KLexpat Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 Hi, I'm just wondering how strict Aussie schools are with absences. With the long holidays being over Christmas time I expect a lot travel home to the UK then. However, I have lived abroad already for 8 years in a tropical climate and avoid winter in the UK at all costs, especially with the kids as they often get sick. Our children are 1 & 4 at the moment but our eldest daughter will start school next year in Aus, (all being well that we move there by then!) I know the UK has really clamped down on this lately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northernbird Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 I've never heard of issues in state schools, certainly not at primary level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicF Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 It might vary from state to state, but here in SA the head teacher at my kids school was pretty supportive about us taking the kids out if school for a week and 2 days at the end if term for our trip to the UK. We had to complete a form to do so but there were no problems with us taking them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 Ive never had an issue and if more than a couple of days they offer to send some work home. Cal x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KLexpat Posted July 16, 2014 Author Share Posted July 16, 2014 Thanks everyone! It's sometimes hard sticking to the school holidays when you live so far from family and friends back at "home". The school year follows a similar pattern to Aus here, so I'm taking my daughter out of preschool for our trip back to the UK soon. She even gets homework but they are more than fine with it here. As she gets older I doubt we'll do it as often but its good to have that option. I travel to the UK once a year from here but I will probably only be able to do it every few years from Aus, so it won't be every year. My hubby was told by a work colleague you weren't allowed to take them out of school! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northernbird Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 Thanks everyone! It's sometimes hard sticking to the school holidays when you live so far from family and friends back at "home". The school year follows a similar pattern to Aus here, so I'm taking my daughter out of preschool for our trip back to the UK soon. She even gets homework but they are more than fine with it here. As she gets older I doubt we'll do it as often but its good to have that option. I travel to the UK once a year from here but I will probably only be able to do it every few years from Aus, so it won't be every year. My hubby was told by a work colleague you weren't allowed to take them out of school! Private schools tend to be a bit stricter, particularly with high school aged children but in my experience as long as you write to the Principal in plenty of time then there is usually no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucharmily Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 Not a problem in our (private) primary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKC Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 We have taken our girls out of school, and most of our friends do too. It hasn't been an issue. I think with our school, we are okay to take them out of school without permission for two weeks, but anything in excess of that required permission, although I wouldn't think it would be a problem. Our eldest daughters best friend was taken out of school for a two week holiday when she should have been doing NAPLAN, and that wasn't a problem either (although NAPLAN isn't compulsory anyway). High schools are a bit more strict I would think. We took the girls out of school last year for a holiday to the UK, because of the days that OH could get and the length of the holiday, they had one week out of school and then two weeks of the school holidays. I asked both teachers for some work to take, but both agreed that since it was their first visit to the place that they were born, in their living memory (they were 1 and 2 when we migrated), that the trip would be an education in itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 I don't think Primary schools mind at all. Secondary school were pretty good with both of our kids. We gave them as much notice as we could, had a chat with teachers and made sure it wasn't a time leading up to exams or anything. You have to try and do right by the school and your kids. Everyone has a job to do and if you are reasonable about requests we found that the teachers and school would give them work to do while they were away. We used to make sure they did it too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosiew Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 I've never had an issue. I know that a few schools frown on it, but it is not a fining issue like it is in the UK. At the end of the day the teachers tend to think that travel is educational. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammy1 Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 It is about to get stricter. In WA we have too many British parents that take their children out of school for five weeks at a time to go back to the UK. They then take their kids for another two weeks to Bali and so on..... It is actually getting ridiculous and yes we do mind as the students find it extremely hard to catch up. Travel certainly can be educational and a couple of weeks is fine, but the continual withdrawal of children to go on more than one a holiday in a term is not on. Interestingly it is these very same parents that have an issue if their children do not receive particularly good grades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newjez Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 It is about to get stricter. In WA we have too many British parents that take their children out of school for five weeks at a time to go back to the UK. They then take their kids for another two weeks to Bali and so on..... It is actually getting ridiculous and yes we do mind as the students find it extremely hard to catch up. Travel certainly can be educational and a couple of weeks is fine, but the continual withdrawal of children to go on more than one a holiday in a term is not on. Interestingly it is these very same parents that have an issue if their children do not receive particularly good grades. Whilst holidays are educational, education is built on blocks, and if you miss a block it can be hard to recover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucharmily Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 Whilst holidays are educational, education is built on blocks, and if you miss a block it can be hard to recover. Agreed. 5 plus weeks is definately pushing what I would define as a reasonable holiday absence. Wish we could afford 2 overseas holidays a year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 Children in this state who travel for an extended period sign on to eSchool (the Distance Learning Program) and continue to follow the same curriculum they would have at their own school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammy1 Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 Children in this state who travel for an extended period sign on to eSchool (the Distance Learning Program) and continue to follow the same curriculum they would have at their own school. We have something very similar for students that travel around Australia for a year or six months at a time. However, it is the continual vacationers who are the issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newjez Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 Children in this state who travel for an extended period sign on to eSchool (the Distance Learning Program) and continue to follow the same curriculum they would have at their own school. Elearning is one area I think the UK could do better at. There are some brilliant sites that they use, but the whole thing comes across as disjointed and half hearted. We need a national elearning approach that supports the national curriculum. It shouldn't really be necessary for kids to attend every class everyday in this day and age. Bring on the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 My grandchildren have gone to Tokyo for 3 months- school gave them their blessing and said they would learn more there than they ever would in school. Which I am sure is true. They are grade1, 3 and 5 respectively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 It is about to get stricter. In WA we have too many British parents that take their children out of school for five weeks at a time to go back to the UK. They then take their kids for another two weeks to Bali and so on..... It is actually getting ridiculous and yes we do mind as the students find it extremely hard to catch up. Travel certainly can be educational and a couple of weeks is fine, but the continual withdrawal of children to go on more than one a holiday in a term is not on. Interestingly it is these very same parents that have an issue if their children do not receive particularly good grades. Agree Sammy. People take things to extremes don't they. They suddenly think a favour is a right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumpkin Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 It is about to get stricter. In WA we have too many British parents that take their children out of school for five weeks at a time to go back to the UK. They then take their kids for another two weeks to Bali and so on..... It is actually getting ridiculous and yes we do mind as the students find it extremely hard to catch up. Travel certainly can be educational and a couple of weeks is fine, but the continual withdrawal of children to go on more than one a holiday in a term is not on. Interestingly it is these very same parents that have an issue if their children do not receive particularly good grades. Well said Sammy. To be honest I question how educational many holidays will be (Bali, Disneyland..?) and in any case there is a best of both worlds to be had. I can still remember trying to catch up after being sick, even in primary school over 30 years ago! Although I appreciate not everyone is concerned with academic achievement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyman Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 we are on holiday ! ..........but yes in secondary school I believe the child has to get each teacher to sign a form allowing them to take leave (we did for a uk funeral),they do send work home with you to take on your holiday that I do know and in primary its polite to ask ...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 We never cared about it with our kids- at one stage we spent 6 months travelling. They all went to uni and did well at school - travel broadens the mind as they say. Having said that, I wouldn't have taken them out in either Year 11 or Year 12. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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