Should we be allowed to take our children out of school during term time?
Posted by southoftherivermum on February 19th, 2012. Filed under: education, Parenting, school.Education Secretary Michael Gove is rumoured to be cracking down on parents taking their children out of school during term time so that they can go on holiday. This is meant to be in a drive to improve attendance and therefore standards in schools.
- Michael Gove from The Telegraph
There seems to be shock at this decision and I can see two main arguments against Gove’s policy. Firstly, that if we are looking for parents to become more responsible, then parents must be able to make decisions about their own children and that covers their education and decisions about when they take their holiday. People don’t want to live in a nanny state and be told when they can or can’t take their holiday by the Education Secretary. In addition to this if you have family who live abroad it can cost double to travel during the school holidays and can be prohibitive for many, meaning that they may be unable to attend family reunions.
I am sympathetic to both those points. Extended family is incredibly important and helps children to develop their own sense of identity and their value base. Being unable to visit family because of the increased cost of travel during the holidays is very sad and makes me feel uncomfortable. In addition, I think that personal freedom is one of the most important rights that we have and parents should have autonomy to bring up their children how they see fit as long as these freedoms don’t impact other people in a negative way.
On the other hand, along with love, education is one of the most important gifts we can give our children as parents. In my view social mobility, tolerance and self esteem thrive through a good education and as parents and as a society that is what we should be aiming for. For our children to strive to be all that they can has to be our goal and we need to give them the best education we can to achieve this. Taking children out of school during term time must go against all of that.
If all parents were free to choose which school their children attend then there is a case to say that the head teacher could be free to impose a ban on taking children out of school during the school holidays. If parents didn’t want that then they would have to put up with the decision or else to change schools. But if they haven’t chosen a school what then?
Personal freedoms are extended to adults but when children are concerned there are times when the state has to step in and these are to secure a child’s health, safety and education. A child of 5 by law has to go to school, she has to sit in a car seat in the car and be taken to seek medical help if needed. Why not extend this legal requirement to refuse leave during term time.
When I started writing this I thought that this was a straight forward case and that parents shouldn’t be allowed to take their children out of school. What I’ve realised is that it’s not that parents shouldn’t be allowed to take children out of school but that they shouldn’t take them out of school. But that if for whatever reason parents decide that it’s in the child’s interest to take them out of school to go on holiday then they should be allowed to do so. This isn’t an ideal solution but I think that giving parenting responsibility to parents is how we will make parents better in the long term and it is a learnt skill and isn’t something that can be mandated by law. Ultimately outsourcing the nanny to the state won’t deliver better children or parenting.
February 19th, 2012 at 11:25 pm
While we typically have scheduled our hols during school breaks, given OUR typical holiday, I wouldn’t hesitate to take one during school time, at least while mine are still in primary school.
This past week, we’ve been in Rome – my kids have been to St Peters, the Roman Forum, Castel Sant’Angelo, to name a few, and were pretty steeped in history. That my 7 year old studied the Romans during his Fall term only added to his excitement, and my 5 year olds favorite thing was “the church on a church on a church” (the Basilica of San Clemente).
Now, I realize that this is not the norm, and some may not view this as the same thing as, say, taking time out to go to Centre Parcs (which we also have done, giving the kids the chance to play only with each other and as a family), but I don’t appreciate being punished for broadening my kids horizons, particularly as schools begin to turn more towards teaching for the tests.
And in this day, when families spend more time disconnected than ever before, I would say if a student is performing well, is given a chance to do all assigned homework they would have die if present – then there is something to be gained from that family time as well.
February 20th, 2012 at 12:22 am
At the moment a child is allowed 10 days absence in term time at the headteachers discretion. I hear of cases where this is not even ‘allowed’. I have only rarely had to take my child out of school in term time but I would object on principle to being told what to do. I understand not all parents have their child’s needs at heart. That there are ‘bad’ or unskilled parents out there. What I object to is the idea that the likes of Mr Gove take this as a mandate to tell all parents how to raise their children. My son is my responsibility. I am capable of making judgements and decisions in relation to his care. To take right that away from me is morally wrong. Simple as that. It is legislation against the majority because of the failings of a minority. A child’s education is not going to go down the pan because of a week away with mum, dad, siblings. Nonsense. It’s management by numbers and it is a route to poor decisions and a cheap trick to hide the real issues facing education, funding, parent support, headteacher autonomy. More of that please.
February 21st, 2012 at 6:50 pm
Thanks for taking the time to comment. Although I haven’t taken my children out of school during term time, I agree that it should be up to the parent to make the decision of whether it is beneficial to the child. I’m not sure that taking a child out of school to spend a week on the beach is really on but taking extra time to go on a real experience of a lifetime, something cultural or to meet with family is valid. There should be guidance for those parents who need or want help but for most of us we should be allowed to parent as we see fit.
February 21st, 2012 at 6:53 pm
Hi Jenn
Thanks for commenting. I think your trip to Rome sounds amazing and I’m sure they learnt a lot from it. It is a difficult balance if a parent wants to take their child somewhere less cultured but you raise a good point that perhaps that is the only time they can meet up with their extended family. I think on balance that the school holidays are long enough for families to take all the time they need and that it is travel companies and their prices that Gove should be aiming at rather than parents.