Can you take children out of school to celebrate Eid al Fitr?

Eid al Fitr and the end of Ramadan is an incredibly important occasion for many families and an opportunity for parents who celebrate it to spend this special time with their children. But what if Eid falls on a weekday? Here, Nikki Bradley offers her advice for parents looking at taking their children out of school to celebrate the occasion on Wednesday.

For separated parents, celebrating Eid can present its own challenges and for parents whose religious views are not shared, there could be further challenges still. As Eid moves with the moon, it can be difficult for parents to plan arrangements around this event, which can lead to a strain being placed on co-parenting relationships. If Eid does not fall on a weekend, some parents may consider whether they would like to take their child out of school to celebrate the occasion.

Education is of course one of the key corner stones of any child’s upbringing and development and every school day should be treated as just as important as the last. However, there will be instances when children are required to miss school and the Department of Education sets out the circumstances in which this is acceptable. One of those circumstances if when an authorised absence is granted for the purposes of religious observance.

If you would like to take your child out of school to celebrate Eid, it is very important to discuss this issue with your co-parent first. Parents should be making decisions regarding education jointly and working together in the best interests of their child. This is particularly important if the relationship with your co-parent can be strained, and you find communication difficult. Making unilateral decisions without your co-parent’s input will only inflame any existing tensions between you and will make trust difficult to build over time.

If you approach this conversation with openness, transparency, and respect, you will hopefully be able to reach an agreement with your co-parent as to the plans for this special event. If you both agree that your child should celebrate this event outside of school, then the next step would be to approach the school in advance and seek their permission for your child’s absence to be authorised. Whilst it is a matter for the school as to whether that request is granted, many local authorities consider that Headteachers and their staff should have the religious and cultural needs of their children in the forefront of their minds and give serious consideration to such requests for time off during periods of religious observance.

If you cannot agree on whether your child should attend school during Eid, then it would be a good idea to consider inviting your co-parent to mediation to discuss matters in a safe, guided environment with a neutral professional to avoid tensions escalating.

If you need advice on this topic, or any other matters concerning divorce or family law, please get in touch with our team at McAlister Family Law.

Separated Parents: Contact in the Easter Holidays

Over a quarter of families living in the UK are separated families who are adopting the skills of co-parenting, which itself is a learning curve. School holidays can always be a challenging time to get the balance of co-parenting right. Parents may feel pressure to ensure that holidays are memorable and struggle to know what the best arrangements might be. Here, Charlotte Brenton looks at if it is possible to make it work for both parents and the children over the Easter Break.

It is important for parents to remain child focused, work together and always consider what is in the best interest of the children.

Here are some steps families can take to positively co-parent during the Easter holidays.

Ask your children what they want

Children should grow up having special memories with both parents including in the Easter holidays which is an exciting time for them. If they are old enough, they should have an input as to how they want to spend their time in the holidays.

Parenting Plan

A parenting plan is a great way of planning ahead so parents are not left fearing the unknown when school holidays are approaching. Parenting plans are often recommended by Cafcass (Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service). They are a written agreement between both parents which cover practical issues for the children. It can be tailored to include the term time and holidays including Easter. It allows parents to put the children’s needs first and allows quality time with both parents for the children.

Communication

It is important that parents are open, clear and respectful whilst communicating about arrangements. There are many ways parents can communicate and this is down to the individuals. Courts are currently particularly keen on separated parents using co-parenting apps to assist with their communication. The apps include shared calendars and secure communication.

Encouragement

However difficult, the general view is that parents should always try to encourage contact between the children and the other parent unless there are real concerns about risk. Consistency and patience is key whilst allowing the children to adapt to any new arrangements. Whilst it may not always be smooth sailing the aim is to allow your children to make positive memories in the Easter holidays.

Other options available

If you are struggling to resolve child arrangements, there are always other options available.

Mediation can be helpful. This allows parents to talk through the issues they are facing with a neutral impartial third party.

Another option, where mediation isn’t appropriate or hasn’t worked is to use legal professionals to try and resolve matters.

If you are making no progress, or where there are real concerns or urgent issues, you can apply to court to make a decision. The court will decide based on what it believes is in the child or children’s best interests.

If you need advice on this topic, or any other matters concerning divorce or family law, please get in touch with our team at McAlister Family Law.