Is there awat around fines for taking my daughter on holiday during term time?
Posted by Classic-Stuff4369@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 21 comments
Daughter is turning 9 on the last week of school term in December.
I want to take her abroad and she will need to miss the last 4 days of school to do this
Her attendance is 100% and I plan to keep it this way until the holiday.
Should I tell the school or say shes sick?
I need a good reason to why its better to tell the school if this is the case. Not just honesty is better.
I am aiming not to get fined!
alexanderbeswick@reddit
I took my daughter to Japan. Obviously got a fine. I said to the local authority that we were Shintoists on a pilgrimage, and that I was deeply offended because it was for religious matters. They cancelled the fine. Lol
Uhura-hoop@reddit
Oh I love this one đđđ» well done. The annoying thing is that the educational and personal benefits of travelling to and experiencing different cultures like that should stand for themselves. Why is the religion card so powerful?! Youâve enriched her life and mind incalculably giving her opportunities like that. They should be glad she gets the chance to travel. The problem ones are where the kids truant for no bloody reason and the parents donât give a shit. That isnât you.
Mr_Bumcrest@reddit
Yeah because everyone taking their child out of school is doing it to take their kids to Japan
alexanderbeswick@reddit
Yeah, it's all ridiculous
Dont-settle-for-him@reddit
Send her on with a bright blue wig on, the day before your flight.
The school will suspend her and you won't have to pay the fine.Â
Uhura-hoop@reddit
Thatâs a really good point. If school absence is so awful why is it they resort to suspension as a punishment? Itâs a weird punishment to tell troublemaker kids not to come to school
jdsuperman@reddit
In-school suspension (isolation room or whatever it's called at different schools) is pretty common now.
Uhura-hoop@reddit
I know of a persistent troublemaker who spends most of his school life in âreflectionâ or actually suspended from school. I still think itâs an odd strategy.
Classic-Stuff4369@reddit (OP)
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anonoaw@reddit
Our school does an in person wellbeing check after 3 days off even if youâve phoned up sick. Check your schoolâs safeguarding policy.
sideone@reddit
Ours have said recently that they will do an at home attendance check if you call in sick for the last three days before the end of term, or the first three days of a new term.
Classic-Stuff4369@reddit (OP)
Thanks for the advice I will try and find this out
terryjuicelawson@reddit
We have taken ours out of Primary school and there was no fine, only the odd day though. They can't authorise it but think it needs to be a bigger deal than four days to get them referring for fines. Could just ask them at the office what you are considering doing ("theoretically").
Queasy-Energy7372@reddit
Just be honest, by lying you are showing your children that itâs ok to not tell the truth when it suits (yes we all tell some white lies I know)Â
Then you have to make sure they donât go back and tell their friends I went to xxxxÂ
Worst case take the hit on the fine, probably still cheaper than going just off term time
Uhura-hoop@reddit
Yeah itâs tricky when your kids might innocently give the game away. We only did it once and she was too young at the time for that to really be an issue
Classic-Stuff4369@reddit (OP)
Im just trying to run through all my optionsÂ
1- Be honest with the school and they refuse the leave. -I get fined.
2- Be honest with the school and they agree. -No fine.
3- Say my daughter is unwell. No fine.
4- Say my daughter is unwell and they find out it wasnât true. -Possible fine and a bit of awkwardness with the school.
Being honest is actually the most guaranteed way to end up with a fine, which just feels ridiculous
Classic-Stuff4369@reddit (OP)
I really do agree with you that honesty is so important. At the same time, I want to teach my child to think for herself, question the system and not just follow the herd. Sometimes that means thinking outside the box when rules donât make sense. I think itâs absolutely possible to teach both honesty and independent thinking at the same time
Queasy-Energy7372@reddit
Oh I totally get you and agree the system is wrong for parents of kids who usually are in school every day and achieving the expected outcomesÂ
My 2 are in different schools, my better half happens to work at one of them so we have no chance of taking them in term time haha
They usually hit 100% attendance each year or very close with authorised absence (dental appts etc) so I would personally have no issue asking the schools for an exception if we couldÂ
I also used to be a governor at a school and saw the other side too where kids were often off and parents did get the fine.
So yeah I would still say be honest for sure if your school is reasonable they might let it slide due to past attendance record
MrMonkeyman79@reddit
It depends on the school and LEA. Some under those circumstances would authorise the absense, some would not authorise and take no further action, others would result in you getting a fine.
If you say they're ill and the school suspects you're lying, the chance of the absence triggering a fine increases.
Its a able either way, but the fine will almost certainly be less than the difference between a term time trip and wholly in the school hols.
Sudden_Accountant762@reddit
If itâs less than 5 days, there should be no fine. If your school/council follows the national guidance.
https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2024/08/fines-for-parents-for-taking-children-out-of-school-what-you-need-to-know/
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