 Poster: A snowHead
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Hmm, took mine out for their fist ski holiday (*well older one, titch was in nursery). Completely forgot until I was in Selva that he was on holiday the following week and neither of us big uns was. Aaargh.Cue panic phone call to granny. Thank god she wasn't in Majorca. Not done it again for lack of holiday day care. Go at NY and Easter instead, works out better, I was always bored at NY anyway.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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My daughter was offered a week long Ski trip in April but chose not to go, she will be in school as normal with all the others that chose not to go.
We will be taking her out of school in January to Ski with us.
Figure out the difference and let me know.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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about £400?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Corduroy wrote: |
My daughter was offered a week long Ski trip in April but chose not to go, she will be in school as normal with all the others that chose not to go.
We will be taking her out of school in January to Ski with us.
Figure out the difference and let me know. |
The teachers have a reduced child-teacher ratio, therefore have to pay for more rounds, splash more fags and get reduced kick back from the bars and restaurants they drag them along to. 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Layne wrote: |
| Our sons school does a school ski trip in March. If the missus could get the time off work I have it in my head to go the same week (to a different resort) because then there can surely be no objection on any grounds? Anybody else done that? |
hmmmmmm, now you have me thinking.....
Friday. drop eldest off at school for school ski trip.
Saturday. Me, Wife, Youngest (taken out of school) travel to ski resort....
Saturday. Me, Wife, Youngest return from ski trip.
Late Saturday or Sunday collect eldest from coach after school ski trip and deny going on ski trip wthout Her.
hmmmm
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Claude B wrote: |
| about £400? |
i meant in lost education.
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Cost of state education is £20-£25 per day at my kids school. Locally they vary from £3400-£4500 per child per annum.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Boris, Simply a political mechamism to try "put the frighteners" on parents who can afford a ski holiday!
The change in regulations is also a useful tool for headteachers to "remove" from school roll those 16-plus pupils who t*ss it off in years 12 and 13 and are taking the mick.
Sadly those 5 A*- C grade pupils have a 96% or greater attendance record. Therefore, even these stalwart students take on average 8 school days per year off. Certainly enough for a term-time treck to the Alps. 
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The other issue about taking kids out of school is that unless one of you isn't working covering kids school holidays with 2 working parents- even if one is less than full time is a nightmare- we just don't have very much spare leave at all and can only just about cover the holidays they have with a mix of leave, family holidays, kids clubs and the like . So if we were to take them out of school for a week we'd have to find childcare for a week.
Arghhh.
Funnily enough despite having a massive pinko streak I agree about 'people don't value what they don't pay for' which is very sad really- especially in this country where when the chips are really down nobody wants to see a credit card.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| ed123 wrote: |
| . So if we were to take them out of school for a week we'd have to find childcare for a week. |
If you can afford to take your kids skiing you can afford childcare for the odd week extra back home that you may require. Assuming of course you are intelligent enough to look at and take advantage of the various government schemes that are available which enable you to do just that.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| NickyJ wrote: |
We took my eldest out of school in Year R and again in Year 2 - we got permissions both times BUT they have jus changed the rules so it is highly unlikely you will get permission now and it will appear as an "unauthorised " absence on the school stats and end of year report. As far as I can see that is it. If they have lots of repeated absences you may be fined (Pam posted the link on another thread with the Hampshire policy on fines).
I have booked for Easter 2014 season - but then my eldest will be in the Juniors school, plus I spotted a decent deal in school hols which was affordable. |
Any idea where i might find the Chesire counties policy on fines??
Lokked on their website and can't find anything
Thanks
Phil
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qwertyuiop7, google "Code of Conduct Education Fixed Penalty Notices" for the relevant LEA.
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You know it makes sense.
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fatbob, 
sticky is a great idea - can we have a thread about the "best way to justify" taking kids out of school for a ski holiday?
My sister is a teacher and recently working for an organisation which makes lesson-plans
She said she will make lesson plans for me on any subject, if I can find enough (pseudo) useful ways to (educationally) justify skiing in term-time...
... can we start a thread on "All the things you can teach in a ski resort" or similar?
(e.g.
Geography: mountain formation/erosion, v and u shaped valleys with things like interlocking spurs etc
Climatology: precipitation/snow-line, temp change with alt. etc
Physics: gravity, fall-line, friction, mass/velocity/inertia, etc
etc )
You hum it, I'll play it...
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Did you know that for GCSE PE you can list skiing as your chosen sport and are required to gain a recognised certification (ski school certificate is apparently acceptably.)
I wonder if I can get the school to pay for it 
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Poster: A snowHead
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Thornyhill, Nice one!
Sno, Don`t forget foreign language. That one along with sports training and preparing for sports exams were always useful, as was meeting up with family coming from other parts of the world.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Thornyhill, Nice one!
Sno, Don`t forget foreign language. That one along with sports training and preparing for sports exams were always useful, as was meeting up with family coming from other parts of the world.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Just taken my daughter to school. Got a phone call "it's only year 7 and 11 in today" oops...
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Thornyhill, you can submit skiing (or snowboarding) as one of the minor sports for GCSE PE. We do a few assessments at Hemel for kids who are doing that option. The kids don't need to be massively experienced skiers, but they should show a willingness to improve and have a broader understanding about skiing (including safety matters). Not heard of anyone who has used their GCSE PE as a reason to boost their case for approved term-time absence, but it's got to be worth a try...
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Thornyhill, that's real Top Tip - make sure your kids are taking PE and shoe horn in a skiing module...
re language CaravanSkier, my mate recently took his 7 year old twins out for 3 months to learn French in Annecy (where grandparents live) without a bit of complaint from their school here... maybe its all about how you sell the idea... language immersion v's ski hols...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Apologies if I am stating the obvious, but any comments along lines of "we/my mate/our grandson was allowed etc" are kind of irrelevant as that was under the old rules. New rules are for exceptional circumstances only - which based on local experience seems to be a blanken ban on any days out!
New rules came into force yesterday I think, will be interested to see how well people get on going forward.
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But, don't forget, the ban is on "authorised absence". Parents who want to take their kids out of school for a family ski holiday can still do so, but it will be "unauthorised absence". And what will happen as a result of a week's "unauthorised absence" for a child with a good attendance record otherwise? Precisely nothing.
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As I said, maybe its how you sell it Boris, educational trip v's family hols - I imagine its more likely the easy route for those deciding in the beginning will be a blanket ban.
I noticed you wrote "special circumstances" in the old rules and "exceptional circumstances" in the new ones - that does sound like a hardening of approach even to educational trips rather than merely to holidays... we shall see.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Agree with you, Boris, there's no way a head is going to sanction a holiday, whatever the "educational benefits" (real or not), so it'll be "unauthorised" - but will anything happen as a result of it? Not a sausage.
However I'm such a goody-goody (as are my kids) that I'd never dare do it, so it's the half term crush for us!
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pam w, agreed - but for many of us goody-goodies it is the fear (probably imagined) that something will happen.
I mean it's not like a hard pressed truancy office is going to go after the soft targets of well educated middle class kids who miss the odd day, rather than the oiks who are very rarely at school 
andy from embsay, we are going at Christmas but had asked for 1-day, last day of term, at which point we were told "No" s rules had chhanged.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Boris, Dental appointment. Followed by aching teeth.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Boris, that e-petition is now closed - wonder why?
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ansta1
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Friday. drop eldest off at school for school ski trip.
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That's exactly what we did this year. Couldn't manage a W/E away since they seem to be Thursday/Saturday so whichever W/E we picked we would have needed cover to either get our son to the drop-off point, or pick him up afterwards (he was doing a Thursday-Friday school trip by coach to Kitsbuhl) so in the end we got the cheapest private week-long rental in Tignes and just binned the last couple of days.
Thursday - Drop son off
Friday night - Drive overnight to Tignes
Sat-Wed - 5 days skiing with wife & daughter
Thurs - Easy drive home on deserted roads
Back home in time for Son's arrival on Friday.
In truth it was a mistake, since the cost of Son's school trip was poor in comparison to the increment in taking him to Tignes (School trip was about £830 all in) but when we agreed to that (in something like October) we were not sure that we could manage a 2nd trip.
This year, with 2 trips in mind, he's already been told that the school one (Now about £900) is out of the question.
With regard to the OP, we did take our kids out of primary school, about 3 years in a row, and no-one seemed to care, and we did meet with the Head to discuss it. but as you suggest, the rules have changed, so moot.
LR
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