How to school children on sabbatical – The 5 approaches

A sabbatical of six to ten weeks, or longer, almost inevitably crosses into term time. And for parents with children in secondary school in particular, that raises real questions about continuity, exam preparation and gaps in education.

Here is what we have learned from planning sabbaticals for dozens of families.

Plan around the academic calendar where you can

The simplest answer to the schooling question is to remove it. Many of the lawyers we work with time their sabbatical around their children’s school calendar. A sabbatical taken while children are still in primary school or in the first two years of secondary sidesteps most of the exam pressure. So does avoiding key GCSE or A-level years. Where the timing is flexible, that flexibility is worth using.

Summer holidays are the obvious window. However, summer is a contested slot among partners at the same firm. Some destinations are better avoided in high season. And a sabbatical of more than seven or eight weeks will extend beyond the school holidays regardless.

When term-time travel is unavoidable, or simply the right choice, there are five approaches families travelling with us have taken.

1. Materials from school

One of the most common approaches among our travellers. Most schools are willing to share the topics and materials that will be covered while a pupil is away. Parents take it from there, teaching informally and fitting it around the trip. It works best when children are receptive to learning from their parents and when the family is comfortable with a looser, more relaxed approach. The freedom it allows is considerable.

2. Online schooling

Several well-regarded online schools follow the national curriculum at a level comparable to selective independent schools, with both live and pre-recorded lesson options. The flexibility is genuine. Secondary-age pupils typically need around four to five hours of study a day, so it requires some discipline in structuring the rest of the schedule around it. For families who want continuity and a clear standard of provision, this is a strong option.

3. A private tutor

Some families add a tutor to the trip, covering accommodation and transport as part of the arrangement. The educational continuity is clear, there is flexibility to schedule lessons around activities, and having another responsible adult on hand is a practical upside, depending on the terms agreed. The trade-offs are cost and a reduced sense of privacy, which matters more on some trips than others.

4. Local or international school enrolment

In destinations with established expat communities there will often be an international school where enrolment for a term or a semester is possible. This works particularly well for sabbaticals that involve spending an extended period in one place rather than, or in between, moving through multiple countries. The syllabus will not always align precisely with what is taught at home, but the social experience alone tends to be memorable.

5. The school of life

Many families, particularly those with younger children and those in the years before key exam preparation begins, choose not to follow a formal curriculum at all while they travel. Understanding how other societies function, navigating unfamiliar environments, learning about wildlife and ecosystems from the places where they actually exist, engaging with people whose daily lives look entirely different from their own: none of this appears on the national curriculum, but parents who take this approach consistently say their children returned from the sabbatical more curious, more confident and more engaged than when they left. None of the families we have worked with who chose this route have regretted it.

A note on school fees

One concern we hear less often than perhaps we might: school fees. It is not necessarily the case that all independent schools will continue to charge fees while the child is away. When the topic is broached early enough, we have experience of schools waiving a term’s fees and holding the child’s place.

Our honest view

Every family is different, and every sabbatical is different. We have seen all five approaches work well, and the right one depends on the ages of the children, the nature of the trip and how the family likes to operate day to day. What we can say with confidence is that children who travel on a sabbatical of this kind, whatever educational structure is in place around them, consistently come back having grown in ways that are difficult to replicate at home.

If schooling is on your mind, it is worth a conversation. Get in touch at travel@linger.co.uk or book a complimentary call: Select a Date & Time – Calendly.