[lol768]

This is really partially the government's fault.

Parents are fined and (in a minority of cases) imprisoned for taking children out of school in term-time. Usually it's the ones who are honest that end up getting in trouble, and the others that can pass it off as sickness get away with it.

During Covid and recent NASUWT/NAHT/NEU strikes though, it's seemingly not been seen as a problem for kids to miss out significantly on face-to-face learning!

I think most teachers would agree that, for pupils without a significant attendance problem, a week away (particularly if it's towards the end of a term) is not going to make a realistic difference when it comes to attainment for most students.

[sksksk]

> I think most teachers would agree that, for pupils without a significant attendance problem, a week away (particularly if it's towards the end of a term) is not going to make a realistic difference when it comes to attainment for most students.

I generally agree with this, but discretion doesn't scale. If you allow teachers to use discretion to approve absences, it will create the opportunity unfair system, where people who the teacher likes more may get preferential treatment. And even if the system isn't actually unfair, it'll create the perception of unfairness (Joe was allowed to go early, why can't my son?).

It's also way easier for a school to say "no early absences, that's the national policy", and not have to get into constant arguments with parents.

[dspillett]

> It's also way easier for a school to say "no early absences, that's the national policy", and not have to get into constant arguments with parents.

Also, if the teachers/school approved the holiday for someone who then underperformed in some exam or other assessment, and it could be seen that missing something in that week off, you can bet your last penny that many parents will blame the school for approving the request instead of telling them there might be a problem, and if the school deny a request because there might be a problem many parents will blame the school for there being a problem in the first place.

In some cases the problem would be with the school, but it wouldn't be just those cases that get the full-on compo-face-in-the-national-press treatment. Teachers jobs are hard enough as it is, especially given the level of remuneration and other conditions, without asking them to take on this responsibility.

Skipping school can have a significantly detrimental effect on a child, it doesn't always, maybe it doesn't most of the time, but it does often enough that it is a significant concern. If people don't like how the school system works, perhaps they should try homeschooling?

To be blunt: I don't pay my taxes to fund an education system¹ so someone's offspring can wag off…

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[1] I don't begrudge funding the education system generally, despite not having (and not planning to have) kids myself² because I'm well aware that good education for all is a huge benefit for society as a whole

[2] Before anyone says “you don't have kids, you don't know how hard it can be”: I know full well how hard it can be and that is one of the reasons for my intention to never breed, I can't speak for anyone else's but my decision on the matter is not the one taken from a position of inadequate awareness

[kwhitefoot]

Then don't make it discretionary, make it a right.

[kwhitefoot]

We took our children out of school for three months about twenty years ago because I had the opportunity to work for that period in the US. We asked the school to provide the targets for the period for each child and my wife ensured that the children did a few hours work every day, not a whole day by any means. When we got back to Norway all three of the children were ahead of their classes.

In Norway there seems to be no requirement to attend school, only a requirement that the children be educated. The headmistress tried to pressure my wife to not take the children out but the only penalty she could apply was a vague threat that there might not be places available when they got back.

One idea that might reduce the problem that the UK has would be to adopt the Polish system of dividing the country into four school regions with staggered holidays.

[NeoTar]

There are staggered holidays, but it's uncoordinated, based around local council areas - i.e. areas with a population of a hundred-thousand to around a million people. One council may run mid-July to end-of-August, another council a week earlier, and a third a week later.

The UK summer vacation (summer holiday in British English) is significantly shorter than in other countries - only six weeks, where I understand eight or nine is common in other European countries. This probably significantly adds to the holiday congestion and higher surge pricing.

[toyg]

> The UK summer vacation (summer holiday in British English) is significantly shorter than in other countries

This is compensated by "half-term" weeks, where schools close in the middle of a semester, so in total there is no difference. Predictably, those weeks also see massive spikes in prices for holidays, airfare, etc.

The UK education system is built from the ground up to ensure class lines remain intact. This is just another facet of it: the wealthy will go on holiday no matter what; others will either not go or be price-gouged, hence ensuring they cannot accumulate enough to ever challenge the ruling class.

[fransje26]

> One idea that might reduce the problem that the UK has would be to adopt the Polish system of dividing the country into four school regions with staggered holidays.

Predators will be predators, and the prices will be jacked-up to cover the holiday span of the four regions..

The choice we have is to not given them money by not going there..

[tolien]

> One idea that might reduce the problem that the UK has would be to adopt the Polish system of dividing the country into four school regions with staggered holidays.

We're some of the way there - Scottish school terms run differently to England/Wales/NI (Scottish schools stopped and went back ~2 weeks earlier).

[davidt84]

There's a difference between withdrawing your child from school and them remaining registered but simply not attending.

[kwhitefoot]

Is there? We didn't make any formal application, we just said they wouldn't be there for that three month period and could we please have the lesson plans.

But remember my children went to school in Norway where there is considerably less hostility and friction between the state and the people.