Children Must Not Take a Week‘s Holiday (unless there are ‘exceptional circumstances‘) but Schools and Councils Can Take a Year of a Child’s Education (and any year will do).
This tragic irony has not escaped parents of summer born children whose much-wanted education is being stolen from them under the guise of ‘flexibility‘ and ‘choice‘, but today this irony went one step further in the Department for Education response to the e-petition to Reverse Ban on Holiday’s During School Term Time. It said,“The law requires parents to ensure their school registered children (age between 5 and 16) to attend school regularly.”
Actually in our experience, this is from age 4, not 5….
“The Government believes that pupils are most successful in school when they can follow an uninterrupted programme of study with their peers, consolidate their newly acquired knowledge or skills, and apply them before moving on…”
So why is the DfE doing nothing about children who are forced out of one year group, away from their peers, and made to skip a whole year of their education?
“This cannot be achieved if their education is being disrupted unnecessarily…”
We agree completely – so what are you going to do to help our children?
“Most schools have 190 days of compulsory education in their academic year…”
Yes, and we’d like to ensure that our summer born children have fair and equal access to each and everyone of those 190 days – every year, for the full 7 years of primary school and the full 5 years of secondary school.
Or does the DfE believe, in the face of incontrovertible evidence on the disadvantages experienced by summer born children, that allowing schools and councils to take away one year of their education – on top of everything else – is more acceptable than parents who take their children away for some fun in the sun (or snow)?
summerbornchildren 
Great post and an important point – neatly made. Honestly, are these people insane? There is no justification for forcing a child to skip a year. And they know it! They have admitted so in this petition response. So why is it still happening?!
LikeLike
This is completely discriminatory against summer born children. SEN children are afforded the right of discrimination under the Equality Act (2010) as any school removing a deceleration and not affording “reasonable adjustment” would hold weight at Tribunal. So how can this not be viewed as anything other than discriminatory in relation to summer born – non SEN – children? Surely their right to a continuous National Curriculum is protected under the Equality Act (2010) and Children’s rights to access a education generally.
LikeLike
Agree with all the points raised in this article. Keep going girls hopefully this will spur them on to change the law. I think it will happen too late for my little boy but even so, let’s get it done for all the other children suffering at the hands of Gove’s ludicrous policy making!
LikeLike
I am currently battling against my local authority to have my daughter admitted into reception class at aged 5 in September 2015. Currently the local authority won’t make a decision until next year. This ultimately doesn’t offer me the opportunity to make an informed choice, if they refuse entry into reception and has to start in year 1 she will MISS A WHOLE SCHOOL YEAR…and if they do agree it I have been threatened with my daughter being made to skip a year…and apparently… “pupils are most successful in school when they can follow an uninterrupted programme of study”…ahhh I see…so why would they make our SummerBorn children skip a year or even miss the vital school year that is reception if the deferal isint agreed?! It doesn’t make sense…just because we want to start our children at compulsory school age shouldn’t mean we have to face this ongoing battle and challenge we face, we are not only messing with our children’s lives but the whole family’s. It’s a continuous emotional battle, each day wondering what the outcome will be.
LikeLike
Pingback: Illogical Policy: No Warnings, Fines or Imprisonment for us – our Summer Born children ‘MUST’ miss a Year of Education | summerbornchildren
Pingback: Due Date Demands Add Unnecessary Administration to Summer Born Admissions | summerbornchildren