View Full Version : Time off school
My son brought home a letter from school yesterday and it says that if your child has more then 10 days off a year then they have no choice but to report you to the education welfare officers!! I think this i absurd,my letter will be in the post then...my son has more then 10 days off a year,due to illness, or perhaps a holiday as we all know that it is cheaper to go when the kids are at school but ve always sent my letter in asking for the time off etc.
I know i shouldnt complain but it is annoying i dont ever keep him off unless it is neccessary as having al three home all day would be a nightmare!
Has any other mums had the same actin being taken at there childs school and what do you think?
Pinkbanana
06-02-2007, 18:47
My son brought home a letter from school yesterday and it says that if your child has more then 10 days off a year then they have no choice but to report you to the education welfare officers!! I think this i absurd,my letter will be in the post then...my son has more then 10 days off a year,due to illness, or perhaps a holiday as we all know that it is cheaper to go when the kids are at school but ve always sent my letter in asking for the time off etc.
I know i shouldnt complain but it is annoying i dont ever keep him off unless it is neccessary as having al three home all day would be a nightmare!
Has any other mums had the same actin being taken at there childs school and what do you think?
You are entitled to take your children out of school for up to 10 days, ie for holidays, as long as its been authorised by the head teacher.
A Education Welfare Officer comes in to check school registers every half term and they are looking for children who are incessantly marked late or have alot of 'unauthorised' absences, ie where the parent/carer has not explained why a child hasnt attended school on those days.
If a child is poorly as long as the school is informed, in which case it will be marked down as illness in the register, then it's not counted as part of the 10 authorised days (mentioned above).
Hope that makes some sort of sense....:)
My son brought home a letter from school yesterday and it says that if your child has more then 10 days off a year then they have no choice but to report you to the education welfare officers!! I think this i absurd,my letter will be in the post then...my son has more then 10 days off a year,due to illness, or perhaps a holiday as we all know that it is cheaper to go when the kids are at school but ve always sent my letter in asking for the time off etc.
I know i shouldnt complain but it is annoying i dont ever keep him off unless it is neccessary as having al three home all day would be a nightmare!
Has any other mums had the same actin being taken at there childs school and what do you think?
Yeah, 10 authorised days for a holiday at the discretion of the head.
I think as long as you have good reasons for keeping your son off school for illness then they can't complain too much unless it becomes a problem/regular thing. In which case they probably will inform the EWO.
at the end of last term i had a letter from the head to say he had a below average attendance. This is due to illness and it did really annoy me! I dont keep him off for the sake of it i like my days to myself!
I exlained to teh reacher and wrote a letter explainging that connor suffers with a lot f ear infections and he will be no use in school if ill!
Im now sat worrying that i will soon have another letter from the head! As i dont think he has had a week this term without being off at least once!!
He was off 3 days last week and then again this week now he has an ea infection again and he will be off the rest of the week! What has annoyed me is that yesterday i took him into school even though i knew he was ill, as i want to avoid this letter again and when i spoke to teacher to say that he was ill, she ssaid it is probably because he is unsetled as he had time off! cnnor came out yesterday looking as white as a sheet and walked home crying, why the hell wasnt he sent home???????????????? i ahd told her to phone me if he wasnt well :angry:
and why have i got a letter home, when a child who is off a lot more than mine, his mother didnt :searchme:
and what is acceptable attendance?? connors was 84%
Have you taken him to the doctor about him ear infections? Maybe the school would be more understanding if they had a doctor's letter stating why he has so much time off and that you're not a hypochondriac.
We had these letters last year. Its nothing to worry about to that extent. Like PB said, up to 10 days are allowable for holidays etc and as long as you send in an explanatory letter about why your child was absent (illness etc) then there isn't generally a problem. The main thing they are monitoring is prolonged unauthorised absences where a child may be playing truant, or where you aren't making a sustained effort to ensure your child is at school. Its a national thing, rather than a local thing. Its in line with the parents being prosecuted for sustained absences by their children more than anything I think.
I think they only monitor you properly, if it is below 85% for more than 1 term. But even then, if its because of illness/holidays, then i wouldn't worry about it too much. If the school has given their permission for you to take them on holiday, then the police can't prosecute you. If the school were that concerned, then they shouldn't have given their permission in the first place. As for illness... If they faff around with you all the time, then get a Doctors Note like JB said, and they can't do anything about it. If he/she is ill, then they're ill. And really, i'm sure they wouldn't want all the rest of the kids getting infections, because you forced your son/daughter to go into school.
That is ridiculous. I skived for about a month once, because of bullying. My mum rang them continuously, but I don't think they took a lot of notice as they didn't do a lot about it, and they didn't even call. Yet I took one day off in my first year as this boy was coughing in my face and I came down with something, my mum rang, then they phoned my dad up asking if I was going to be in the next day :angry:
It's almost as if they're saying, "As long as we don't have to do anything to get your child to return to school, the absense is counted as part of the 10 days."
They always say this but I think most people have more than 10 days off
At the end of the day - its all common sense. If your child is truly ill, you have nothing to worry about.
Debs - Con has more than a valid reason for absence - I'd get a letter from your Doc anyway maybe and give it to the school along with a letter stating that these are the reasons why Con hasn't been in attendance. But I don't think it would be needed to be honest.
Pinkbanana
06-02-2007, 20:44
The Government have been trying to crack down, as JJ mentioned, on persistent absenteeism (ie, truanting). Thus this has put more pressure on schools to raise pupil attendance/crack down on unauthorised absences.
Therefore to be seen to be proactive and tough on this out of thing, schools do sent out letters where there is concern, or to just inform a parent about how much school there child has missed. If there is a genuine reason for prolonged absence then there is no reason to be alarmed.
Moreover, with all the individual target setting teachers have to do - predicting the level the child will get at the end of the year/key stage. If a child misses a number of school days, for whatever the reason, then this could impact on whether they achieve their targets. So attendance % is also used for that reason.
At the end of the day - its all common sense. If your child is truly ill, you have nothing to worry about.
Debs - Con has more than a valid reason for absence - I'd get a letter from your Doc anyway maybe and give it to the school along with a letter stating that these are the reasons why Con hasn't been in attendance. But I don't think it would be needed to be honest.
my letters have got a lot more detailed! this time they will have every little detail! I tried to get a doctors letter today, i explained about school and he just said kids get ill send him back when he is better!
ill blooming be down there if i get another letter this term, its not like im just taking himout for a day out or a holiday, he is genuinely poorly!!
At the end of the day - its all common sense. If your child is truly ill, you have nothing to worry about.
Debs - Con has more than a valid reason for absence - I'd get a letter from your Doc anyway maybe and give it to the school along with a letter stating that these are the reasons why Con hasn't been in attendance. But I don't think it would be needed to be honest.
my letters have got a lot more detailed! this time they will have every little detail! I tried to get a doctors letter today, i explained about school and he just said kids get ill send him back when he is better!
ill blooming be down there if i get another letter this term, its not like im just taking himout for a day out or a holiday, he is genuinely poorly!!
A lot of use he was then! The other way is if the school totally kick off about it give them permission to request details from your doctors surgery about when you visited or ask the receptionist nicely (the nice one lol) if they could write a letter on headed paper detailing when you had taken Con for an appointment. They wouldn't be able to dispute anything then.
At the end of the day - its all common sense. If your child is truly ill, you have nothing to worry about.
Debs - Con has more than a valid reason for absence - I'd get a letter from your Doc anyway maybe and give it to the school along with a letter stating that these are the reasons why Con hasn't been in attendance. But I don't think it would be needed to be honest.
my letters have got a lot more detailed! this time they will have every little detail! I tried to get a doctors letter today, i explained about school and he just said kids get ill send him back when he is better!
ill blooming be down there if i get another letter this term, its not like im just taking himout for a day out or a holiday, he is genuinely poorly!!
A lot of use he was then! The other way is if the school totally kick off about it give them permission to request details from your doctors surgery about when you visited or ask the receptionist nicely (the nice one lol) if they could write a letter on headed paper detailing when you had taken Con for an appointment. They wouldn't be able to dispute anything then.
If you ask a doctor for a note/letter you will have to pay for it. If the school wants one they have to pay for it and they have to write to your gp to request it. My gp charges around £20 - £30
My 6th form wanted a letter because I have days when I'm too ill to go in and when I told them they would have to pay for it they decided they didn't need one.
My worry is that when jordan does have the odd day off here and there it is because of diarorrea or sickness bug etc which passes after bout 3 days and therefore he doesnt go to the docs alot so i dont really have any proof he has been ill,today he had off for eg as all my children and other half were all sick last night,he will go back tomorrow but i havent got any evidence to prove he was sick although i am keen to take his sick bowl and throw it on the head's head so to speak
At the end of the day - its all common sense. If your child is truly ill, you have nothing to worry about.
Debs - Con has more than a valid reason for absence - I'd get a letter from your Doc anyway maybe and give it to the school along with a letter stating that these are the reasons why Con hasn't been in attendance. But I don't think it would be needed to be honest.
my letters have got a lot more detailed! this time they will have every little detail! I tried to get a doctors letter today, i explained about school and he just said kids get ill send him back when he is better!
ill blooming be down there if i get another letter this term, its not like im just taking himout for a day out or a holiday, he is genuinely poorly!!
A lot of use he was then! The other way is if the school totally kick off about it give them permission to request details from your doctors surgery about when you visited or ask the receptionist nicely (the nice one lol) if they could write a letter on headed paper detailing when you had taken Con for an appointment. They wouldn't be able to dispute anything then.
If you ask a doctor for a note/letter you will have to pay for it. If the school wants one they have to pay for it and they have to write to your gp to request it. My gp charges around £20 - £30
My 6th form wanted a letter because I have days when I'm too ill to go in and when I told them they would have to pay for it they decided they didn't need one.
You have to pay for a letter to prove you are ill? :nono: pathetic
My worry is that when jordan does have the odd day off here and there it is because of diarorrea or sickness bug etc which passes after bout 3 days and therefore he doesnt go to the docs alot so i dont really have any proof he has been ill,today he had off for eg as all my children and other half were all sick last night,he will go back tomorrow but i havent got any evidence to prove he was sick although i am keen to take his sick bowl and throw it on the head's head so to speak
Those are odd days though so nothing to worry about - its the persistent absentees that are wanting to looked at more so. If you've let the school know why they are off etc, there shouldn't be a problem.
You have to pay for a letter to prove you are ill? :nono: pathetic
Ours used to charge £20 to sign the passport form and now refuse to do it
At the end of the day - its all common sense. If your child is truly ill, you have nothing to worry about.
Debs - Con has more than a valid reason for absence - I'd get a letter from your Doc anyway maybe and give it to the school along with a letter stating that these are the reasons why Con hasn't been in attendance. But I don't think it would be needed to be honest.
my letters have got a lot more detailed! this time they will have every little detail! I tried to get a doctors letter today, i explained about school and he just said kids get ill send him back when he is better!
ill blooming be down there if i get another letter this term, its not like im just taking himout for a day out or a holiday, he is genuinely poorly!!
A lot of use he was then! The other way is if the school totally kick off about it give them permission to request details from your doctors surgery about when you visited or ask the receptionist nicely (the nice one lol) if they could write a letter on headed paper detailing when you had taken Con for an appointment. They wouldn't be able to dispute anything then.
If you ask a doctor for a note/letter you will have to pay for it. If the school wants one they have to pay for it and they have to write to your gp to request it. My gp charges around £20 - £30
My 6th form wanted a letter because I have days when I'm too ill to go in and when I told them they would have to pay for it they decided they didn't need one.
well then if the school want proof that badly they can bloody pay for it!! Ill galdly let them have access to his records
I am a trainee teacher and we have had info about this.
As someone said previously this is all about the truancy issue. I really wouldnt worry about it too much because a lot of schools look into this if the pupils attendance is below 90% - which means that there is not much room for manoever.
The Education Welfare Officer is not just someone who 'tells parents off' they are a liason officer between the school and the parents. They can help with getting support and are there to help pupils catch up any work that they might have missed, if a child is persistantly ill it is partly the schools responsibility to look into any possible reasons of this.
If your child just gets sick quite a lot and you have sent letters in to the school every time and if in extreme circumstances your doctor will back you up then you have nothing to worry about. The EWO may phone you and ask why, you will say because he is ill all the time and they will most probably accept that and end the conversation.
Hope this helps - dont worry
pookie1968uk
07-02-2007, 08:45
my daughter has has quite a bit of time off with hospital appointments for an eye problem and also orthodentist appointments but there is nothing i can do about them being in school time. the school has never commented on the amount of time she has off. i am also going to be taking her out of school for 8 days for holidays as you are allowed up to 10 and the school policy allows this.
Chloe O'brien
07-02-2007, 12:17
At my daughter's school we are discouraged from taking children out of school during term time and the teachers are under no obligation to give the child work that they have missed due to being on holiday, as its the parents decision to take them out of school and if they fall behind in their development then its the partents to blame not the school. If a child is ill the school prefer the child to stay at home instead of spreading the germs around but that can be difficult if the parents are working and there is no-one to look after the child. My employers are understanding as I have had to leave work a few time to go and collect Marley as she has taken unwell and I haven't lost any income because of it. I think that if the child is genuinly unwell then the school will understand but there are so many parents who just keep there kids of school for no reason. I have been very lucky with Marley as she has only missed two or three days each year her attendance is normally 97%.
As Kath says, in Scotland you are strongly discouraged from taking holidays in term time. It is considered an unauthorised absence and you can get referred to social services!
we were never allowed holidays in term time, the head would just refuse as for illness i think its unacceptable that letters are getting sent home. we all know what a classroom is like for germs, and people getting coughs and colds so it is evident that there will be days when they off ill.
i was lucky and had 100 % attendence throughout my whole school ( reception to year 11
As explained though Katy, the letters are to do with persistant non attendance and unauthorised absence - if the child is ill, then as long as that is explained there isn't a problem. Its more to do with some parents not caring about their childrens education and not actually bothering to ensure they attend.
Were you never ill then?? Even if mine are off for authorised sickness absence they are still classed as no longer having 100% attendance.
DaVeyWaVey
07-02-2007, 22:11
we were never allowed holidays in term time, the head would just refuse as for illness i think its unacceptable that letters are getting sent home. we all know what a classroom is like for germs, and people getting coughs and colds so it is evident that there will be days when they off ill.
i was lucky and had 100 % attendence throughout my whole school ( reception to year 11
Wow 100% attendance! Well done! Between reception and Year 11 now, i've probably had approximately just over a week off school due to illness.
Chloe O'brien
07-02-2007, 22:23
Before I worked at the college. I worked in a learning centre that delivered computer training although it was part of the college it was based in a shopping centre. The policy of the shopping centre was that the security guards were to refuse any child under the age of 16 entry to the shopping mall during school hours unless they were with an adult. And most days you had kids wondering around with their parents helping them do the shopping and the police or security gaurds could do nothing about it as the parents where allowing their kids to play truant.
As for what you say about kids having authorised sick days and still not getting 100% we are the same. If a child is off for a morning them they loose 1% for a whole day its 2%. Marley had taken ill at school on day and I had to collect her at lunchtime it was on a thursday and she had a sore head and high tempature so I took the Friday off work and kept her at home. I informed the school and gave her a note when she went back to school as that is the procedure in dealing with absentees. But on top of her usual weekly amount of homework she also got the extra work that she missed with being off to do and on her report card at the end of term her attendance was 97%
I normally have between 95-100% attendance. I've never had time off school for something other than illness. As my Mum always says to me "If you screw up your education, and get a rubbish job, dont blame me for taking you out of school, cause its never happened!". Even when i was little, my Parents would take me out of school for holidays or anything. I totally understand if people are ill and can't go in, that happens to everyone, but i am more reluctant to be happy about people taking their kids out of school for holidays. Yes, its cheaper, but there are alternative holidays you can do in the School Holidays, which are cheaper. Loads of kids are taken out of school to go to places like America, which would obviously cost a bloody fortune in the Summer, so why not go somewhere cheaper, like in Europe, and do it in the holidays?
Anyway, thats just my opinion... There are alternatives to taking kids out of school for holidays, its just people dont want to do it half the time.
But i totally understand about illness/personal issues. If that happens, then you should have the choice to have time off, without issues coming out of it. Its un-avoidable- the school shouldn't hassle you because of it.
i was never ill, and i broke my bones in the holidays which i thought was unfortunate as i never ever missed a day.
As long as the illness is authorised then its fine altough attendence goes from a 100 to 97 or something like that.
ITs basically the head teacher being petty, or making a mistake but it doesnt sound like thats the option.
Last term, my eldest had an hour off school for a dental appointment and his attendance went down to 97.6% - work that one out lol.
I agree with you Abi, although one thing I would say, is that we can't go on holiday during half terms or the holiday period as its our busiest time with the business, so if we did go away, it would have to be without the hubby, so we generally have no choice in the matter - although we haven't been away for 3 years and we aren't going to be going anywhere for another 2 probably.
Last term, my eldest had an hour off school for a dental appointment and his attendance went down to 97.6% - work that one out lol.
I agree with you Abi, although one thing I would say, is that we can't go on holiday during half terms or the holiday period as its our busiest time with the business, so if we did go away, it would have to be without the hubby, so we generally have no choice in the matter - although we haven't been away for 3 years and we aren't going to be going anywhere for another 2 probably.
Ah right, well again, thats not something which you can avoid, so i understand that you might let them take time off school to go away. Its when people can go in the holidays, but just dont which annoys me.
Last term, my eldest had an hour off school for a dental appointment and his attendance went down to 97.6% - work that one out lol.
I agree with you Abi, although one thing I would say, is that we can't go on holiday during half terms or the holiday period as its our busiest time with the business, so if we did go away, it would have to be without the hubby, so we generally have no choice in the matter - although we haven't been away for 3 years and we aren't going to be going anywhere for another 2 probably.
Ah right, well again, thats not something which you can avoid, so i understand that you might let them take time off school to go away. Its when people can go in the holidays, but just dont which annoys me.
I was agreeing with you hun lol :D (I think in most ways, at the mo certainly, I'd much rather go on my own!! :rotfl: )
I think in some respects, it would help if the travel company's lowered their prices to the norm during holiday times, instead of charging the extra amounts they do for holidaying during half term. It might encourage the majority to return to holidaying during this more convenient time.
But then saying that, an airport full of kids running around, and parents for that matter, is no fun for anyone lol
In a way though, i think a lot of people can afford to go on holiday in the holidays with these prices anyway. I help at a Youth Group with Junior School aged kids, and they're constantly going off to places like America in the school times. The price of that holiday, would probably be about the same as going to France/Spain/Italy/Greece in the School Holidays, it just seems that people want Bigger and Better holidays now, and dont worry about their schooling because of it...
I mean, 2 weeks here and there might not seem a lot, but it'll hold them back in the end. If they didn't need to be in school, then there would be 2 weeks extra school holidays, would there? But as there isn't, they must have to be in school...
Crikey - they must be earning a lot more up your way than down here lol - I'd love a holiday, but look at the prices and go green, and proceed to shake violently thinking of the costs lol!
pookie1968uk
09-02-2007, 14:45
my daughter is doing brilliantly well at school, with all A's and B's and way above her sats levels and is not affected by being taken out of school.
we take her out 1 week before the end of term in july so we have at least one weeks holiday cheaper. and no, we dont even go abroad, we go on holiday in england, but not all of us can afford the extortionate prices the holiday places charge in school holidays, even in england.
We were suppose to going away this week for two weeks,leaving one week off school,but due to work now we cant as it will be busy this week.We work our asses off to go on the expensive hols twice or so a year (disneyworld) bcause its what we enjoy,we have tried other places and theydont match up,not for us anyway and as i said to the teacher today,if it has been affecting my son having 2-3 weeks off a year and also days off for illness shouldnt he be in the bottom classes etc,which by rights he should be a he is the youngest in the year,kids in his year have 9 months on him!! But no he is one off the brightest and intellengent in there so i dont see the problem.If he were to get behind in any way then id rethink it all but until then i will continue to take him on hol when it suits us.
CrazyLea
09-02-2007, 17:37
In a way though, i think a lot of people can afford to go on holiday in the holidays with these prices anyway.
I'm not being funny, but not everyone can afford the prices in the holidays, they aren't cheap, especially if you're pretty low on money anyway. I could never go in the holidays, as it's so expensive, not for one person, but for a whole family, it soon adds up. And that's only somewhere like Butlins, let alone somewhere abroad. So I can understand why parents take their children out for that, for say a week. Couple of weeks is kind of taking the mick, but I'd do it to be honest.
pookie1968uk
10-02-2007, 15:08
We were suppose to going away this week for two weeks,leaving one week off school,but due to work now we cant as it will be busy this week.We work our asses off to go on the expensive hols twice or so a year (disneyworld) bcause its what we enjoy,we have tried other places and theydont match up,not for us anyway and as i said to the teacher today,if it has been affecting my son having 2-3 weeks off a year and also days off for illness shouldnt he be in the bottom classes etc,which by rights he should be a he is the youngest in the year,kids in his year have 9 months on him!! But no he is one off the brightest and intellengent in there so i dont see the problem.If he were to get behind in any way then id rethink it all but until then i will continue to take him on hol when it suits us.
that is the same with us too! our daughter has kids in her class who have 11months on her but she is near top of the class, doesnt struggle at all if she misses a bit of school and we would struggle to pay for our holidays in the school holidays
Chloe O'brien
11-02-2007, 00:07
Marley is one of they younger ones in her class as well and she is in the top groups for reading and maths,but because I work in a college there is no students for 10 weeks and no lecturers for 6 weeks and we're not allowed to take holidays in term time so I have to take time of during the summer holidays. Not that it makes much difference the times I have taken Marley abroad I have had to pay almost an adult fare for her anyway as being a single parent I am peniliased by holiday operators anyway but that's a different story.
my daughter is doing brilliantly well at school, with all A's and B's and way above her sats levels and is not affected by being taken out of school.
we take her out 1 week before the end of term in july so we have at least one weeks holiday cheaper. and no, we dont even go abroad, we go on holiday in england, but not all of us can afford the extortionate prices the holiday places charge in school holidays, even in england.
I think that's a very sensible thing to do. I don't go on holiday, so I know what it is like to have all your mates going on about the great time that they have had in whatever place. So, if you can't really afford a holiday, that's the best time of the year to go, because most of the time, all of the syllabus work is done with and you're sorting out books and watching videos.
Jordan came home with a letter today from the head saying she cant authorise his time off on 6th march for two weeks holiday as he had two weeks off for holiday in oct,therefore she wants to see us this week and have a meeting with the ewo in school.My other half went mad at her on the phone today saying that its our buisness not hers if we decide to take our son out off school - our decision etc,and the schools and welfare officers should concentrate more on the bullying in schools and the abused children not a perfectly happy little boy that has good grades.He went nuts at her,i know he is right, but im dead embarressed and i know when the meeting rolls around this week he can only get worse with his verbal and il die off embarressment.
She said they only want to discuss how much time he has off due to holiday and illness.
In a way it is rather pathetic as i know people whos children arent even at school,all 3 of them ages 12.8 and 6 and no authority is after them for not making sure there child gets an education.
That's pathetic. They say that you shouldn't book holidays until you have permission, but they just take all the time under the sun before they come back and tell you that you can't take the child out of school. Even if you did do it their way and they gave the permission, there wouldn't be enough time to book anything. A month isn't exactly that bad considering that he has good grades - I refused to go to school for a month because of bullying a few years back, and in the same year I had had time off for illness; they didn't care.
Pinkbanana
23-02-2007, 18:17
Jordan came home with a letter today from the head saying she cant authorise his time off on 6th march for two weeks holiday as he had two weeks off for holiday in oct,therefore she wants to see us this week and have a meeting with the ewo in school.My other half went mad at her on the phone today saying that its our buisness not hers if we decide to take our son out off school - our decision etc,and the schools and welfare officers should concentrate more on the bullying in schools and the abused children not a perfectly happy little boy that has good grades.He went nuts at her,i know he is right, but im dead embarressed and i know when the meeting rolls around this week he can only get worse with his verbal and il die off embarressment.
She said they only want to discuss how much time he has off due to holiday and illness.
In a way it is rather pathetic as i know people whos children arent even at school,all 3 of them ages 12.8 and 6 and no authority is after them for not making sure there child gets an education.
At the end of the day the school is only doing its job. The government has laid down these guidelines about how much time a child can be off schools for holidays (ten days), and I think there is no justification at all for being verbally abusive to the head or any other members of staff.
Jordan came home with a letter today from the head saying she cant authorise his time off on 6th march for two weeks holiday as he had two weeks off for holiday in oct,therefore she wants to see us this week and have a meeting with the ewo in school.My other half went mad at her on the phone today saying that its our buisness not hers if we decide to take our son out off school - our decision etc,and the schools and welfare officers should concentrate more on the bullying in schools and the abused children not a perfectly happy little boy that has good grades.He went nuts at her,i know he is right, but im dead embarressed and i know when the meeting rolls around this week he can only get worse with his verbal and il die off embarressment.
She said they only want to discuss how much time he has off due to holiday and illness.
In a way it is rather pathetic as i know people whos children arent even at school,all 3 of them ages 12.8 and 6 and no authority is after them for not making sure there child gets an education.
At the end of the day the school is only doing its job. The government has laid down these guidelines about how much time a child can be off schools for holidays (ten days), and I think there is no justification at all for being verbally abusive to the head or any other members of staff.
I agree with you PB. The school is doing its job, they have already authorised the 10 days (as directed by guidelines) so wish to discuss it with you. Surely by becoming abusive its even less likely now that you will be able to get permission to take him out of school, whereas if you'd gone to the meeting, they may well have listened to your reasons for not being worried about taking him out of school again, and said, ok we'll let you on this occasion. Because your other half went ballistic and was verbally abusive, they are even less likely to consider okaying it now.
Jordan came home with a letter today from the head saying she cant authorise his time off on 6th march for two weeks holiday as he had two weeks off for holiday in oct,therefore she wants to see us this week and have a meeting with the ewo in school.My other half went mad at her on the phone today saying that its our buisness not hers if we decide to take our son out off school - our decision etc,and the schools and welfare officers should concentrate more on the bullying in schools and the abused children not a perfectly happy little boy that has good grades.He went nuts at her,i know he is right, but im dead embarressed and i know when the meeting rolls around this week he can only get worse with his verbal and il die off embarressment.
She said they only want to discuss how much time he has off due to holiday and illness.
In a way it is rather pathetic as i know people whos children arent even at school,all 3 of them ages 12.8 and 6 and no authority is after them for not making sure there child gets an education.
At the end of the day the school is only doing its job. The government has laid down these guidelines about how much time a child can be off schools for holidays (ten days), and I think there is no justification at all for being verbally abusive to the head or any other members of staff.
I agree with you PB. The school is doing its job, they have already authorised the 10 days (as directed by guidelines) so wish to discuss it with you. Surely by becoming abusive its even less likely now that you will be able to get permission to take him out of school, whereas if you'd gone to the meeting, they may well have listened to your reasons for not being worried about taking him out of school again, and said, ok we'll let you on this occasion. Because your other half went ballistic and was verbally abusive, they are even less likely to consider okaying it now.
To be fair though, even if you're son does have good grades he is still missing vital schoolwork. Two weeks may not sound like much work but in reality it is when he has to catch up on all the work missed. Lessons and subjects move on so quickly and often future work builds on work that has recently been done.
It's not unreasonable for the school to refuse another ten days. I doubt they would even consider granting you it even if your husband hadn't had a go at them.
Jordan came home with a letter today from the head saying she cant authorise his time off on 6th march for two weeks holiday as he had two weeks off for holiday in oct,therefore she wants to see us this week and have a meeting with the ewo in school.My other half went mad at her on the phone today saying that its our buisness not hers if we decide to take our son out off school - our decision etc,and the schools and welfare officers should concentrate more on the bullying in schools and the abused children not a perfectly happy little boy that has good grades.He went nuts at her,i know he is right, but im dead embarressed and i know when the meeting rolls around this week he can only get worse with his verbal and il die off embarressment.
She said they only want to discuss how much time he has off due to holiday and illness.
In a way it is rather pathetic as i know people whos children arent even at school,all 3 of them ages 12.8 and 6 and no authority is after them for not making sure there child gets an education.
At the end of the day the school is only doing its job. The government has laid down these guidelines about how much time a child can be off schools for holidays (ten days), and I think there is no justification at all for being verbally abusive to the head or any other members of staff.
I agree with you PB. The school is doing its job, they have already authorised the 10 days (as directed by guidelines) so wish to discuss it with you. Surely by becoming abusive its even less likely now that you will be able to get permission to take him out of school, whereas if you'd gone to the meeting, they may well have listened to your reasons for not being worried about taking him out of school again, and said, ok we'll let you on this occasion. Because your other half went ballistic and was verbally abusive, they are even less likely to consider okaying it now.
The meeting hasnt happened yet,it is on thursday.I know the head is only doing her job and there was no need to shout at her but it makes him riled at the fact there are so many other important things going on in the world yet there are bothering with something so trivial.She had already authorised the 10 days last oct as well as overseeing the extra 4 days he was off as we went for 14 days so there was no chance she was going to authorise this which i know but handed in the slip anyway so it was all noted etc.He catches up on the missed work when we return anyway,grades are good so i dont see the problem.The head actually said i dont think jordan should go on holiday again,well its not up to her or anyone else is it as he is our son and if we can afford to go several times a year and its not effecting his schoolwork then we will continue to do so with or without there permission.
Jordan came home with a letter today from the head saying she cant authorise his time off on 6th march for two weeks holiday as he had two weeks off for holiday in oct,therefore she wants to see us this week and have a meeting with the ewo in school.My other half went mad at her on the phone today saying that its our buisness not hers if we decide to take our son out off school - our decision etc,and the schools and welfare officers should concentrate more on the bullying in schools and the abused children not a perfectly happy little boy that has good grades.He went nuts at her,i know he is right, but im dead embarressed and i know when the meeting rolls around this week he can only get worse with his verbal and il die off embarressment.
She said they only want to discuss how much time he has off due to holiday and illness.
In a way it is rather pathetic as i know people whos children arent even at school,all 3 of them ages 12.8 and 6 and no authority is after them for not making sure there child gets an education.
At the end of the day the school is only doing its job. The government has laid down these guidelines about how much time a child can be off schools for holidays (ten days), and I think there is no justification at all for being verbally abusive to the head or any other members of staff.
I wouldnt say he was verbally abusive,she had her say and he had his,just because she is a head teacher doesnt mean that she is any better then us and we have to bow down to her authority.
Jordan came home with a letter today from the head saying she cant authorise his time off on 6th march for two weeks holiday as he had two weeks off for holiday in oct,therefore she wants to see us this week and have a meeting with the ewo in school.My other half went mad at her on the phone today saying that its our buisness not hers if we decide to take our son out off school - our decision etc,and the schools and welfare officers should concentrate more on the bullying in schools and the abused children not a perfectly happy little boy that has good grades.He went nuts at her,i know he is right, but im dead embarressed and i know when the meeting rolls around this week he can only get worse with his verbal and il die off embarressment.
She said they only want to discuss how much time he has off due to holiday and illness.
In a way it is rather pathetic as i know people whos children arent even at school,all 3 of them ages 12.8 and 6 and no authority is after them for not making sure there child gets an education.
At the end of the day the school is only doing its job. The government has laid down these guidelines about how much time a child can be off schools for holidays (ten days), and I think there is no justification at all for being verbally abusive to the head or any other members of staff.
I agree with you PB. The school is doing its job, they have already authorised the 10 days (as directed by guidelines) so wish to discuss it with you. Surely by becoming abusive its even less likely now that you will be able to get permission to take him out of school, whereas if you'd gone to the meeting, they may well have listened to your reasons for not being worried about taking him out of school again, and said, ok we'll let you on this occasion. Because your other half went ballistic and was verbally abusive, they are even less likely to consider okaying it now.
To be fair though, even if you're son does have good grades he is still missing vital schoolwork. Two weeks may not sound like much work but in reality it is when he has to catch up on all the work missed. Lessons and subjects move on so quickly and often future work builds on work that has recently been done.
It's not unreasonable for the school to refuse another ten days. I doubt they would even consider granting you it even if your husband hadn't had a go at them.
No they wouldnt have granted it whether he'd of spoken out or not as my son already had a letter winging its way home stating she cant give any more then 10 -14 days at push etc.
All the school work he misses when we are away i ask for them to make him some up and he does it as homework everynight for a week or two when we get back.
Chloe O'brien
24-02-2007, 00:07
The job I do in education restricts me from taking holidays outwith term-time. The students up here finish mid-june and don't return until the end of August,which means we as admin staff have six weeks to choose from, so we are not allowed holidays outwith term-time. What annoys me is although I do agree with that children shouldn't be taken out of school unless necessary is, that I live in a bad area of Edinburgh and I send my daughter to a non-discrict school, because the local school has a terrible reputation for bullying and attendance. The council tend to focus more on children who have been on holiday instead of those who have been absent through plaing trurant. One of my suggestions would be to cut the allowance to those parents who recieve clothing grants for uniforms and school lunches that don't send their children to school without valid reasons. I'm sure that would reduce the absence in a lot of schools.
Pinkbanana
24-02-2007, 09:50
I wouldnt say he was verbally abusive,she had her say and he had his,just because she is a head teacher doesnt mean that she is any better then us and we have to bow down to her authority.
You said in an earlier post that your partner was shouting down the phone and angry at her! That is being verbally abusive/aggressive.
You seem from your posts to have contempt for the head's authority, and justify your husband's outburst because you think it is a trivial matter (we are talking about the education of a child here). I hope your child hasnt picked up on these vibes as it will undermine the job of the teacher/head teacher if they think its acceptable to be verbally abusive.
The head is just doing her job, and Im sure is not expecting you, as you put it, to bow down to her authority (which makes her out to be some power crazed individual, when infact she is just doing her job!) but just pointing out that in LAW you are only entitled to remove your child from school for 10 authorised days.
The Head and authority are showing concern for your child as he/she has already had a number of days absenses and dont want your child's education to suffer, I personally wouldnt call that being trivial...:rolleyes:
I wouldnt say he was verbally abusive,she had her say and he had his,just because she is a head teacher doesnt mean that she is any better then us and we have to bow down to her authority.
You said in an earlier post that your partner was shouting down the phone and angry at her! That is being verbally abusive/aggressive.
You seem from your posts to have contempt for the head's authority, and justify your husband's outburst because you think it is a trivial matter (we are talking about the education of a child here). I hope your child hasnt picked up on these vibes as it will undermine the job of the teacher/head teacher if they think its acceptable to be verbally abusive.
The head is just doing her job, and Im sure is not expecting you, as you put it, to bow down to her authority (which makes her out to be some power crazed individual, when infact she is just doing her job!) but just pointing out that in LAW you are only entitled to remove your child from school for 10 authorised days.
The Head and authority are showing concern for your child as he/she has already had a number of days absenses and dont want your child's education to suffer, I personally wouldnt call that being trivial...:rolleyes:
He was mad at her for what she said and how she phrased it,although i am embarressed by the way he handled it i do agree with what he says.She is one of those people whos job has gone to her head.I dont want his education to suffer either but as far as i can see its not,he has good grades and catches up on all the work missed,even they have admitted that hes not behind on anything.
It might not look like much from your POV, but think about it, it adds up. You said you went away for 14 days all together in October. Then you wanted anotehr 2 weeks in March. Say he was ill for 5 days during the year, just through having odd days off, thats another week. Then he's missed 5 weeks of school, which is over a month.
Take away the school holidays from the year, and your meant to be there for about 10 months. That means that he would be missing over 10% of the time he's meant to be there for, and thats only allowing 5 days for sickness.
My sister is in her final year at uni, training to be a Primary School teacher. She is teaching at a school in inner-London right now. One of the girls was away for 2 weeks to go on holiday, which she was allowed to do. My sis then had a faff around sorting out all the work she has missed. Some of the work isn't written down, remember, but oral. She does activities on the Smartboards etc, which you can't catch up on. That means that she has to write out explainitory notes for this girl, about what she had missed. So she had to waste her evening doing that, because the parents of the girl took her out of school. If they are away for longer than 2 weeks, then think about how much more stuff the teacher would have to do.
And anyway, some lessons aren't written down at all. Things like ICT, PE, Music, Cooking etc etc is all practical- can you really catch up on those by just doing homework?
Also, things like group-work. I dont know if your school does much of it, but if they do, then they'll be missing out, which will make it harder for them next time.
Think about it, if it was ok for your son to have 4 weeks off, then why dont we all have 4 weeks extra School Holidays? At the end of the day, theres a reason why he's meant to be in school- they dont just do it for the sake of it.
They're just trying to do whats best for you, your son, and the teacher. They could just say No outright, but by having a meeting, they're showing you that they're keen to sort things out. Sounds like a pretty good school to me, because a lot of places wouldn't bother to discuss any of it with you- they'd just get the LEA involved.
Jordan came home with a letter today from the head saying she cant authorise his time off on 6th march for two weeks holiday as he had two weeks off for holiday in oct,therefore she wants to see us this week and have a meeting with the ewo in school.My other half went mad at her on the phone today saying that its our buisness not hers if we decide to take our son out off school - our decision etc,and the schools and welfare officers should concentrate more on the bullying in schools and the abused children not a perfectly happy little boy that has good grades.He went nuts at her,i know he is right, but im dead embarressed and i know when the meeting rolls around this week he can only get worse with his verbal and il die off embarressment.
She said they only want to discuss how much time he has off due to holiday and illness.
In a way it is rather pathetic as i know people whos children arent even at school,all 3 of them ages 12.8 and 6 and no authority is after them for not making sure there child gets an education.
At the end of the day the school is only doing its job. The government has laid down these guidelines about how much time a child can be off schools for holidays (ten days), and I think there is no justification at all for being verbally abusive to the head or any other members of staff.
I agree with you PB. The school is doing its job, they have already authorised the 10 days (as directed by guidelines) so wish to discuss it with you. Surely by becoming abusive its even less likely now that you will be able to get permission to take him out of school, whereas if you'd gone to the meeting, they may well have listened to your reasons for not being worried about taking him out of school again, and said, ok we'll let you on this occasion. Because your other half went ballistic and was verbally abusive, they are even less likely to consider okaying it now.
The meeting hasnt happened yet,it is on thursday.I know the head is only doing her job and there was no need to shout at her but it makes him riled at the fact there are so many other important things going on in the world yet there are bothering with something so trivial.She had already authorised the 10 days last oct as well as overseeing the extra 4 days he was off as we went for 14 days so there was no chance she was going to authorise this which i know but handed in the slip anyway so it was all noted etc.He catches up on the missed work when we return anyway,grades are good so i dont see the problem.The head actually said i dont think jordan should go on holiday again,well its not up to her or anyone else is it as he is our son and if we can afford to go several times a year and its not effecting his schoolwork then we will continue to do so with or without there permission.
Surely if you can afford to go on holiday several times a year then you can afford to go during school holidays?
My sister in law is a primary school teacher, and as abi says its not easy for them to arrange to catch one child up on all the work they'v missed .. and by spending more time with the child who has been away makes it unfair on the children whose parents dont break the law by taking their children away during term time .. your child will be getting special treatment and attention to catch him up which makes it unfair on the others.
To be honest, I think its a little bit selfish, to expect teachers to sort out extra stuff to help your child catch up as a result of excess holidays which could be taken during their official holidays.
Also, it is routine to see parents whose child has regular absences from school .. they have to check there is nothing wrong at home, as this is often an indication of problems within the family unit. and i dont think your hubby will have helped towards this if he has been verbally abusive to the teacher.
She is only doing her job, and regardless of whether you like it she is acting in the childs best interest if she wants to meet with you to discuss numerous absences. Theres never any excuse to be abusive towards someone, whether its shouting or "going mad at them" as you say. And while you dont need to 'bow down' to her authority you do have to respect it, because of the position she holds.
If I were you I would try and get your husband not to go if you think he will verbally attacking the headmistress .. she is legally within her rights to call the police if at any time she feels threatened by your husband and he does not need to actually be physical towards her .. the mere fear from her is enough for a conviction of bodily harm.
I would be emabarresed too if i was you.
Jordan came home with a letter today from the head saying she cant authorise his time off on 6th march for two weeks holiday as he had two weeks off for holiday in oct,therefore she wants to see us this week and have a meeting with the ewo in school.My other half went mad at her on the phone today saying that its our buisness not hers if we decide to take our son out off school - our decision etc,and the schools and welfare officers should concentrate more on the bullying in schools and the abused children not a perfectly happy little boy that has good grades.He went nuts at her,i know he is right, but im dead embarressed and i know when the meeting rolls around this week he can only get worse with his verbal and il die off embarressment.
She said they only want to discuss how much time he has off due to holiday and illness.
In a way it is rather pathetic as i know people whos children arent even at school,all 3 of them ages 12.8 and 6 and no authority is after them for not making sure there child gets an education.
At the end of the day the school is only doing its job. The government has laid down these guidelines about how much time a child can be off schools for holidays (ten days), and I think there is no justification at all for being verbally abusive to the head or any other members of staff.
I agree with you PB. The school is doing its job, they have already authorised the 10 days (as directed by guidelines) so wish to discuss it with you. Surely by becoming abusive its even less likely now that you will be able to get permission to take him out of school, whereas if you'd gone to the meeting, they may well have listened to your reasons for not being worried about taking him out of school again, and said, ok we'll let you on this occasion. Because your other half went ballistic and was verbally abusive, they are even less likely to consider okaying it now.
The meeting hasnt happened yet,it is on thursday.I know the head is only doing her job and there was no need to shout at her but it makes him riled at the fact there are so many other important things going on in the world yet there are bothering with something so trivial.She had already authorised the 10 days last oct as well as overseeing the extra 4 days he was off as we went for 14 days so there was no chance she was going to authorise this which i know but handed in the slip anyway so it was all noted etc.He catches up on the missed work when we return anyway,grades are good so i dont see the problem.The head actually said i dont think jordan should go on holiday again,well its not up to her or anyone else is it as he is our son and if we can afford to go several times a year and its not effecting his schoolwork then we will continue to do so with or without there permission.
Surely if you can afford to go on holiday several times a year then you can afford to go during school holidays?
My sister in law is a primary school teacher, and as abi says its not easy for them to arrange to catch one child up on all the work they'v missed .. and by spending more time with the child who has been away makes it unfair on the children whose parents dont break the law by taking their children away during term time .. your child will be getting special treatment and attention to catch him up which makes it unfair on the others.
To be honest, I think its a little bit selfish, to expect teachers to sort out extra stuff to help your child catch up as a result of excess holidays which could be taken during their official holidays.
Also, it is routine to see parents whose child has regular absences from school .. they have to check there is nothing wrong at home, as this is often an indication of problems within the family unit. and i dont think your hubby will have helped towards this if he has been verbally abusive to the teacher.
She is only doing her job, and regardless of whether you like it she is acting in the childs best interest if she wants to meet with you to discuss numerous absences. Theres never any excuse to be abusive towards someone, whether its shouting or "going mad at them" as you say. And while you dont need to 'bow down' to her authority you do have to respect it, because of the position she holds.
If I were you I would try and get your husband not to go if you think he will verbally attacking the headmistress .. she is legally within her rights to call the police if at any time she feels threatened by your husband and he does not need to actually be physical towards her .. the mere fear from her is enough for a conviction of bodily harm.
I would be emabarresed too if i was you.
Yes we can afford to go in the school holidays but would be stupid to pay morethen we have to.
The teachers said last time they dont mind doing the catch up work as long as its benefitting them etc and as you lot are saying its there job to help and make sure they are doing the best for the child education.
Ithink your all taking it out of proportion now,he didnt go totally nuts at her and scare her at all,he just put his point across bluntly to her which hes entitled top do in this nanny state.Hes not likely to attack her either he will go the meeting she will put her point acroos and he will his,whether they argree or not doesnt matter,we will be going on holiday anyway,lifes too short.
I am embarressed by the way he phrased it but also proud he doesnt take a load of crap of off people.I think we will have to agree to disagree now guys.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.3 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.