The local school where I am a governor has always treated each holiday request on its merits. Generally if a child attends regularly and is not struggling in their studies a holiday will be approved. Other children need to have a good reason to get the permission if they have then it is granted.
I reckon this will be a much, much hotter topic than Gove realises, simply because of the fact that so many parents who are struggling economically cannot afford to take children away during peak-season school holidays - there will be a backlash from them for sure.
Having said that, and I am on the other side of the political divide than Gove, I must say that I have some real sympathy for what Gove is trying to do here, he is trying to break the truancy culture and is there really a more flagrant form of truancy than buggering off to Spain with your parents for two weeks during term time!!!???
I would be really interested to get peoples views on this one, my own situation is a bit different because I can only take my own holidays at set-times during the year anyway (no, I am not a teacher), but I know many folks on here have taken their kids out during term time for economic or logistical reasons.
Your views?
So some families won't be able go on holiday at all now if they can't go in term time? Great for the economy that, nice on Tories.
Classic message board thread. Not just Charlton Life but many forums end up like this with similar topics. Loads of high horses, generalizations, selfishness, blinkered and uninformed comment.
From what I see, and I'm not trying to be controversial, real education doesn't start until Year 10 - when GSCE's start. There seems to be a lot of faffing around before then. I'd say a major problem in todays schools is the emphasis of Exam passes over education itself.
Three points 1. You didnt mention the contribution from a few teachers on here - not uninformed are they? 2. Key Stage three is an essential foundation for future education - less important for sure than year 10 onwards, but you dont get success later without foundations. 3, The huge steps towards vocational qualifications must not be ignored. The system is bending over backwards to help students without academic ability to gain work related qualifications and experience in a way unheard of a decade ago. The emphasis on league tables - much loved by the last administration have already been modified to include a value added componenet for parents to see - check the bbc website for the tables for all the schools in your area. for many, though, exams are the only way to separate the more able academically from the less able - there is no other way of filtering. When it is clear acdemic achievement through exams is inappropriate there are now far more routes to success than ever before.
I don't care what parents do about their kids education. What does depress me is that so many people seem prepared to take children off to sunny climes at the very stage of their life when they are precisely most susceptible to the effects of the sun on young skin. It happened to me and I now suffer from skin cancer but there was no information available back in the day - now there's no excuse. Parents who take young kids of to Spain, etc should all hang their heads in shame.
Are you serious? I'm sure these parents who should be 'hanging their heads in shame' bought some sun cream and protected their kids. Very bizzare comment.
Oh, I bow to your superior knowledge as will, I'm sure, my consultant dermatologist and plastic surgeon. Some cheapo sun cream and a lightweight t-shirt that doesn't stop UV rays will help I'm sure. Alternatively, this from the Macmillan website: UV light damages skin cells and can cause skin cancer. Episodes of overexposure to the sun or sunburn in childhood are important risk factors in the development of basal cell cancers. It’s likely that skin damage from UV light that occurs in childhood doesn’t show up until many years later.
So parents should keep their children out of the sun at all times?! Or maybe, just maybe, they can educate their kids about the dangers of overexposure to the sun, make sure they have adequate sun cream on, and ensure they are well covered?
To suggest parents taking children to a sunny place on holiday should be ashamed is quite simply mental.
Classic message board thread. Not just Charlton Life but many forums end up like this with similar topics. Loads of high horses, generalizations, selfishness, blinkered and uninformed comment.
From what I see, and I'm not trying to be controversial, real education doesn't start until Year 10 - when GSCE's start. There seems to be a lot of faffing around before then. I'd say a major problem in todays schools is the emphasis of Exam passes over education itself.
Three points 1. You didnt mention the contribution from a few terachers on here - not uninformed are they? 2. Key Stage three is an essential foundation for future education - less important for sure than year 10 onwards, but you dont get success later without foundations. 3, The huge steps towards vocational qualifications must not be ignored. The system is bending over backwards to help students without academic ability to gain work related qualifications and experience in a way unheard of a decade ago. The emphasis on league tables - much loved by the last administration have already been modified to include a value added componenet for parents to see - check the bbc website for the tables for all the schools in your area. for many, though, exams are the only way to separate the more able academically from the less able - there is no other way of filtering. When it is clear acdemic achievement through exams is inappropriate there are now far more routes to success than ever before.
WTF are you on about Floydy? I didn't say my comment was a complete appraisal of the whole thread did I?
I suggest you pick your agenda up, put it your satchel, and go elsewhere young man.
Classic message board thread. Not just Charlton Life but many forums end up like this with similar topics. Loads of high horses, generalizations, selfishness, blinkered and uninformed comment. There is never going to be answer acceptable to everyone on this but if ever a subject called for good old common sense to be used by parents and the authorities alike then this is it. However, any decisions made for some will always be used by others to fight their case and things will be spoilt for the many by the few. For the record, we took both our boys out of primary school when they were infants, one for 1 week and once for a fortnight. I honestly don't think they suffered, in fact of course they didn't and to suggest otherwise is folly. From what I see, and I'm not trying to be controversial, real education doesn't start until Year 10 - when GSCE's start. There seems to be a lot of faffing around before then. Both my boys are at one of the most successful (results wise) state schools in the country btw. In fact, without going off topic too much, I'd say a major problem in todays schools is the emphasis of Exam passes over education itself. We did take my eldest boy out of secondary school for a couple of days once but that was to play for CAFC U13's in a tournament in Spain so that's probably excusable.
Great post which goes to show that you can be serious at times! I think the main problems with education is that most of it is useless in adult life and in particular the work force. How many people are thankful that they know that a Ox-Bow Lake is and how many people are in careers they hadn't even heard of when they were 16? Education needs to be more vocational and involve less exams and assessments.
Edit: Ignore that, exams are a good way of leaning to deal with pressure.
Labour were all about education education education werent they
I'll just say sorry. '-)
Apology accepted :-)
You only have to read my posts over a period of time to realise that I'm hardly a paid up member of the Labour party!
That said I despise the frequent disingenuousness (is there such a word) of the Conservatives re the EU and other issues. Gove is grandstanding and it will only be "soft" targets penalised for this ie the white working or middle class child. What politician is realistically going to risk being branded "racist" by penalising children of Asian and African extraction visiting relatives overseas or discriminate against travellers alias gypsies?
Kigelia's school adopts the right approach and Gove should keep his eminently punchable (and I'm not a man of violence) gob shut.
This has to be a joke. I agree with the Kigelia approach and when I was a Governor, that's the approach we took.
For children upto aged 11, what possible difference to their life chances is a few weeks away? I can see issues for older children studying for exams and going away at crucial times but come on, does anybody really think that state education is that great that children have to be nailed to a desk without some leeway?
I though this Government was rolling back the powers of the state, not meddling for the sake of it?
Why do schools need 6 weeks off in summer? perhaps it would be better to shorten terms and have more of them That way people would have more choice when to go away
My sons infant school is open all year round no holiday days apart from national holidays. We just take him out when we like and the teacher just writes in his day book things to practice when he is away
If they are going to stop children being taken on holiday during term time, surely it is unfair on both the child and parents . Not everyone can take their holidays when they feel like it. I worked for a company where your summer holidays were rostered and if they didnt fall within the school holiday,hard luck.
I thought there was a proposal a couple of years ago to move to a 6 term school year, so roughly a 6 weeks on 2 weeks off system, with the 4.2 missing weeks used up with an additional 2.2 in the summer and an additional 1 week at Christmas and Easter. The aim would then be to ensure that schools stagger these holidays across the country so that there were far more weeks that were school holiday somewhere, demand would drop and so therefore should prices.
So instead of everybody having the same week in October, you'd actually see a spread over a 4 week period, Christmas would be over a 4-5 weeks period, as would easter. Summer would be over an eight week period and the other 2 half terms both over a 4 weeks period. So at the moment there are 15-18 weeks where somebody somewhere is on school holidays, under the new system that would increase to 27-30 weeks.
This seemed an eminently sensible suggestion, so no wonder it was scrapped!
I thought there was a proposal a couple of years ago to move to a 6 term school year, so roughly a 6 weeks on 2 weeks off system, with the 4.2 missing weeks used up with an additional 2.2 in the summer and an additional 1 week at Christmas and Easter. The aim would then be to ensure that schools stagger these holidays across the country so that there were far more weeks that were school holiday somewhere, demand would drop and so therefore should prices.
So instead of everybody having the same week in October, you'd actually see a spread over a 4 week period, Christmas would be over a 4-5 weeks period, as would easter. Summer would be over an eight week period and the other 2 half terms both over a 4 weeks period. So at the moment there are 15-18 weeks where somebody somewhere is on school holidays, under the new system that would increase to 27-30 weeks.
This seemed an eminently sensible suggestion, so no wonder it was scrapped!
Would just be a case of ruling that all school holidays must be competed by June 1st and summer holidays can't start any earlier than July 1st, giving a window of 30 days for exams. Same in the autumn, all holidays must be complete by end of first week of November, and Christmas holidays can't start until at least the second week of December, giving a month for mocks.
The biggest issue the system would have is not exams, but the fact that Easter shifts around so much. The only way it would work is for some (possibly most or all) schools to not be on holiday at Easter some times. Would just be 2 bank holidays in the middle of a term.
I thought there was a proposal a couple of years ago to move to a 6 term school year, so roughly a 6 weeks on 2 weeks off system, with the 4.2 missing weeks used up with an additional 2.2 in the summer and an additional 1 week at Christmas and Easter. The aim would then be to ensure that schools stagger these holidays across the country so that there were far more weeks that were school holiday somewhere, demand would drop and so therefore should prices.
It's a good idea in theory and I suspect we will end up with the 6 term model you describe in some form. As Floyd says, exams would be a problem. Also, however you split it up, you'd always find that there is some poor sod whose kids end up going to schools in different areas and winds up having to pay forchildcare for 24 weeks instead of 12!
how about trying to address the issue of expensive holidays a little - different regions of the country could have greater variation in their term dates, Scotland already does. Eg South-East does one thing, Midlands another etc - some could even go to 4 terms if they want. Wouldn't solve the problem with price discrepancies but it could alleviate it a bit.
This is done in France but it doesn't seem to make any difference.
Classic message board thread. Not just Charlton Life but many forums end up like this with similar topics. Loads of high horses, generalizations, selfishness, blinkered and uninformed comment. There is never going to be answer acceptable to everyone on this but if ever a subject called for good old common sense to be used by parents and the authorities alike then this is it. However, any decisions made for some will always be used by others to fight their case and things will be spoilt for the many by the few. For the record, we took both our boys out of primary school when they were infants, one for 1 week and once for a fortnight. I honestly don't think they suffered, in fact of course they didn't and to suggest otherwise is folly. From what I see, and I'm not trying to be controversial, real education doesn't start until Year 10 - when GSCE's start. There seems to be a lot of faffing around before then. Both my boys are at one of the most successful (results wise) state schools in the country btw. In fact, without going off topic too much, I'd say a major problem in todays schools is the emphasis of Exam passes over education itself. We did take my eldest boy out of secondary school for a couple of days once but that was to play for CAFC U13's in a tournament in Spain so that's probably excusable.
We looked at many, many issues involving bringing up kids when deciding whether to have any, this being just one of them. Overall we decided it wasn't worth it, so we didn't have 'em. Might sound harsh, but it was your decision folks...
Comments
Really?
Nonsense
Labour were all about education education education werent they
1. You didnt mention the contribution from a few teachers on here - not uninformed are they?
2. Key Stage three is an essential foundation for future education - less important for sure than year 10 onwards, but you dont get success later without foundations.
3, The huge steps towards vocational qualifications must not be ignored. The system is bending over backwards to help students without academic ability to gain work related qualifications and experience in a way unheard of a decade ago. The emphasis on league tables - much loved by the last administration have already been modified to include a value added componenet for parents to see - check the bbc website for the tables for all the schools in your area. for many, though, exams are the only way to separate the more able academically from the less able - there is no other way of filtering. When it is clear acdemic achievement through exams is inappropriate there are now far more routes to success than ever before.
To suggest parents taking children to a sunny place on holiday should be ashamed is quite simply mental.
I suggest you pick your agenda up, put it your satchel, and go elsewhere young man.
Edit: Ignore that, exams are a good way of leaning to deal with pressure.
You only have to read my posts over a period of time to realise that I'm hardly a paid up member of the Labour party!
That said I despise the frequent disingenuousness (is there such a word) of the Conservatives re the EU and other issues. Gove is grandstanding and it will only be "soft" targets penalised for this ie the white working or middle class child. What politician is realistically going to risk being branded "racist" by penalising children of Asian and African extraction visiting relatives overseas or discriminate against travellers alias gypsies?
Kigelia's school adopts the right approach and Gove should keep his eminently punchable (and I'm not a man of violence) gob shut.
For children upto aged 11, what possible difference to their life chances is a few weeks away? I can see issues for older children studying for exams and going away at crucial times but come on, does anybody really think that state education is that great that children have to be nailed to a desk without some leeway?
I though this Government was rolling back the powers of the state, not meddling for the sake of it?
My sons infant school is open all year round no holiday days apart from national holidays. We just take him out when we like and the teacher just writes in his day book things to practice when he is away
WTF are you on about Floydy? I didn't say my comment was a complete appraisal of the whole thread did I?
I suggest you pick your agenda up, put it your satchel, and go elsewhere young man.
Agenda?
Anyway I'm bi-satchel honey - want to come with me?
So instead of everybody having the same week in October, you'd actually see a spread over a 4 week period, Christmas would be over a 4-5 weeks period, as would easter. Summer would be over an eight week period and the other 2 half terms both over a 4 weeks period. So at the moment there are 15-18 weeks where somebody somewhere is on school holidays, under the new system that would increase to 27-30 weeks.
This seemed an eminently sensible suggestion, so no wonder it was scrapped!
The biggest issue the system would have is not exams, but the fact that Easter shifts around so much. The only way it would work is for some (possibly most or all) schools to not be on holiday at Easter some times. Would just be 2 bank holidays in the middle of a term.