MSE Poll: Should parents be allowed to take kids out of school for a holiday?

Former_MSE_Sam_M · 11 April 2017 at 12:16PM

Poll started 11 April 2017

Should parents be allowed to take kids out of school for a holiday?

The Supreme Court has finally ruled that parents can’t take their children on term-time holidays without risking being fined.

The case concerned a father who’d refused to pay a fine after he'd taken his six-year-old daughter out of school for a holiday.

But what do you think? Should parents be allowed to take their kids on holiday during term time? Which of these is CLOSEST to your view?

Click here to vote in the poll

Did you vote? Are you surprised at the results so far? Have your say below. To see the results from last time, click here.

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Thanks!

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RaspberryFool · 12 April 2017 at 8:17AM

So the high court has ruled that it is not legal to take children out of school during term time. How about they spend their time ruling why it is legal for holiday providers to ramp up their prices, often by thousands of pounds per week, during school holidays?

Stevie_Palimo · 12 April 2017 at 8:21AM

RaspberryFool wrote: »

So the high court has ruled that it is not legal to take children out of school during term time. How about they spend their time ruling why it is legal for holiday providers to ramp up their prices, often by thousands of pounds per week, during school holidays?

It is not to do with being legal regarding the inflated costs being charged throughout School holidays and this is purely a business motive with a view of gaining profits, The Courts cannot intervene on the prices being charged here and if people are really upset and or finding it difficult then boycott the major players as you can always book things direct and have some savings,

onesixfive · 12 April 2017 at 10:08AM

why not give children(and teachers) less, but a fixed number of, days per year to use throughout the year.
Used sensibly :
This would bring them in line with most workforces.
It would allow parents & children flexibility.
It would stop the banking up of prices by travel companies.

Nalwoir · 12 April 2017 at 10:12AM

Agree with Stevie, the costs being put up is pure supply and demand - demand for holidays go up when more people want to go on holiday. Or you could view it as the holiday prices are the norm, and when less demand occurs (term time) prices drop to entice people to go away. Can't really blame the business, that's capitalism!

Coming from the perspective of a school teacher (well, ex-school teacher), holidays are very disruptive. You have a class of 30 students. They all elect to go away for 2 weeks during term time. That's 60 weeks of schooling you need to catch students up on individually. That is a lot of extra work for an already overworked individual.

What would you say if your children's school turned around and said " sorry, no school for a fortnight, your child's teacher has gone on holiday for 2 weeks". Would you think that is acceptable? Teachers have families and want cheap holidays too! I know a school would find cover, but it would be an inconvenience if they go away for two weeks right?

The best way around this imo is for each individual school to arrange 2 weeks per year off, during 'term time' where parents can take their children on holiday, and get cheaper tickets. This way companies cannot account for it (they wont know when students are off school during this period) and teachers can account for the missed time (all students can pick up where they left off).

H4858 · 12 April 2017 at 10:20AM

Interesting that the government says that Head's salaries (sometimes into 6 figures) is not its business but for Governors to deal with, yet those same Heads apparently aren't competent to decide whether it's acceptable for an individual child to have time away with their family!

And I thought this government was committed to removing red tape (and, in this case, the bureaucrats who have to oversee this ridiculous national imposition!)!

iainmcr · 12 April 2017 at 12:11PM

I'm a teacher although in Scotland so the court ruling doesn't apply.

I can actually empathise with the parents, especially those who have jobs, like I did in the past, where I might be told my summer holidays are the first 2 weeks in June, and I would have no alternative. However when a child in your class is off, especially on say a week or two weeks holiday, when they return they actually expect their teacher to stop teaching the rest of the class and get them caught up. Take this a stage further and in a class of say 30 it's feasible that there could be many who are all at different stages just because of holiday, illness or many other factors, this makes it very difficult to plan meaningful lessons.

We actually have parents who complain about the length of school holidays (but that's usually as teachers are seen as cheap child care) but then take their kids out on holiday the week the schools return!

sheeps68 · 12 April 2017 at 12:59PM

Can I suggest it's not always a case of holiday providers putting up prices in school holidays but reducing it when demand is low to try and recoup some losses.

Gavin83 · 12 April 2017 at 1:07PM

The option I want isn't on the poll: They should be allowed to take their children out but should be expected to pay a 'fine'. Basically I think the current system is sufficent.

wendy4557 · 12 April 2017 at 1:57PM

I am a teacher in a different authority to my children and every single one of the school holidays (Feb, Easter, May and October) except the summer break is at a different time. We do not want to go away during the summer break for a number of reasons. My husband can not get time off then, my daughter has an illness which means that she can not experience extreme heat and it is more expensive and crowded at that time.

AddictedToTheLeaf · 12 April 2017 at 2:03PM

First Post .....
ex School Governor

1. We are all sympathetic to parents who are forced to pay more, and put up with a more crowded holiday experience, when holidaying during school breaks.

2. It is disruptive when a child is taken out of school for a period of time. The whole class can be affected as they play catchup, and having children missing ad-hoc is the most disruptive.

I have always favored schools assigning 'alternative holiday' weeks for parents to take kids away in, outside the normal school holidays. That way parents have the possibility to remove kids, and there is just one general disruption. It can also allow the opportunity for the school to do something different with the remaining kids during that period - school trips I think they were once called :-)

MSE Poll: Should parents be allowed to take kids out of school for a holiday?

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