One huge issue within schools is that - although individual families see their impact as minimal - cumulatively in a classroom setting it has a massive impact on teachers. If each class of thirty students has approximately 6 pupils (according to the data in your post) regularly taking off one day per fortnight, spread across the whole year, it puts so much strain on educators to keep track of who has missed what, how to backfill gaps in learning, etc. It also has a knock on effect on behaviour as the constant absence and return of classmates disrupts others in their peer group, as pupils have to re-settle to the class environment.
I sympathise with families over the cost of holidays, but as a family working in schools (who also don’t have the luxury of getting cheap holidays!) it is a big added stress factor to the job.
Incidentally I don’t think the solution is punishing families, but travel companies who capitalise on those who can’t or don’t take term time holidays.
Yes this sounds like such a huge problem. And while some parents may try to bring their own kids up to speed, in some cases they may simply not be able to (I can’t do some of my children’s maths so would have no idea how to break it down and teach it). I think if time off is normalised then this sort of drain on teacher time could really spiral.
In the US taking kids out of school for vacation is also a hot topic The fact is, most of these vacations are not 'once in a lifetime' trips. The parents want to go when it's less expensive, and convince themselves that "travel is learning, too" (no, Disney World off season isn 't broadening your child's horizons). I was once told that school funding drops with school absence rates as well, so every family taking multiple kids out of school for a week adds up. And when the kid misses instruction and falls behind, it now becomes the teacher's responsibility to help them catch up.
Also, as an American, the constant British Media calls for Harry to return without his wife and children are so obviously beyond belief that it boggles the mind. It gives away the game with no shame. I just saw a video on Twitter yesterday of a man, presumably a journalist or newscaster (older white man. with grey hair, looks like he's had a bit of work done) outright telling Harry to come back without Meghan. Do they think this accomplishes anything? I guess it creates engagement for them, but at what cost?
Yes I know the exact video you mean. It’s one of the Mail’s senior staff who often appears on Tv too. The Mail absolutely loathes them and makes no secret about it, but it’s odd for a paper that’s supposedly pro family to call for a couple to separate and the dad to abandon his kids!
So here’s an interesting additional factor with holidays. I live in cornwall and here a lot of people’s livelihoods are tied to seasonal work. They make all their money for the year in the summer months and the rest over Christmas period - so they can’t just go away in the school holidays. January is the time people can go away. We also have a lot of rural work, again there’s no option to go away in the summer. Schools used to have discretion to deal with this — I think the new policy is very London / city centric and doesn’t take into account the more complex needs of more rural teaching.
This is so interesting and I had not thought of this issue. That’s a real problem, I’m sure there are some other communities around the country in a similar situation.
It also means that some kids just end up being unenrolled and then re-enrolled when they return and miss the whole month / whole term, causing I imagine endless paperwork, when if they could just go for two weeks in January, it wouldn't be ideal, but possibly less disruptive.
In some locations here, school days are set up around daylight for farming e.g. starting at 8pm and finishing at 2pm... and a lot of the school timetables literally include the buses arriving and departing as so many of the attendees are bused in from rural locations, it is definitely a different set of issues (along with a lot of the same ones too, I imagine).
The fine is actually £160 which, on the first unauthorised holiday absence is reduced to £80. The second period of holiday absence is £160 with no reduction and on the third holiday absence you’ll go to court and they have a range of sentences and higher fines they can give. This is new legislation which began this term.
Thanks very much for flagging that, I understand it’s £160 if not paid within 21 days and then £160 if another absence within 3 years. I’ve popped a little additional info in.
One huge issue within schools is that - although individual families see their impact as minimal - cumulatively in a classroom setting it has a massive impact on teachers. If each class of thirty students has approximately 6 pupils (according to the data in your post) regularly taking off one day per fortnight, spread across the whole year, it puts so much strain on educators to keep track of who has missed what, how to backfill gaps in learning, etc. It also has a knock on effect on behaviour as the constant absence and return of classmates disrupts others in their peer group, as pupils have to re-settle to the class environment.
I sympathise with families over the cost of holidays, but as a family working in schools (who also don’t have the luxury of getting cheap holidays!) it is a big added stress factor to the job.
Incidentally I don’t think the solution is punishing families, but travel companies who capitalise on those who can’t or don’t take term time holidays.
Yes this sounds like such a huge problem. And while some parents may try to bring their own kids up to speed, in some cases they may simply not be able to (I can’t do some of my children’s maths so would have no idea how to break it down and teach it). I think if time off is normalised then this sort of drain on teacher time could really spiral.
In the US taking kids out of school for vacation is also a hot topic The fact is, most of these vacations are not 'once in a lifetime' trips. The parents want to go when it's less expensive, and convince themselves that "travel is learning, too" (no, Disney World off season isn 't broadening your child's horizons). I was once told that school funding drops with school absence rates as well, so every family taking multiple kids out of school for a week adds up. And when the kid misses instruction and falls behind, it now becomes the teacher's responsibility to help them catch up.
Also, as an American, the constant British Media calls for Harry to return without his wife and children are so obviously beyond belief that it boggles the mind. It gives away the game with no shame. I just saw a video on Twitter yesterday of a man, presumably a journalist or newscaster (older white man. with grey hair, looks like he's had a bit of work done) outright telling Harry to come back without Meghan. Do they think this accomplishes anything? I guess it creates engagement for them, but at what cost?
Yes I know the exact video you mean. It’s one of the Mail’s senior staff who often appears on Tv too. The Mail absolutely loathes them and makes no secret about it, but it’s odd for a paper that’s supposedly pro family to call for a couple to separate and the dad to abandon his kids!
So here’s an interesting additional factor with holidays. I live in cornwall and here a lot of people’s livelihoods are tied to seasonal work. They make all their money for the year in the summer months and the rest over Christmas period - so they can’t just go away in the school holidays. January is the time people can go away. We also have a lot of rural work, again there’s no option to go away in the summer. Schools used to have discretion to deal with this — I think the new policy is very London / city centric and doesn’t take into account the more complex needs of more rural teaching.
Slow Horses!
This is so interesting and I had not thought of this issue. That’s a real problem, I’m sure there are some other communities around the country in a similar situation.
It also means that some kids just end up being unenrolled and then re-enrolled when they return and miss the whole month / whole term, causing I imagine endless paperwork, when if they could just go for two weeks in January, it wouldn't be ideal, but possibly less disruptive.
In some locations here, school days are set up around daylight for farming e.g. starting at 8pm and finishing at 2pm... and a lot of the school timetables literally include the buses arriving and departing as so many of the attendees are bused in from rural locations, it is definitely a different set of issues (along with a lot of the same ones too, I imagine).
The fine is actually £160 which, on the first unauthorised holiday absence is reduced to £80. The second period of holiday absence is £160 with no reduction and on the third holiday absence you’ll go to court and they have a range of sentences and higher fines they can give. This is new legislation which began this term.
Thanks very much for flagging that, I understand it’s £160 if not paid within 21 days and then £160 if another absence within 3 years. I’ve popped a little additional info in.