 Poster: A snowHead
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Thinking of going to Whistler during next years half-term,wasn't sure of the kids dates yet,but thought i'd check out flight costs to Vancover.
Flights departing 7th Feb BA and Air Canada £293 one way
Flights departing 14th Feb BA and Air Canada £790 one way
Guess i now know what next years half term dates are!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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It's grim, isn't it? Why not go to Whistler at Easter - I gather April skiing there (and other N American destinations) is often fantastic.
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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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pam w, Easter is an option, although i prefer having a break in Feb,guess i just can't wait untill the kids have left school and i can avoid these horrendous mark ups!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I say take them out of school for a week. Much cheaper and less busy on the slopes.
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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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| mosh wrote: |
| I say take them out of school for a week. Much cheaper and less busy on the slopes. |
LIAMJ, If you decide to go this route, there's a thread of "excuses to get your kids out during term time" knocking around here somewhere.
Good luck.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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flowa, children are entitled to holiday time during term time.
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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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| mosh wrote: |
| flowa, children are entitled to holiday time during term time. |
ONLY if the parents have no choice about when to take their holidays (and that doesn't mean if they can only afford a foreign trip outside school holiday), or if the school excercise their discretion.
There is no general enitlement.
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mosh, it's at the head's discression. Some heads do, some heads don't!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Elizabeth B, sorry, didn't know there were grumpy heads out there.
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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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alex_heney, capitals, red lettering and enlarged character size, I must have said something that really offended you. Sorry 
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mosh, unfortunately so. However I am lucky.....I get to take my hols when I want.....so not quite 6 weeks in the winter, but I don't do too badly 
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You know it makes sense.
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mosh, I don't care about the in's and out's of kids being able to go away during school term - I just thought it would be helpful to the OP to know there is a thread addressing "how to" on here somewhere.
Elizabeth B, alex_heney thanks for trying 
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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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I asked today as we need to book - our school's half term is 16-20th Feb 2009 if that's any use - it usually clashes with many other schools in the area and I suspect across the UK
Last edited by Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name: on Wed 27-02-08 21:27; edited 1 time in total
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Poster: A snowHead
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flowa, again, I apologise if I have offended you. I wasn't having a go I was just trying to join in with the discussion thread.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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mosh, cool, cool 
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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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flowa, I want to check out that excuses thread now and see if I've heard any. We once had a child off for 10 days with jet lag.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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LIAMJ, I live next door to a middle school (church aided) and I was always puzzled by their odd holiday timing, always a couple of weeks different than the rest of the town. Turns out the parents got together and forced the school to move it's breaks outside the established norms . . . thus getting cheap holidays. Food for thought?
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Megamum, Feb 1/2 term next year is the same week across England.
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FWIW, there' not an entitlement to remove kids from school during term time. There is a tolerance of doing so under some circumstances. There is also a minimum attendance specified by law.
I'm not commenting on the right or wrong of it, BTW.
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Thu 28-02-08 10:44; edited 1 time in total
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We have taken our 3 kids out of school the first week of term in January for the last 3 years. The school knows, the don't compain even if they did I couldn't give a fork.
My kids learn a lot in that week, we save a fortune, which means we can take them, half term would make it all unafordable.
In my opinon anyone that has a kid in primary school and still goes skiing at half term as they won't take their kid out of school is mad.
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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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Masque, the Lord moves (half term) in mysterious ways.
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Elizabeth B, has a very important point. Next year all schools in England and Wales have the same half term week. It will make the costs about as daft as possible. Although there are some schools in the Plymouth area that are the exception!?
I am also of the teacher persuasion, this is meaning skiing next year will be an independent , probably quite last minute, holiday, if at all.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Go to Seattle instead. Only a few hours more on the transfer, and *far* more competition on that route.
Also wait until the summer. Those flights have only just been released, so are at top-dollar (-pound?) rate. IME they drop in mid July.
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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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| Quote: |
In my opinon anyone that has a kid in primary school and still goes skiing at half term as they won't take their kid out of school is mad.
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That's the way I feel, too. Someone on Snowheads last year was agonising about taking a 4 year old out of school a day early at half term. For goodness' sake! 4 year olds shouldn't even be in "proper school", as a recent major study found. The Dutch, Norwegians, Germans and others do just fine at education without sending kids still in nappies.
Have a look at:
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=34069&highlight=school+attendence+attendance+lie
In practice, it seems that the parents of a child with a good attendance record are not going to be taken to court over a ski holiday, however much the head teacher huffs and puffs.
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My sister tells me her kids' primary school has announced fines of £50 per day per child for unauthorised absences for holidays - I was shocked at that.
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You know it makes sense.
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I hope she charges the school for every day the kids lose because of the school's actions.
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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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Butterfly, it would be interesting to know more about the background but it sounds highly improbable that a school would be able successfully to impose such a sanction. Our court system, with the power of the state behind it, is notoriously bad at enforcing fines and I can't imagine a primary school being a lot better. But even if you paid up, it would be cheap at the price, compared to taking holidays at half term. Just £250 per child; a snip! You could save that on airfares alone, as the OP demonstrated.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Taking my kids out of school next week for their first weeks skiing, in Norway.
I have to admit I was spurred on by the thread on Snowheads mentioned above.
The school didn't bat an eyelid and cleared the request we made.
| Butterfly wrote: |
| My sister tells me her kids' primary school has announced fines of £50 per day per child for unauthorised absences for holidays - I was shocked at that. |
IMO, completely unenforceable !
| thefatcontroller wrote: |
We have taken our 3 kids out of school the first week of term in January for the last 3 years. The school knows, the don't compain even if they did I couldn't give a fork.
My kids learn a lot in that week, we save a fortune, which means we can take them, half term would make it all unafordable.
In my opinon anyone that has a kid in primary school and still goes skiing at half term as they won't take their kid out of school is mad. |
My thoughts exactly!!
..... if the school don't authorise such a request I'd take them out of school anyway and pay the fine (I believe it's actually £50 a week per child 1st offence, £100 second...) .... and then the poor school has to mark their absense as 'unauthorised' and it goes against their government 'targets', which makes them look pants.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Theres a link on another thread somewhere that I looked at - I think that all the English schools are on the same week for 1/2 term next year - 14th - 21st Feb. Loads of places are booked up already. Dutch and German hols are around that week as well I think.
The "rules" on taking your kids out seem to change authority by authority - I came to the conclusion its a targets thing. We were told our kid would get marked as unauthorised absent and it would be followed up, but as others have rightly said what realistically can/are they going to do beyond the odd grotty letter.
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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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Butterfly, however if your sister was to request permission from the school to take the children out for a holiday, and it was granted, it would not be an unauthorised absence.
Durham County's advice on holidays in term time. We have taken our children out on a number of occasions, and weren't refused permission.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Butterfly wrote: |
| My sister tells me her kids' primary school has announced fines of £50 per day per child for unauthorised absences for holidays - I was shocked at that. |
How on earth do they imagine that they can enforce that? Even a private school would have a hard time with that, and a state school has no power to do anything of the sort. There are minimum attendance requirements which parents must meet, but court proceedings are required to impose penalties on parents under that law. A few days off school (for skiing or anything else) is not in itself going to offend against that law anyway.
The question of removal of children from school for eg skiing holidays is not as simple as it might appear and probably deserves more thought than those who do it (including me) generally give it. I particularly like the 'They learn far more on a skiing hoiliday than they would in the classroon.' line. Yeah, right. If that's true, they're at the wrong school. Still, what's a few days out?
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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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| Quote: |
| 'They learn far more on a skiing hoiliday than they would in the classroon.' line. Yeah, right. If that's true, they're at the wrong school. |
You should examine some other European countries attitutes to schooling before you make such flippant statements.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Does anyone know if the new single half term of 14-21 also hold for public schools?? It will be an absolute nightmare on the roads if there is just one term week this year...
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| richmond wrote: |
| How on earth do they imagine that they can enforce that? Even a private school would have a hard time with that, and a state school has no power to do anything of the sort. |
I suspect that you will find that the LEA do have the power.
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Have in the past taken the boys out of school for the odd week when they were younger,but as they are now 16 and 14 and have their o/a -levels (or whatever they are now called!) coming up am not too keen to do so ,think the school are pretty reluctant on agreeing to time off for hols at this age also.
RobW, looked at Seattle,but that's a similar price,in my experience these rarely go down ,especially as they know it's half-term week!
Didn't realise the whole of the country were off at the same time next year,thought it was going to be staggered again like this year,guess we'll all have to grin and bear costs and crowds if we want to go away at that time of year,
As i said earlier can't wait for when they leave school,not long now 
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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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| thefatcontroller wrote: |
| Quote: |
| 'They learn far more on a skiing hoiliday than they would in the classroon.' line. Yeah, right. If that's true, they're at the wrong school. |
You should examine some other European countries attitutes to schooling before you make such flippant statements. |
I wasn't being flippant and i have a cursory knowledge of other countries' primary education systems (and I strongly agree with pam w that kids in UK start school much too early). I'm not suggesting that learning is only to be done in school classrooms, but the suggestion that kids on skiing hols learn anything of note (apart from how to ski, of course, a useful accomplishment) is incorrect in, I guess, 99% of cases.
We've been through this before, I think. There seem to be 3 schools of thought. Those who think it's wrong (educationally) to take kids out of school to ski (or the like) and don't do it, those who try to justify doing it on the (almost entirely spurious, IMO) grounds that it is an education in itself and those who think it's probably unjustifiable but do it anyway (like me).
Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Thu 28-02-08 11:23; edited 5 times in total
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skimottaret, it will be the same week in our area, as many send children to local primary schools, and have elder siblings in private education, so they normally take the same weeks as the LEAs at half-term, although often have an extra week at Xmas and Easter, as well as 8 summer weeks.
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FAQ
hmmmm, I wonder why that other thread was started?
) you just have to get a form. It is 2 or 3 weeks I think.
