Tell that to the government and the teaching unions.
A week isn't an especially long time either. If circumstances require it why not 5.6 weeks? If it's appropriate to take 5.6 weeks holiday throughout the year, why should those denied holidays during school holidays be denied that?
The idea that teachers could get through the school syllabus each term with each of their pupils absent for 5.6 weeks a year in termtime is absurd. The whole reason there are set holiday times for schools is so that every class follows the same syllabus and the same timetable, without it the educational system would effectively collapse. The average family takes 2 weeks for their main holiday, that is compromise enough
Some kids manage to get through the school year homeschooled and absent for 52 weeks a year. The teacher should.be able to plow on with the syllabus so long as the absent family guarantees to.catch up it doesn't matter if it was for 1, 2, 13 or 52 weeks.
Forget a day or a week, if a child moves here from the southern hemisphere they either jump ahead six months or are held back six months. I skipped ahead 18 months of schooling when I was young and it did me no harm. Later on I skipped another year for maths and was doing at 13 the maths of a 16 year old. Some children are different to others. Some families are different to others.
You can only homeschool if you are sufficiently educated to tutor your pupils (and councils are legally able to check the quality of your tutoring) and while it may be relatively easy for those with parents with degrees and even postgraduate degrees to help their children to catch up that is by no means the case with those with parents who may have few if any educational qualifications and it is those children the law was designed to help
And this is the problem! The law treats everyone as a moron rather than having discretion. It acts as if everyone is unable to help their kids catch up and everyone is able to take holidays outside of term time. Both assumptions are fallacious.
If the law was what it used to be... give discretion to head teachers to make reasonable decisions then that would be sane.
Actually, the implied assumption is that only the state can provide.... The Labour Party even wants the State to feed all primary schoolchildren, as well as educate them.
88% was always on offer. The EU did not prevent Germany from becoming the world's no.1 exporter. Stop making excuses.
88% is not in offer in the terms we can secure, and the Germans have wangled themselves a lovely angle on currency.
Oh yes, repeat that again. You do not know how ignorant you are.
Jan 4, 1999 £1 = €1.4067
Yesterday £1 = 1.1703
Relative to the pound, it is the Euro which has appreciated.
I think you will find it is sterling which is the sick currency and the UK has had the advantage of the weaker currency for exports. German exports are despite having the stronger currency.
You are saying Germany has done well despite the Euro? Well, it's a view.
Received wisdom is often wrong. People seem to have quickly forgotten that at the time Germany joined the Euro it was called the sick man of Europe and there was a lot of angst about it having gone in at a rate that was too high. They had to go through a phase of internal devaluation to regain competitiveness.
But we are quoting exchange rates now. Germany undoubtedly benefits from the current arrangement.
So why did Britain not do even better with the help of a devaluation of 23€cents ? The answer lies in our hopeless productivity. Read the article in today's Times: "No sign of solution to the productivity puzzle" On PPP basis , the minimum wage in France is $11.20, Germany $10.30, UK $8.40.
So, how can they compete ?
Minutes taken to match value of a British working hour:
Germany 44.02, France 46.37, UK 60.
That's how!
When i were a lad, if you wanted your car washed, you went through a car washing machine at a garage, with big spinning mechanical brushes. Now, the norm in many areas is a hand car wash from European immigrants for a fiver. So there is at least one instance where unskilled immigration has sent us backwards technologically and reduced our productivity.
We have both - a modern soft wash automated car wash operated by hard working and efficient Europeans
Tell that to the government and the teaching unions.
A week isn't an especially long time either. If circumstances require it why not 5.6 weeks? If it's appropriate to take 5.6 weeks holiday throughout the year, why should those denied holidays during school holidays be denied that?
The idea that teachers could get through the school syllabus each term with each of their pupils absent for 5.6 weeks a year in termtime is absurd. The whole reason there are set holiday times for schools is so that every class follows the same syllabus and the same timetable, without it the educational system would effectively collapse. The average family takes 2 weeks for their main holiday, that is compromise enough
Some kids manage to get through the school year homeschooled and absent for 52 weeks a year. The teacher should.be able to plow on with the syllabus so long as the absent family guarantees to.catch up it doesn't matter if it was for 1, 2, 13 or 52 weeks.
Forget a day or a week, if a child moves here from the southern hemisphere they either jump ahead six months or are held back six months. I skipped ahead 18 months of schooling when I was young and it did me no harm. Later on I skipped another year for maths and was doing at 13 the maths of a 16 year old. Some children are different to others. Some families are different to others.
You can only homeschool if you are sufficiently educated to tutor your pupils (and councils are legally able to check the quality of your tutoring) and while it may be relatively easy for those with parents with degrees and even postgraduate degrees to help their children to catch up that is by no means the case with those with parents who may have few if any educational qualifications and it is those children the law was designed to help
And this is the problem! The law treats everyone as a moron rather than having discretion. It acts as if everyone is unable to help their kids catch up and everyone is able to take holidays outside of term time. Both assumptions are fallacious.
If the law was what it used to be... give discretion to head teachers to make reasonable decisions then that would be sane.
The law is the law, you cannot allow it for some parents but not others
Dorset 2013 result Con 27 Lab 5 LD 12 UKIP 1 No boundary changes My forecast Con 26 Lab 2 LD 16 Green 1
Devon 2013 result Con 38 Lab 7 LD 9 UKIP 4 Green 1 Ind 3 Boundary changes 2 fewer councillors new notional result Con 37 Lab 7 LD 8 UKIP 4 Green 1 Ind 3 My forecast Con 37 Lab 5 LD 15 UKIP 0 Ind 3
Cambs 2013 result Con 32 Lab 7 LD 14 UKIP 12 Ind 4 Boundary changes 8 fewer councillors notional result Con 28 Lab 6 LD 12 UKIP 11 Ind 4 My forecast Con 33 Lab 5 LD 18 UKIP 2 Ind 3
Oxon 2013 result Con 31 Lab 15 LD 11 Green 2 Ind 4 No boundary changes My forecast Con 32 Lab 13 LD 14 Green 2 Ind 2
Bucks 2013 result Con 36 Lab 1 LD 5 UKIP 6 Ind 1 No boundary changes My forecast Con 39 LD 8 UKIP 1 Ind 1
Northants 2013 result Con 36 Lab 11 LD 6 UKIP 3 Ind 1 No boundary changes My forecast Con 40 Lab 9 LD 6 Ind 2
Somerset 2013 result Con 29 Lab 3 LD 18 UKIP 3 Ind 2 No boundary changes My forecast Con 24 Lab 3 LD 26 UKIP 0 Ind 2
Herts 2013 result Con 46 Lab 15 LD 16 Boundary changes 1 more seat notional Con 47 Lab 15 LD 16 My forecast Con 49 Lab 10 LD 19
When i were a lad, if you wanted your car washed, you went through a car washing machine at a garage, with big spinning mechanical brushes. Now, the norm in many areas is a hand car wash from European immigrants for a fiver. So there is at least one instance where unskilled immigration has sent us backwards technologically and reduced our productivity.
Weirdly, enough, it's not that simple. The spinny-brushes much beloved by sitcom writers ("Oh no! The vicar's left the window down! What a palaver and no mistake, eh Spotty!") were comparatively expensive and rare: in my lifetime I've only ever seen two. So most people washed their own car: or, it being Britain, let the rain wash it. So these days the total productivity went up
Having said that, sending Diane Abbott on to QT on a day when the injustice of private schools is top of the agenda was maybe not that well-thought-through....
Just a little note about the French election. Both the DGSE and DGSI get their feet wet in the French political scene.
Fillon under investigation, Le Pen under investigation.
Is there a common thread with those two?
Syria: The US military has dusted down its plans from 2013. One of the strike options would bomb Assad's capabilities back to the stone age. The military may well do their best to get Trump to buy into that one, but its a long shot.
Agreement with Russia for some kind of signaling strike? Would be handy and certainly talks are going on, but the US could put in an effort within 48 hours if they so wish that the Russians would have no direct answer to on the ground and are unlikely to confront.
What am I doing with my life... I'm watching Question Time..
You know those philosophical arguments about the number of angels dancing on the head of a pin, and the sound of one hand clapping, and all that sort of thing?
Well, the next time you find yourself lying wake at 3:30 in the morning, try to work out which is worse - Question Time on TV or Any Questions? on Radio 4. It's really difficult to come to a definitive conclusion.....
Just a little note about the French election. Both the DGSE and DGSI get their feet wet in the French political scene.
Fillon under investigation, Le Pen under investigation.
Is there a common thread with those two?
Syria: The US military has dusted down its plans from 2013. One of the strike options would bomb Assad's capabilities back to the stone age. The military may well do their best to get Trump to buy into that one, but its a long shot.
Agreement with Russia for some kind of signaling strike? Would be handy and certainly talks are going on, but the US could put in an effort within 48 hours if they so wish that the Russians would have no direct answer to on the ground and are unlikely to confront.
Yes, they are both rightwing and the government is socialist
The US may do a token strike but Trump really has no interest in replacing Assad in the short-term
Having said that, sending Diane Abbott on to QT on a day when the injustice of private schools is top of the agenda was maybe not that well-thought-through....
She graciously said she would have paid VAT on the £10,000 a year she spent on educating her son privately
More than 1,000 Jewish Labour members and supporters have written to the Guardian condemning the decision not to expel Ken Livingstone over his comments linking Adolf Hitler with Zionism, in a move putting more pressure on the party leadership to take urgent action.
Just a little note about the French election. Both the DGSE and DGSI get their feet wet in the French political scene.
Fillon under investigation, Le Pen under investigation.
Is there a common thread with those two?
Syria: The US military has dusted down its plans from 2013. One of the strike options would bomb Assad's capabilities back to the stone age. The military may well do their best to get Trump to buy into that one, but its a long shot.
Agreement with Russia for some kind of signaling strike? Would be handy and certainly talks are going on, but the US could put in an effort within 48 hours if they so wish that the Russians would have no direct answer to on the ground and are unlikely to confront.
Yes, they are both rightwing and the government is socialist
The US may do a token strike but Trump really has no interest in replacing Assad in the short-term
It isn't about replacing Assad, yet. Its about showing him and everybody else who is boss. The US can launch a one time but heavy hit or spend a few days at it.
On another note, lot of activity around a nuclear test site in North Korea. Perhaps timing is everything if the fat kid wishes to have a test.
Just a little note about the French election. Both the DGSE and DGSI get their feet wet in the French political scene.
Fillon under investigation, Le Pen under investigation.
Is there a common thread with those two?
Syria: The US military has dusted down its plans from 2013. One of the strike options would bomb Assad's capabilities back to the stone age. The military may well do their best to get Trump to buy into that one, but its a long shot.
Agreement with Russia for some kind of signaling strike? Would be handy and certainly talks are going on, but the US could put in an effort within 48 hours if they so wish that the Russians would have no direct answer to on the ground and are unlikely to confront.
Yes, they are both rightwing and the government is socialist
The US may do a token strike but Trump really has no interest in replacing Assad in the short-term
It isn't about replacing Assad, yet. Its about showing him and everybody else who is boss. The US can launch a one time but heavy hit or spend a few days at it.
On another note, lot of activity around a nuclear test site in North Korea. Perhaps timing is everything if the fat kid wishes to have a test.
I can't imagine what pressure the scientists are under. If fatty fatty bum bum's new toys don't work, you know you are in for the chop.
Finally the Unitaries There are no boundary changes
.....
Cornwall 2013 result Con 31 Lab 8 LD 36 UKIP 6 Green 1 Meb K 4 Ind 37 My forecast Con 24 Lab 3 LD 62 UKIP 0 Green 1 Meb K 4 Ind 29
I confess to being mildly surprised by these Cornish figures, Mark - there seem to be disproportionately more seats changing hands here than anywhere else.
Finally the Unitaries There are no boundary changes
.....
Cornwall 2013 result Con 31 Lab 8 LD 36 UKIP 6 Green 1 Meb K 4 Ind 37 My forecast Con 24 Lab 3 LD 62 UKIP 0 Green 1 Meb K 4 Ind 29
I confess to being mildly surprised by these Cornish figures, Mark - there seem to be disproportionately more seats changing hands here than anywhere else.
For the first time ever , the Lib Dems are contesting every seat . Through by election gains they are already on 44 seats
Finally the Unitaries There are no boundary changes
.....
Cornwall 2013 result Con 31 Lab 8 LD 36 UKIP 6 Green 1 Meb K 4 Ind 37 My forecast Con 24 Lab 3 LD 62 UKIP 0 Green 1 Meb K 4 Ind 29
I confess to being mildly surprised by these Cornish figures, Mark - there seem to be disproportionately more seats changing hands here than anywhere else.
For the first time ever , the Lib Dems are contesting every seat . Through by election gains they are already on 44 seats
Just a little note about the French election. Both the DGSE and DGSI get their feet wet in the French political scene.
Fillon under investigation, Le Pen under investigation.
Is there a common thread with those two?
Syria: The US military has dusted down its plans from 2013. One of the strike options would bomb Assad's capabilities back to the stone age. The military may well do their best to get Trump to buy into that one, but its a long shot.
Agreement with Russia for some kind of signaling strike? Would be handy and certainly talks are going on, but the US could put in an effort within 48 hours if they so wish that the Russians would have no direct answer to on the ground and are unlikely to confront.
Yes, they are both rightwing and the government is socialist
The US may do a token strike but Trump really has no interest in replacing Assad in the short-term
It isn't about replacing Assad, yet. Its about showing him and everybody else who is boss. The US can launch a one time but heavy hit or spend a few days at it.
On another note, lot of activity around a nuclear test site in North Korea. Perhaps timing is everything if the fat kid wishes to have a test.
If Trump is ready to hit Assad he would certainly hit Kim Jong Un
Finally the Unitaries There are no boundary changes
Wilts 2013 result Con 58 Lab 4 LD 27 UKIP 1 Ind 8 My forecast Con 54 Lab 4 LD 28 Ind 12
Cornwall 2013 result Con 31 Lab 8 LD 36 UKIP 6 Green 1 Meb K 4 Ind 37 My forecast Con 24 Lab 3 LD 62 UKIP 0 Green 1 Meb K 4 Ind 29
LD maj in Cornwall even? Very impressive if they can do it.
Must say I'd be surprised to see Lab retain 4 in Wiltshire, though the one with a maj of 1 vote may have a better chance than thought thanks to a former Con Indy standing, but I'm guessing very very close to that:
Finally the Unitaries There are no boundary changes
Wilts 2013 result Con 58 Lab 4 LD 27 UKIP 1 Ind 8 My forecast Con 54 Lab 4 LD 28 Ind 12
Cornwall 2013 result Con 31 Lab 8 LD 36 UKIP 6 Green 1 Meb K 4 Ind 37 My forecast Con 24 Lab 3 LD 62 UKIP 0 Green 1 Meb K 4 Ind 29
LD maj in Cornwall even? Very impressive if they can do it.
Must say I'd be surprised to see Lab retain 4 in Wiltshire, though the one with a maj of 1 vote may have a better chance than thought thanks to a former Con Indy standing, but I'm guessing very very close to that:
Finally the Unitaries There are no boundary changes
Wilts 2013 result Con 58 Lab 4 LD 27 UKIP 1 Ind 8 My forecast Con 54 Lab 4 LD 28 Ind 12
Cornwall 2013 result Con 31 Lab 8 LD 36 UKIP 6 Green 1 Meb K 4 Ind 37 My forecast Con 24 Lab 3 LD 62 UKIP 0 Green 1 Meb K 4 Ind 29
LD maj in Cornwall even? Very impressive if they can do it.
Must say I'd be surprised to see Lab retain 4 in Wiltshire, though the one with a maj of 1 vote may have a better chance than thought thanks to a former Con Indy standing, but I'm guessing very very close to that:
Con 55, LD 29, Lab 3, Ind, 11
(Lib Dem majority of One, I think...)
In a unitary that size, with that many independents, impressive nevertheless.
@britainelects: St James (Tendring) result: CON: 47.9% (+12.7) UKIP: 22.5% (-16.3) LAB: 15.0% (-1.0) LDEM: 12.8% (+12.8) GRN: 1.9% (+1.9)
TORY SURGE!!!
LD surge was bigger!!
Doesn't count if they didn't stand last time (unless they go from nothing to contending for the win or achieving it - and even then the numbers don't count but it could be called a surge).
Tell that to the government and the teaching unions.
A week isn't an especially long time either. If circumstances require it why not 5.6 weeks? If it's appropriate to take 5.6 weeks holiday throughout the year, why should those denied holidays during school holidays be denied that?
The idea that teachers could get through the school syllabus each term with each of their pupils absent for 5.6 weeks a year in termtime is absurd. The whole reason there are set holiday times for schools is so that every class follows the same syllabus and the same timetable, without it the educational system would effectively collapse. The average family takes 2 weeks for their main holiday, that is compromise enough
Some kids manage to get through the school year homeschooled and absent for 52 weeks a year. The teacher should.be able to plow on with the syllabus so long as the absent family guarantees to.catch up it doesn't matter if it was for 1, 2, 13 or 52 weeks.
Forget a day or a week, if a child moves here from the southern hemisphere they either jump ahead six months or are held back six months. I skipped ahead 18 months of schooling when I was young and it did me no harm. Later on I skipped another year for maths and was doing at 13 the maths of a 16 year old. Some children are different to others. Some families are different to others.
You can only homeschool if you are sufficiently educated to tutor your pupils (and councils are legally able to check the quality of your tutoring) and while it may be relatively easy for those with parents with degrees and even postgraduate degrees to help their children to catch up that is by no means the case with those with parents who may have few if any educational qualifications and it is those children the law was designed to help
Unless the laws have changed in the last five years they have absolutely no right to tell you how you educate your child. In fact they have virtually no rights of inspection. And you need no qualifications.
Well respect to Mark Senior for making public his predictions.
Its a brave effort to go all-in on something as ephemeral as council by-elections and to assume that the opinion polls are totally wrong.
If Mark is right then he will deserve all the plaudits.
If.
I think my predictions are not that far off those of Rallings and Thrasher , they will not be 100% right but I think they will be in the right ballpark
Just a little note about the French election. Both the DGSE and DGSI get their feet wet in the French political scene.
Fillon under investigation, Le Pen under investigation.
Is there a common thread with those two?
Syria: The US military has dusted down its plans from 2013. One of the strike options would bomb Assad's capabilities back to the stone age. The military may well do their best to get Trump to buy into that one, but its a long shot.
Agreement with Russia for some kind of signaling strike? Would be handy and certainly talks are going on, but the US could put in an effort within 48 hours if they so wish that the Russians would have no direct answer to on the ground and are unlikely to confront.
Yes, they are both rightwing and the government is socialist
The US may do a token strike but Trump really has no interest in replacing Assad in the short-term
It isn't about replacing Assad, yet. Its about showing him and everybody else who is boss. The US can launch a one time but heavy hit or spend a few days at it.
On another note, lot of activity around a nuclear test site in North Korea. Perhaps timing is everything if the fat kid wishes to have a test.
If Trump is ready to hit Assad he would certainly hit Kim Jong Un
Kim Jong Un potentially has a nuclear weapon and certainly has enough conventional weaponry to level Seoul and to hit Tokyo. It's not quite Mutually Assured Destruction, but its pretty close to sacrifice your allies by launching a first strike at Kim Jong Un.
If Assad had the weaponry to flatten Tel Aviv and Jerusalem then there would not be a strike against him. He doesn't.
And this is the problem! The law treats everyone as a moron rather than having discretion. It acts as if everyone is unable to help their kids catch up and everyone is able to take holidays outside of term time. Both assumptions are fallacious.
If the law was what it used to be... give discretion to head teachers to make reasonable decisions then that would be sane.
The law is the law, you cannot allow it for some parents but not others
You can allow the school and parents the flexibility to make reasonable compromises based on the child's situation rather than one-size-fits-all nonsense. As the law used to be.
The idea of "reasonable" people/actions are quite standard in our Common Law system anyway.
Well respect to Mark Senior for making public his predictions.
Its a brave effort to go all-in on something as ephemeral as council by-elections and to assume that the opinion polls are totally wrong.
If Mark is right then he will deserve all the plaudits.
If.
I think my predictions are not that far off those of Rallings and Thrasher , they will not be 100% right but I think they will be in the right ballpark
What are your thoughts on the Scottish and Welsh local elections? I'd have thought that the changes there will dwarf those in England this year?
Well respect to Mark Senior for making public his predictions.
Its a brave effort to go all-in on something as ephemeral as council by-elections and to assume that the opinion polls are totally wrong.
If Mark is right then he will deserve all the plaudits.
If.
I think my predictions are not that far off those of Rallings and Thrasher , they will not be 100% right but I think they will be in the right ballpark
John Curtice seemed to be expecting differently with his mention of a 12% swing in the opinion polls since 2013.
Judging by your predictions you seem to expect hardly any Labour to Conservative swing, that appears to be unlikely. Especially as the opinion polls at the end of March have proven to be a good indicator of the May local elections.
Tell that to the government and the teaching unions.
A week isn't an especially long time either. If circumstances require it why not 5.6 weeks? If it's appropriate to take 5.6 weeks holiday throughout the year, why should those denied holidays during school holidays be denied that?
The idea that teachers could get through the school syllabus each term with each of their pupils absent for 5.6 weeks a year in termtime is absurd. The whole reason there are set holiday times for schools is so that every class follows the same syllabus and the same timetable, without it the educational system would effectively collapse. The average family takes 2 weeks for their main holiday, that is compromise enough
Some kids manage to get through the school year homeschooled and absent for 52 weeks a year. The teacher should.be able to plow on with the syllabus so long as the absent family guarantees to.catch up it doesn't matter if it was for 1, 2, 13 or 52 weeks.
Forget a day or a week, if a child moves here from the southern hemisphere they either jump ahead six months or are held back six months. I skipped ahead 18 months of schooling when I was young and it did me no harm. Later on I skipped another year for maths and was doing at 13 the maths of a 16 year old. Some children are different to others. Some families are different to others.
You can only homeschool if you are sufficiently educated to tutor your pupils (and councils are legally able to check the quality of your tutoring) and while it may be relatively easy for those with parents with degrees and even postgraduate degrees to help their children to catch up that is by no means the case with those with parents who may have few if any educational qualifications and it is those children the law was designed to help
Unless the laws have changed in the last five years they have absolutely no right to tell you how you educate your child. In fact they have virtually no rights of inspection. And you need no qualifications.
'The council can make an ‘informal enquiry’ to check your child is getting a suitable education at home. They can serve a school attendance order if they think your child needs to be taught at school.' https://www.gov.uk/home-education
Well respect to Mark Senior for making public his predictions.
Its a brave effort to go all-in on something as ephemeral as council by-elections and to assume that the opinion polls are totally wrong.
If Mark is right then he will deserve all the plaudits.
If.
I think my predictions are not that far off those of Rallings and Thrasher , they will not be 100% right but I think they will be in the right ballpark
What are your thoughts on the Scottish and Welsh local elections? I'd have thought that the changes there will dwarf those in England this year?
Still working on Wales . I gave figures for Scotland last week . I have not got them to hand but from memory they were around 90 Conservative gains and 10 Lib Dem gains with 150 Labour losses but memory may be faulty
Just a little note about the French election. Both the DGSE and DGSI get their feet wet in the French political scene.
Fillon under investigation, Le Pen under investigation.
Is there a common thread with those two?
Syria: The US military has dusted down its plans from 2013. One of the strike options would bomb Assad's capabilities back to the stone age. The military may well do their best to get Trump to buy into that one, but its a long shot.
Agreement with Russia for some kind of signaling strike? Would be handy and certainly talks are going on, but the US could put in an effort within 48 hours if they so wish that the Russians would have no direct answer to on the ground and are unlikely to confront.
Yes, they are both rightwing and the government is socialist
The US may do a token strike but Trump really has no interest in replacing Assad in the short-term
It isn't about replacing Assad, yet. Its about showing him and everybody else who is boss. The US can launch a one time but heavy hit or spend a few days at it.
On another note, lot of activity around a nuclear test site in North Korea. Perhaps timing is everything if the fat kid wishes to have a test.
If Trump is ready to hit Assad he would certainly hit Kim Jong Un
Kim Jong Un potentially has a nuclear weapon and certainly has enough conventional weaponry to level Seoul and to hit Tokyo. It's not quite Mutually Assured Destruction, but its pretty close to sacrifice your allies by launching a first strike at Kim Jong Un.
If Assad had the weaponry to flatten Tel Aviv and Jerusalem then there would not be a strike against him. He doesn't.
Key word potentially, if Kim Jong Un actually was allowed to develop fullscale nuclear weapons unchallenged especially in terms of minituarising a nuclear warhead it would be him who could launch the first strike on Seoul
Tell that to the government and the teaching unions.
A week isn't an especially long time either. If circumstances require it why not 5.6 weeks? If it's appropriate to take 5.6 weeks holiday throughout the year, why should those denied holidays during school holidays be denied that?
The idea that teachers could get through the school syllabus each term with each of their pupils absent for 5.6 weeks a year in termtime is absurd. The whole reason there are set holiday times for schools is so that every class follows the same syllabus and the same timetable, without it the educational system would effectively collapse. The average family takes 2 weeks for their main holiday, that is compromise enough
Some kids manage to get through the school year homeschooled and absent for 52 weeks a year. The teacher should.be able to plow on with the syllabus so long as the absent family guarantees to.catch up it doesn't matter if it was for 1, 2, 13 or 52 weeks.
Forget a day or a week, if a child moves here from the southern hemisphere they either jump ahead six months or are held back six months. I skipped ahead 18 months of schooling when I was young and it did me no harm. Later on I skipped another year for maths and was doing at 13 the maths of a 16 year old. Some children are different to others. Some families are different to others.
You can only homeschool if you are sufficiently educated to tutor your pupils (and councils are legally able to check the quality of your tutoring) and while it may be relatively easy for those with parents with degrees and even postgraduate degrees to help their children to catch up that is by no means the case with those with parents who may have few if any educational qualifications and it is those children the law was designed to help
And this is the problem! The law treats everyone as a moron rather than having discretion. It acts as if everyone is unable to help their kids catch up and everyone is able to take holidays outside of term time. Both assumptions are fallacious.
If the law was what it used to be... give discretion to head teachers to make reasonable decisions then that would be sane.
Actually, the implied assumption is that only the state can provide.... The Labour Party even wants the State to feed all primary schoolchildren, as well as educate them.
Precisely. Big Brother knows best. Seeing the world, expanding your mind by meeting new people, travelling across the world and seeing new curiosities etc couldn't possibly be more educational than sitting in a room with an "expert" now, could it?
Just a little note about the French election. Both the DGSE and DGSI get their feet wet in the French political scene.
Fillon under investigation, Le Pen under investigation.
Is there a common thread with those two?
Syria: The US military has dusted down its plans from 2013. One of the strike options would bomb Assad's capabilities back to the stone age. The military may well do their best to get Trump to buy into that one, but its a long shot.
Agreement with Russia for some kind of signaling strike? Would be handy and certainly talks are going on, but the US could put in an effort within 48 hours if they so wish that the Russians would have no direct answer to on the ground and are unlikely to confront.
Yes, they are both rightwing and the government is socialist
The US may do a token strike but Trump really has no interest in replacing Assad in the short-term
It isn't about replacing Assad, yet. Its about showing him and everybody else who is boss. The US can launch a one time but heavy hit or spend a few days at it.
On another note, lot of activity around a nuclear test site in North Korea. Perhaps timing is everything if the fat kid wishes to have a test.
If Trump is ready to hit Assad he would certainly hit Kim Jong Un
Kim Jong Un potentially has a nuclear weapon and certainly has enough conventional weaponry to level Seoul and to hit Tokyo. It's not quite Mutually Assured Destruction, but its pretty close to sacrifice your allies by launching a first strike at Kim Jong Un.
If Assad had the weaponry to flatten Tel Aviv and Jerusalem then there would not be a strike against him. He doesn't.
Key word potentially, if Kim Jong Un actually was allowed to develop fullscale nuclear weapons unchallenged it would be him who could launch the first strike on Seoul
He already has enough conventional weaponry to launch a first strike on Seoul, but it would be assured destruction if he did.
Just a little note about the French election. Both the DGSE and DGSI get their feet wet in the French political scene.
Fillon under investigation, Le Pen under investigation.
Is there a common thread with those two?
Syria: The US military has dusted down its plans from 2013. One of the strike options would bomb Assad's capabilities back to the stone age. The military may well do their best to get Trump to buy into that one, but its a long shot.
Agreement with Russia for some kind of signaling strike? Would be handy and certainly talks are going on, but the US could put in an effort within 48 hours if they so wish that the Russians would have no direct answer to on the ground and are unlikely to confront.
Yes, they are both rightwing and the government is socialist
The US may do a token strike but Trump really has no interest in replacing Assad in the short-term
It isn't about replacing Assad, yet. Its about showing him and everybody else who is boss. The US can launch a one time but heavy hit or spend a few days at it.
On another note, lot of activity around a nuclear test site in North Korea. Perhaps timing is everything if the fat kid wishes to have a test.
If Trump is ready to hit Assad he would certainly hit Kim Jong Un
Kim Jong Un potentially has a nuclear weapon and certainly has enough conventional weaponry to level Seoul and to hit Tokyo. It's not quite Mutually Assured Destruction, but its pretty close to sacrifice your allies by launching a first strike at Kim Jong Un.
If Assad had the weaponry to flatten Tel Aviv and Jerusalem then there would not be a strike against him. He doesn't.
Key word potentially, if Kim Jong Un actually was allowed to develop fullscale nuclear weapons unchallenged it would be him who could launch the first strike on Seoul
He already has enough conventional weaponry to launch a first strike on Seoul, but it would be assured destruction if he did.
Tell that to the government and the teaching unions.
A week isn't an especially long time either. If circumstances require it why not 5.6 weeks? If it's appropriate to take 5.6 weeks holiday throughout the year, why should those denied holidays during school holidays be denied that?
The idea that teachers could get through the school syllabus each term with each of their pupils absent for 5.6 weeks a year in termtime is absurd. The whole reason there are set holiday times for schools is so that every class follows the same syllabus and the same timetable, without it the educational system would effectively collapse. The average family takes 2 weeks for their main holiday, that is compromise enough
Some kids manage to get through the school year homeschooled and absent for 52 weeks a year. The teacher should.be able to plow on with the syllabus so long as the absent family guarantees to.catch up it doesn't matter if it was for 1, 2, 13 or 52 weeks.
Forget a day or a week, if a child moves here from the southern hemisphere they either jump ahead six months or are held back six months. I skipped ahead 18 months of schooling when I was young and it did me no harm. Later on I skipped another year for maths and was doing at 13 the maths of a 16 year old. Some children are different to others. Some families are different to others.
You can only homeschool if you are sufficiently educated to tutor your pupils (and councils are legally able to check the quality of your tutoring) and while it may be relatively easy for those with parents with degrees and even postgraduate degrees to help their children to catch up that is by no means the case with those with parents who may have few if any educational qualifications and it is those children the law was designed to help
And this is the problem! The law treats everyone as a moron rather than having discretion. It acts as if everyone is unable to help their kids catch up and everyone is able to take holidays outside of term time. Both assumptions are fallacious.
If the law was what it used to be... give discretion to head teachers to make reasonable decisions then that would be sane.
The law is the law, you cannot allow it for some parents but not others
When i were a lad, if you wanted your car washed, you went through a car washing machine at a garage, with big spinning mechanical brushes. Now, the norm in many areas is a hand car wash from European immigrants for a fiver. So there is at least one instance where unskilled immigration has sent us backwards technologically and reduced our productivity.
Weirdly, enough, it's not that simple. The spinny-brushes much beloved by sitcom writers ("Oh no! The vicar's left the window down! What a palaver and no mistake, eh Spotty!") were comparatively expensive and rare: in my lifetime I've only ever seen two. So most people washed their own car: or, it being Britain, let the rain wash it. So these days the total productivity went up
Just about every petrol station in my home town had them. They were not rare at all. Indeed even today there ae three petrol stations in the town that still have them in spite of the hand wash craze.
Well respect to Mark Senior for making public his predictions.
Its a brave effort to go all-in on something as ephemeral as council by-elections and to assume that the opinion polls are totally wrong.
If Mark is right then he will deserve all the plaudits.
If.
I think my predictions are not that far off those of Rallings and Thrasher , they will not be 100% right but I think they will be in the right ballpark
John Curtice seemed to be expecting differently with his mention of a 12% swing in the opinion polls since 2013.
Judging by your predictions you seem to expect hardly any Labour to Conservative swing, that appears to be unlikely. Especially as the opinion polls at the end of March have proven to be a good indicator of the May local elections.
There will not be a 12% swing in England in May . The seats that are up will not allow that kind of swing . 2009 actual vote share was
Con 43.5 % Lab 13.5 %
and 2013 actual vote share was
Con 34.5 % Lab 21.3%
a 12 % swing from 2013 would take Labour below 10% and their performance is nowhere near that bad . IMHO the actual swing Lab to Con will be around 5-6% 2013 to May
You can allow the school and parents the flexibility to make reasonable compromises based on the child's situation rather than one-size-fits-all nonsense. As the law used to be.
The idea of "reasonable" people/actions are quite standard in our Common Law system anyway.
I haven't read the full thread but clearly some people don't understand the current situation regarding term time holidays.
Head teachers can authorise time off in exceptional circumstances. The head teacher has complete discretion to decide whether a particular request should be granted. Some heads claim they do not have discretion but that is purely a tactic to deflect anger from parents when they refuse permission for term time holidays.
The law has fundamentally been the same since 1944 (and, as the Supreme Court points out, hasn't really changed significantly since 1880. Since the 1944 Education Act became law parents have been required to ensure regular attendance at school and can be convicted of an offence even if they are not aware that their child is failing to attend. The introduction of fixed penalties under Blair led to a clearer definition of the rules. The original regulations set by the Blair government allowed up to 10 days holiday in "special circumstances" with additional holiday in "exceptional circumstances". Many parents interpreted this as meaning that they had the right to 10 days holiday in term time although this was clearly not the government's intention. However, the idea took hold to the point where many head teachers, particularly in primary schools, felt unable to refuse term time holidays. As a result the current regulations were introduced removing the reference to "special circumstances".
Fines must be levied in line with the local authority's code of practice. I don't know of any LA that permits fines for a single day of absence. Most require multiple days absence before a fine will be triggered. The details vary from LA to LA but it is fairly common to require at least 5 days absence in a single term before parents are fined.
I note that some people seem to think this should not apply to primary school children. However, the evidence is that term time absence damages the child's education regardless of whether the child is 5 or 15. And, as the judgement of the Supreme Court points out, every time a child is absent it is disruptive to the whole class as the teacher has to put in additional effort to help the child catch up. Some teachers complained that, prior to the tightening of the rules, they faced continual disruption. In a class of 30 children, if they are all taking 10 days off in term time each year, you could go through a whole school year without ever having the entire class in attendance.
I note that some people seem to think this should not apply to primary school children. However, the evidence is that term time absence damages the child's education regardless of whether the child is 5 or 15. And, as the judgement of the Supreme Court points out, every time a child is absent it is disruptive to the whole class as the teacher has to put in additional effort to help the child catch up. Some teachers complained that, prior to the tightening of the rules, they faced continual disruption. In a class of 30 children, if they are all taking 10 days off in term time each year, you could go through a whole school year without ever having the entire class in attendance.
I call BS on this. Given that many countries don't even start their kids at school until 6 or 7 years old, the idea that taking a 6 year old out of school for 2 weeks for a holiday is going to damage their education is complete garbage.
Moreover due to serious illness I missed almost a whole term as an 8 year old. It had no negative effect on my education at all. Indeed I was so far ahead of where they expected me to be that the following year I jumped a year and went straight into year 6 where I had to stay for 2 years because I was not allowed to start senior school until I was 11.
This is simply all about head teachers wanting to hit their targets. It has absolutely nothing to do with children being harmed by taking a holiday.
When i were a lad, if you wanted your car washed, you went through a car washing machine at a garage, with big spinning mechanical brushes. Now, the norm in many areas is a hand car wash from European immigrants for a fiver. So there is at least one instance where unskilled immigration has sent us backwards technologically and reduced our productivity.
Weirdly, enough, it's not that simple. The spinny-brushes much beloved by sitcom writers ("Oh no! The vicar's left the window down! What a palaver and no mistake, eh Spotty!") were comparatively expensive and rare: in my lifetime I've only ever seen two. So most people washed their own car: or, it being Britain, let the rain wash it. So these days the total productivity went up
Just about every petrol station in my home town had them. They were not rare at all. Indeed even today there are three petrol stations in the town that still have them in spite of the hand wash craze.
How big is your home town? You don't have to tell me where it is: it's a honest question
This may simply be a case of different experiences. That line about me only ever having seen two of them is true: I have this image of Terry Scott in an Austin Princess and those handheld pumps that look like an alien, talking about the 8:20 to Liverpool Street.
I note that some people seem to think this should not apply to primary school children. However, the evidence is that term time absence damages the child's education regardless of whether the child is 5 or 15. And, as the judgement of the Supreme Court points out, every time a child is absent it is disruptive to the whole class as the teacher has to put in additional effort to help the child catch up. Some teachers complained that, prior to the tightening of the rules, they faced continual disruption. In a class of 30 children, if they are all taking 10 days off in term time each year, you could go through a whole school year without ever having the entire class in attendance.
I call BS on this. Given that many countries don't even start their kids at school until 6 or 7 years old, the idea that taking a 6 year old out of school for 2 weeks for a holiday is going to damage their education is complete garbage.
Moreover due to serious illness I missed almost a whole term as an 8 year old. It had no negative effect on my education at all. Indeed I was so far ahead of where they expected me to be that the following year I jumped a year and went straight into year 6 where I had to stay for 2 years because I was not allowed to start senior school until I was 11.
This is simply all about head teachers wanting to hit their targets. It has absolutely nothing to do with children being harmed by taking a holiday.
You may regard it as BS but there is plenty of research that backs it up. There may be some children that are less affected but, of course, the fact that a particular child performs well despite a lot of absence does not mean they have not suffered any negative effects. It could be that they would have done even better without the absence. Personally I prefer to trust peer-reviewed research rather than anecdotes.
When i were a lad, if you wanted your car washed, you went through a car washing machine at a garage, with big spinning mechanical brushes. Now, the norm in many areas is a hand car wash from European immigrants for a fiver. So there is at least one instance where unskilled immigration has sent us backwards technologically and reduced our productivity.
Weirdly, enough, it's not that simple. The spinny-brushes much beloved by sitcom writers ("Oh no! The vicar's left the window down! What a palaver and no mistake, eh Spotty!") were comparatively expensive and rare: in my lifetime I've only ever seen two. So most people washed their own car: or, it being Britain, let the rain wash it. So these days the total productivity went up
Just about every petrol station in my home town had them. They were not rare at all. Indeed even today there are three petrol stations in the town that still have them in spite of the hand wash craze.
How big is your home town? You don't have to tell me where it is: it's a honest question
This may simply be a case of different experiences. That line about me only ever having seen two of them is true: I have this image of Terry Scott in an Austin Princess and those handheld pumps that look like an alien, talking about the 8:20 to Liverpool Street.
Newark in Nottinghamshire. So around 30,000 people maybe these days. I actually live over the border in Lincolnshire now but Newark was where I grew up and lived for 40 odd years so I still think of it as home. I still take the kids to the car wash every once in a while as they love it and it has that strange feeling that the car is moving when it is stood still as the brushes pass. It is cheaper than buying them an Ipad.
Edit. I just went and looked on google for my own interest and the town has 5 automatic car washes. 3 Jet stations, A Shell Station and a BP station. I know of at least 2 others that existed up until 10 years ago.
I note that some people seem to think this should not apply to primary school children. However, the evidence is that term time absence damages the child's education regardless of whether the child is 5 or 15. And, as the judgement of the Supreme Court points out, every time a child is absent it is disruptive to the whole class as the teacher has to put in additional effort to help the child catch up. Some teachers complained that, prior to the tightening of the rules, they faced continual disruption. In a class of 30 children, if they are all taking 10 days off in term time each year, you could go through a whole school year without ever having the entire class in attendance.
I call BS on this. Given that many countries don't even start their kids at school until 6 or 7 years old, the idea that taking a 6 year old out of school for 2 weeks for a holiday is going to damage their education is complete garbage.
Moreover due to serious illness I missed almost a whole term as an 8 year old. It had no negative effect on my education at all. Indeed I was so far ahead of where they expected me to be that the following year I jumped a year and went straight into year 6 where I had to stay for 2 years because I was not allowed to start senior school until I was 11.
This is simply all about head teachers wanting to hit their targets. It has absolutely nothing to do with children being harmed by taking a holiday.
You may regard it as BS but there is plenty of research that backs it up. There may be some children that are less affected but, of course, the fact that a particular child performs well despite a lot of absence does not mean they have not suffered any negative effects. It could be that they would have done even better without the absence. Personally I prefer to trust peer-reviewed research rather than anecdotes.
So how do you account for the fact that the UK uniquely seems to suffer from this strange affliction whereby children who miss two weeks of school at the age of 6 are irreparably damaged? Why does this strange malady not effect the rest of Europe? Again I call BS.
Well respect to Mark Senior for making public his predictions.
Its a brave effort to go all-in on something as ephemeral as council by-elections and to assume that the opinion polls are totally wrong.
If Mark is right then he will deserve all the plaudits.
If.
I think my predictions are not that far off those of Rallings and Thrasher , they will not be 100% right but I think they will be in the right ballpark
John Curtice seemed to be expecting differently with his mention of a 12% swing in the opinion polls since 2013.
Judging by your predictions you seem to expect hardly any Labour to Conservative swing, that appears to be unlikely. Especially as the opinion polls at the end of March have proven to be a good indicator of the May local elections.
There will not be a 12% swing in England in May . The seats that are up will not allow that kind of swing . 2009 actual vote share was
Con 43.5 % Lab 13.5 %
and 2013 actual vote share was
Con 34.5 % Lab 21.3%
a 12 % swing from 2013 would take Labour below 10% and their performance is nowhere near that bad . IMHO the actual swing Lab to Con will be around 5-6% 2013 to May
Of course Labour can lose more than 12% - where it matters ie in Labour held wards.
Take Norfolk as an example.
These are the Labour held wards and the increase in the Labour vote percentage between 2009 and 2013:
Bowthorpe +24.8% Caister +6.0% Catton Grove +19.2% Clenchwarton +32.4% Crome +15.8% Gaywood S +17.0% Kings Lynn N +42.9% Lakenham +23.8% Magdalen +11.9% Mile Cross +15.3% Sewell +10.1% Town Close +25.8% University +21.9% Yarmouth N +9.3%
Comments
The Labour Party even wants the State to feed all primary schoolchildren, as well as educate them.
Dorset 2013 result
Con 27 Lab 5 LD 12 UKIP 1
No boundary changes
My forecast
Con 26 Lab 2 LD 16 Green 1
Devon 2013 result
Con 38 Lab 7 LD 9 UKIP 4 Green 1 Ind 3
Boundary changes 2 fewer councillors new notional result
Con 37 Lab 7 LD 8 UKIP 4 Green 1 Ind 3
My forecast
Con 37 Lab 5 LD 15 UKIP 0 Ind 3
Cambs 2013 result
Con 32 Lab 7 LD 14 UKIP 12 Ind 4
Boundary changes 8 fewer councillors notional result
Con 28 Lab 6 LD 12 UKIP 11 Ind 4
My forecast
Con 33 Lab 5 LD 18 UKIP 2 Ind 3
Oxon 2013 result
Con 31 Lab 15 LD 11 Green 2 Ind 4
No boundary changes
My forecast
Con 32 Lab 13 LD 14 Green 2 Ind 2
Bucks 2013 result
Con 36 Lab 1 LD 5 UKIP 6 Ind 1
No boundary changes
My forecast
Con 39 LD 8 UKIP 1 Ind 1
Northants 2013 result
Con 36 Lab 11 LD 6 UKIP 3 Ind 1
No boundary changes
My forecast
Con 40 Lab 9 LD 6 Ind 2
Somerset 2013 result
Con 29 Lab 3 LD 18 UKIP 3 Ind 2
No boundary changes
My forecast
Con 24 Lab 3 LD 26 UKIP 0 Ind 2
Herts 2013 result
Con 46 Lab 15 LD 16
Boundary changes 1 more seat notional
Con 47 Lab 15 LD 16
My forecast
Con 49 Lab 10 LD 19
Fillon under investigation, Le Pen under investigation.
Is there a common thread with those two?
Syria:
The US military has dusted down its plans from 2013. One of the strike options would bomb Assad's capabilities back to the stone age. The military may well do their best to get Trump to buy into that one, but its a long shot.
Agreement with Russia for some kind of signaling strike? Would be handy and certainly talks are going on, but the US could put in an effort within 48 hours if they so wish that the Russians would have no direct answer to on the ground and are unlikely to confront.
Well, the next time you find yourself lying wake at 3:30 in the morning, try to work out which is worse - Question Time on TV or Any Questions? on Radio 4. It's really difficult to come to a definitive conclusion.....
The US may do a token strike but Trump really has no interest in replacing Assad in the short-term
More than 1,000 Jewish Labour members and supporters have written to the Guardian condemning the decision not to expel Ken Livingstone over his comments linking Adolf Hitler with Zionism, in a move putting more pressure on the party leadership to take urgent action.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/apr/06/ken-livingstone-on-hitler-1000-labour-supporters-urge-expulsion
Wilts 2013 result
Con 58 Lab 4 LD 27 UKIP 1 Ind 8
My forecast
Con 54 Lab 4 LD 28 Ind 12
Isle Of Wight 2013 result
Con 15 Lab 2 LD 1 UKIP 2 Ind 20
My forecast
Con 17 Lab 2 LD 3 UKIP 1 Ind 17
Durham 2013 result
Con 4 Lab 94 LD 9 Ind 19
My forecast
Con 9 Lab 74 LD 14 Ind 29
Northumberland 2013 result
Con 21 Lab 32 LD 11 Ind 3
My forecast
Con 22 Lab 26 LD 14 Ind 5
Shropshire 2013 result
Con 48 Lab 9 LD 12 Ind 5
My forecast
Con 41 Lab 9 LD 18 Green 1 Ind 5
Cornwall 2013 result
Con 31 Lab 8 LD 36 UKIP 6 Green 1 Meb K 4 Ind 37
My forecast
Con 24 Lab 3 LD 62 UKIP 0 Green 1 Meb K 4 Ind 29
and my overall forecast for English gains and losses from notional 2013 results
Con plus 58
Lab minus 90
LD plus 140
Green plus 3
UKIP minus 117
Ind/others plus 6
On another note, lot of activity around a nuclear test site in North Korea. Perhaps timing is everything if the fat kid wishes to have a test.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39512637
Con 371
UKIP 174
Lab 116
LDem 99
Green 15
CON: 47.9% (+12.7)
UKIP: 22.5% (-16.3)
LAB: 15.0% (-1.0)
LDEM: 12.8% (+12.8)
GRN: 1.9% (+1.9)
Must say I'd be surprised to see Lab retain 4 in Wiltshire, though the one with a maj of 1 vote may have a better chance than thought thanks to a former Con Indy standing, but I'm guessing very very close to that:
Con 55, LD 29, Lab 3, Ind, 11
Con 1483
LDem 420
Lab 407
Green 150
Con 21 Lab 32 LD 11 Ind 3
My forecast
Con 22 Lab 26 LD 14 Ind 5
Am interested in how you came up with these (particularly the Independents)? Are they based on UNS? Apologies if this has been asked.
Not sure what that has to do with my point, though.
Corbyn still popular with the locals
LDEM: 63.5% (+37.9)
LAB: 12.2% (-10.0)
CON: 11.9% (-9.3)
UKIP: 9.0% (-14.4)
GRN: 3.5% (-4.2)
Aylesbury
LDem 785
Lab 151
Con 147
UKIP 111
Green 43
UKIP votes went to the Lib Dems and not Con as many here assume they will
LDEM: 63.5% (+37.9)
LAB: 12.2% (-10.0)
CON: 11.9% (-9.3)
UKIP: 9.0% (-14.4)
GRN: 3.5% (-4.2)
LDem 750
Green 343
Con 339
Lab 111
Its a brave effort to go all-in on something as ephemeral as council by-elections and to assume that the opinion polls are totally wrong.
If Mark is right then he will deserve all the plaudits.
If.
If Assad had the weaponry to flatten Tel Aviv and Jerusalem then there would not be a strike against him. He doesn't.
The idea of "reasonable" people/actions are quite standard in our Common Law system anyway.
Judging by your predictions you seem to expect hardly any Labour to Conservative swing, that appears to be unlikely. Especially as the opinion polls at the end of March have proven to be a good indicator of the May local elections.
https://www.gov.uk/home-education
2009 actual vote share was
Con 43.5 %
Lab 13.5 %
and 2013 actual vote share was
Con 34.5 %
Lab 21.3%
a 12 % swing from 2013 would take Labour below 10% and their performance is nowhere near that bad . IMHO the actual swing Lab to Con will be around 5-6% 2013 to May
Head teachers can authorise time off in exceptional circumstances. The head teacher has complete discretion to decide whether a particular request should be granted. Some heads claim they do not have discretion but that is purely a tactic to deflect anger from parents when they refuse permission for term time holidays.
The law has fundamentally been the same since 1944 (and, as the Supreme Court points out, hasn't really changed significantly since 1880. Since the 1944 Education Act became law parents have been required to ensure regular attendance at school and can be convicted of an offence even if they are not aware that their child is failing to attend. The introduction of fixed penalties under Blair led to a clearer definition of the rules. The original regulations set by the Blair government allowed up to 10 days holiday in "special circumstances" with additional holiday in "exceptional circumstances". Many parents interpreted this as meaning that they had the right to 10 days holiday in term time although this was clearly not the government's intention. However, the idea took hold to the point where many head teachers, particularly in primary schools, felt unable to refuse term time holidays. As a result the current regulations were introduced removing the reference to "special circumstances".
Fines must be levied in line with the local authority's code of practice. I don't know of any LA that permits fines for a single day of absence. Most require multiple days absence before a fine will be triggered. The details vary from LA to LA but it is fairly common to require at least 5 days absence in a single term before parents are fined.
I note that some people seem to think this should not apply to primary school children. However, the evidence is that term time absence damages the child's education regardless of whether the child is 5 or 15. And, as the judgement of the Supreme Court points out, every time a child is absent it is disruptive to the whole class as the teacher has to put in additional effort to help the child catch up. Some teachers complained that, prior to the tightening of the rules, they faced continual disruption. In a class of 30 children, if they are all taking 10 days off in term time each year, you could go through a whole school year without ever having the entire class in attendance.
Moreover due to serious illness I missed almost a whole term as an 8 year old. It had no negative effect on my education at all. Indeed I was so far ahead of where they expected me to be that the following year I jumped a year and went straight into year 6 where I had to stay for 2 years because I was not allowed to start senior school until I was 11.
This is simply all about head teachers wanting to hit their targets. It has absolutely nothing to do with children being harmed by taking a holiday.
This may simply be a case of different experiences. That line about me only ever having seen two of them is true: I have this image of Terry Scott in an Austin Princess and those handheld pumps that look like an alien, talking about the 8:20 to Liverpool Street.
Edit. I just went and looked on google for my own interest and the town has 5 automatic car washes. 3 Jet stations, A Shell Station and a BP station. I know of at least 2 others that existed up until 10 years ago.
But Labour MP Paul Flynn said: "Of course the Prime Minister should have the first call on the plane – she is the elected ruler."
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/royal-aides-hit-back-at-claims-prince-charles-bumped-prime-minister-off-official-plane-a3508526.html
https://twitter.com/JamieRoss7/status/844507113963565056
Take Norfolk as an example.
These are the Labour held wards and the increase in the Labour vote percentage between 2009 and 2013:
Bowthorpe +24.8%
Caister +6.0%
Catton Grove +19.2%
Clenchwarton +32.4%
Crome +15.8%
Gaywood S +17.0%
Kings Lynn N +42.9%
Lakenham +23.8%
Magdalen +11.9%
Mile Cross +15.3%
Sewell +10.1%
Town Close +25.8%
University +21.9%
Yarmouth N +9.3%
http://www.andrewteale.me.uk/leap/results/2009/390/
http://www.andrewteale.me.uk/leap/results/2013/390/
What can we gained at one election can be lost at the next.