Anyone ever take kids out of school

[Vixster]

Does any of you go to Disney and take kids out of school for 10 days we are next year

 

[queendisney]

People def do as when we go, which is always out of school holiday dates, there are A LOT of school age British kids there of all ages.

 

[willieboy]

yes whenever we can.

 

[wayneg]

Yes we have in the past but it depends on many different things for me.

Age of child, we took DS out 2 weeks each year upto age 12, I wouldn't beyond this age, now he is doing A Levels he won't even take 1 day off.

Time of year, we found the 2 weeks before Oct half term(away for 3 weeks) was no problem at all, other times of year I wouldn't near exam times or start of new term.

Can your child cope, thankfully even though DS was youngest in his year he was always top in everything, no problems catching up.

Teaching staff attitude, we were very lucky having a head teacher and teachers that believed DS got a lot of benefit from his travels.

Illness, DS has never had time off, any child with illness & time off for holidays could find it very dificult.

Every child is different, parents know that child better than anyone, its their future you are affecting, just because I am 100% sure what we did was the right thing for our child I would never advise anyone else to do the same.

 

[purpleprincessnel]

Weve taken the kids out a few times whilst they where at Primary School.

We always said that when they went to secondary school this would stop but looking at the prices for the school holidays we may change this decision. Even a week in Europe is now getting more expensive than going to WDW

 

[dixonsontour]

Just 1 day due to flying on a friday this year and last.

For us it's not possible as we both work, don't have lots of annual leave and I need childcare in school hols anyway.

We deliberately go October as school runs a summer school all August (childcare) but not in the 2 week October half term. I know we are lucky DD get 2 weeks at October.

I know lots do - it's a very personal decision and depends on school's/LA policy plus your child eg DD misses school sometimes due to hospital apts as she has a disability.

 

[Vixster]

Thanks mine are 9 and 7 and I think prices are to much in holidays and could be much busier in the parks there only young

 

[dixonsontour]

Just remember to double check US holiday dates and public holidays

Just because uk schools are in doesn't mean it is a good time to go.

eg US school finish end of May,

 

[Portugal1000]

We have taken our son out of school for 10 days during every year of Primary school and not once did the teacher complain. We always stated on the form where we were going and the benefits. i.e seeing a shuttle launch. I do not think it had any effect whatsoever on his education as he is youngest in class and got 5 5 5 in his Sats.
My son has enjoyed 8 trips to Disney since he was 5, 6 were during term time and the other 2 in August school holidays. He is now at secondary school so this December will be the first time in 6 years that we cannot go. We did go in August which was great and already have next August booked. I think I may be tempted to take him out 5 days before term time ends in December if we are unable to go in August one year but we would have to seriously think about it first. He goes to a very good secondary school so I assumed there would be no chance of being able to take holidays during term time but their school policy seems to be the same as Primary school so maybe there is hope. I honestly don't think a couple of weeks off school makes any difference in the long run but there will be an awful lot of people who strongly disagree with me!

 

[joolz1910]

I will be taking mine out for 8 days next year, they will be 4, 8 and 12.

 

[2Tiggies]

My DD missed 2 days at her old primary school when she was 6 because the holidays weren't out for the next year when we booked and the school gave me the wrong info. The head teacher must SUCH a fuss about it Due to issues at the school I moved her to a different school a little over a year ago. Totally different story. She missed 7 school days last year and the head teacher, on hearing where we were going, immediately authorised the absence saying they could never teach her in the classroom what she would gain from this. Same thing this year when she missed 9 days and on our return, the Head Teacher helped me with dates to avoid (next year is her final year of primary school so I didn't want her to miss anything important). As stated above, it depends on the school and on the child. My daughter does well at school and has never had a problem catching up on missed work on our return. I also undertake to personally supervise and see to it that everything missed is caught up. If I could afford to go in the holiday time, I would never take her out of school. Unfortunately with flight prices as they have been the last 2 years, I am not in a position to take a non term time break.

You have to ask yourself if you are comfortable taking your child out and whether you feel it will have a negative/positive impact on them. You know your child/children better than anyone else.

 

[jen_uk]

I'm a teacher in secondary school/sixth form and I don't think it is the end of the world if they miss a few days for a holiday. I would say that at A-Level they would miss a lot of work that would be hard to catch up with but any younger than that is fine. Most subjects are only taught 1-2 lessons a week in school and so they won't really miss much, A-Levels are different as they have around 5 hours of teaching a week.

 

[jns]

we have too
nearly always try to go round school breaks and take them out either side of the holidays
don't think it has done them any harm always seem to catch up with the school work

 

[disneyholic family]

i took them out for 3 weeks one year....
up to that point i had been really rigid about never taking them out of school, but it was the last chance before DS (12 years old at the time) was about to move up to a school that i knew he could never miss, so i figured what the heck, may as well go for it..

i took them out just before thanksgiving, so that we could first go to my sister's house in michigan for her big thanksgiving feast (and i do mean feast)..

then we went to WDW for 3 weeks (end of November and first 2.5 weeks of december, so it was relatively quiet there), then back to michigan for one more week so the kids could see some snow (alas, michigan had a freakishly warm winter that year, so no snow until the day of our flight - the day before Christmas)..

anyway, when i came to the head of the school to tell her that DS would miss 3 weeks, she said she couldn't authorize it..

i told her i wasn't asking for permission, i was just coming in to inform her that he wouldn't be there for 3 weeks...
she was a bit stunned, but i wasn't about to take no for an answer...

it was the only time we ever took them out of school and it was definitely worth it.......it was a very special trip....

and considering they're now 27 and 24 years old and very successful, it would seem it didn't have much impact on them

 

[Geordietyke]

We have booked ours starting the middle of 2012 October holiday and the following 2 weeks so we'll need 10 school days off. I have mentioned this already to the headteacher but she said it was down to how much sick days daughters (aged 7 and 8) have off and how well they are doing in class. If all is well, there won't been a problem.

We have always visited WDW this time of year (specifically for Food & Wine Festival) and like the temperatures/low(ish) crowd levels. We wouldn't consider going summer as the heat would be too much for hubby and kids (that applies to any holiday abroad).

 

[Princess Clayre]

After trying August last year and not coping well with the heat we are taking my son (age 7) out for 10 days next May. I've already had a chat with his teacher and she is fine with it

 

[ChipnDaleRule]

We have taken our children out of school three times, for 10 days and the Primary school was fine about it. This time we are doing the same but DD is in yr8 so not sure how school will react, she has good attendance. We have taken a risk with her (booking first before asking) but we have no choice so fingers crossed. From our own selfish point of view we are so in need of this holiday i would take the fine if they said no im afraid.

 

[flortlebap]

Ours are 8, 6 and 5 and they're taking three days before half term and 5 days after. I don't think the school are particularly impressed, but that said, there are parents I know who do it every year!

 

[flortlebap]

We have taken our children out of school three times, for 10 days and the Primary school was fine about it. This time we are doing the same but DD is in yr8 so not sure how school will react, she has good attendance. We have taken a risk with her (booking first before asking) but we have no choice so fingers crossed. From our own selfish point of view we are so in need of this holiday i would take the fine if they said no im afraid.

ITA! The fine would be far less than the cost of going in summer anyways

 

[2Tiggies]

From our own selfish point of view we are so in need of this holiday i would take the fine if they said no im afraid.

Not selfish at all. It's having your priorities right. Family comes first.

Besides, I have a very simple approach with things like this (I'm sure I would have mentioned it before): Offering an apology is less hassle than getting permission.