Holiday Price hikes in school holidays

giraffe69

Staggered holidays will just make the peak longer

In any event a lot of state schools now have the right to set their own dates outside the LA.

maman

duchy wrote: »

The point with teachers is that no matter how hard done by they feel to have to mark work, lesson plan etc.... if you add up the time they spend over a year it balances out to the same amount of time spent by most people in graduate positions in the private sector . Both work more than their contracted hours -on a daily basis the private sector workers work fewer hours with less after work/weekend hours as routine ( but will still happen on occasion) but don't have the off-set of longer holidays. Even if a teacher spends time in the holidays lesson planning (and unless they are QTS or taking on a new subject or age group it's a matter of revision rather than the vastly more time consuming writing the plan from scratch) for two weeks -at home. at their own pace and timetable it still equates to the same actual working hours - It's the spread of hours that is different- and often resented by partners who work a more traditional work pattern. Most teachers are still graduates who have no experience of working at the same level in other occupations so their perception of what other people work isn't always accurate and they see themselves as hard done by. Teaching isn't easy -but neither are many other occupations and teachers sometimes don't see how much of a perk being able to schedule their own preperation time is compared with other jobs where that flexibility doesn't exist.

Even if I agreed with you about the hours equating (which I don't), the money in the public sector definitely doesn't. I found it fascinating watching the Teach First programme where a graduate engineer was living at home and being subbed by his parents to make ends meet so he could teach for a year or two whereas his former student friends were picking up £35 000+ in their first year!


In the same programme, a young man was advising his colleague how to manage work/life balance. She did more but he drew the line at 8 til 8! I agree planning gets easier as teachers become more experienced but as for revising old plans, it's a shame the pupils aren't the same year on year or the government changes!:rotfl:

rd350lc_2

jacques_chirac wrote: »

They'll do absolutely nothing about it, and why should they? Do you not think the govt have more important things to deal with?

such as ? I suppose things the affect your living standards ?
For me this isn't about the high prices in particular ,it's about the unfair fines being imposed on some people and not others ,schools around here only a mile apart have different rules on unautharised absence and this should be the same across the board

laurel7172

louby40 wrote: »

I'm a teacher and we have 4 kids - 3 of which are now over 12 and classed as adults according to the big holiday companies. But that's a whole other story.

I can only go on holiday during the holidays - I have NO choice in that matter.

I have tried to make a DIY holiday and believe me it is no cheaper once you start adding baggage and transfers - it tends to work out the same.

Plus with 4 children I want to be covered by the 'package' experience in case anything goes wrong - e.g. ash cloud = nightmare!!!! Flights and accommodation booked separately often means you are on your own if something goes wrong, believe me I know!

I also DON'T want to go camping, I DON'T want to drive for 5 hours with 4 kids to find a cheaper flight and then fly for another 4 hours and I WANT a typical holiday in the sun where I can relax after working hard all year and saving every month.

We book our holidays a year in advance and try to get a free child place, use cashback sites, codes etc. But holidays can double once the school holidays start.

We are going to Turkey next week, booked in May 2012 and we've paid £5,500 for the 6 of us in 2 rooms All Inclusive, that same holiday is still available but is now £9,900!!!!

A flight to Lanzarote on 1st Oct is £190 this year, change the dates to October half term (26th Oct) and the flights jump to £507. That is disgusting!

Makes my blood boil

Louise

Dear God.

We went to *Japan* last summer, during the holidays (I work in a school too), and it cost us less per head than that. We went to Turkey (Istanbul) a few years back for about £300 per head-in a four star hotel with a view of the Blue Mosque. Well, if you leaned out of the window and looked left...

I suspect that the issue is the style of hotel. Hotels that cater to package holidaymakers often aren't cheaper to book as an independent traveller. But they aren't our thing anyway. And yes, I do have children.

callum9999

louby40 wrote: »

I'm a teacher and we have 4 kids - 3 of which are now over 12 and classed as adults according to the big holiday companies. But that's a whole other story.

I can only go on holiday during the holidays - I have NO choice in that matter.

I have tried to make a DIY holiday and believe me it is no cheaper once you start adding baggage and transfers - it tends to work out the same.

Plus with 4 children I want to be covered by the 'package' experience in case anything goes wrong - e.g. ash cloud = nightmare!!!! Flights and accommodation booked separately often means you are on your own if something goes wrong, believe me I know!

I also DON'T want to go camping, I DON'T want to drive for 5 hours with 4 kids to find a cheaper flight and then fly for another 4 hours and I WANT a typical holiday in the sun where I can relax after working hard all year and saving every month.

We book our holidays a year in advance and try to get a free child place, use cashback sites, codes etc. But holidays can double once the school holidays start.

We are going to Turkey next week, booked in May 2012 and we've paid £5,500 for the 6 of us in 2 rooms All Inclusive, that same holiday is still available but is now £9,900!!!!

A flight to Lanzarote on 1st Oct is £190 this year, change the dates to October half term (26th Oct) and the flights jump to £507. That is disgusting!

Makes my blood boil

Louise

No wonder your trips are so expensive, you don't ask for much do you... And its not disgusting, its supply and demand. Lots more people want to go on holiday at those times so it costs more.

Using a bit of common sense and ingenuity you can still get decent prices during holidays though. As a teacher, I would have hoped you'd have the foresight to figure that out... I take at least 2 holidays a year during school holidays and don't pay much more, if any more, than I do off peak.

Finally, as nice as foreign holidays are, many people nowadays act like they are essential. They are not. I went without growing up and turned out perfectly fine! If your kids aren't spoilt brats then they will also turn out perfectly fine with one holiday every two or three years.