every parent was going to spend quality time with their children that contributes to their education and development, then there would be a reasonable case for allowing as much absence as the parent wants. However, that's not going to happen, so to discriminate against some children in favour of others isn't right.

On two consecutive letters I received this year the first emphasised how they would not authorise leave under any circumstances and the second was regarding a school trip at some sort of adventure camp. I would prefer to organise my own trips for my kids.

What stops you from organising your own trips for your kids?

I think with my youngest I will have to start saying that he won't be going on any of the school excursions but as they aren't planning to teach him anything I'll take him out of school to do things with the family instead.

That assumes that they aren't planning on teaching him anything that day, which would be particularly poor of the school. If children don't go on the excursions, then the school will provide a full day of schooling for those children. For example, this week my children's school has a residential excursion for the week. Not everyone has gone on the excursion, but that doesn't mean that the rest of them are sat around doing nothing.

If you want to take your children out of school, then there is nothing that can really prevent you from doing that. Whether the school (and / or local authority) have policies in place which mean that you and / or your child could be open to other sanctions is something that you might want to consider first, though.

[BrilloPad]

Does he have mini cheddars in his lunch box?

Should I look that up on urban dictionary?

[minestrone]

Does he have mini cheddars in his lunch box?

[d000hg]

I don't see how schools can cope with disruptions such as illness but not with notified absence within reasonable limits.

Who says they can't cope? If you have a permie job and phone up to say "I'm going on holiday today for a week" you'll get a different reaction to phoning up sick and being off all week. Same principle.

[BrilloPad]

I don't see how schools can cope with disruptions such as illness but not with notified absence within reasonable limits. They also seem quite keen on days out and extortionate trips abroad organised by themselves but don't seem to rate the quality time that parents want to have with their children.

And this is why the UK is stuffed. Anything to avoid hard work. About time the parents backed the schools - any parent that does is shot. Its for the national good.

[BigRed]

I don't see how schools can cope with disruptions such as illness but not with notified absence within reasonable limits. They also seem quite keen on days out and extortionate trips abroad organised by themselves but don't seem to rate the quality time that parents want to have with their children.

On two consecutive letters I received this year the first emphasised how they would not authorise leave under any circumstances and the second was regarding a school trip at some sort of adventure camp. I would prefer to organise my own trips for my kids. I think with my youngest I will have to start saying that he won't be going on any of the school excursions but as they aren't planning to teach him anything I'll take him out of school to do things with the family instead.

[northernladuk]

Mirror has a bit more detail

Boy, 9, refused leave from school to go to mum's wedding - Mirror Online

"In a second statement, Ms Lucas said the request had actually been received five days before the planned absence, and had not made it clear that it was for his mum's wedding.

She added: "If she had come into school to... explain it was her own wedding and why it had to be on this particular date, such as her working patterns, then it would have been quite likely that we would have agreed."

So daft woman didn't even say it was her own wedding.

This makes me chortle. Idiots getting owned makes me smile all day long. I told you there would be more to this story than met the eye.

[speling bee]

And who'd want to get married in Basingstoke?

To give credit where due, it does have its own organism named after it: Salmonella Basingstoke.