MSE News: Four out of five back right to take kids on term-time holidays

Legacy_user

Parents should be able to pull their kids out of school to go on holiday, according to 79% of our poll respondents...

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'Four out of five back right to take kids on term-time holidays'

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rmg1

My daughter is 7 and, before she started school, we went on holiday just before the summer break for the school-age kids. We got a Mon-Fri break, with meals for around £250. This was two years ago.

We priced up the same time period last year and it was around the same price (that was her first year at school so we couldn't take that time anyway). The following week (i.e. the first week of the summer break) the price rocketed to £750 for the same break.

I challenged this and, apparently, the company concerned stated that it was due to extra staff required as visitor numbers rose. I still don't believe this to be accurate.

I agree with taking children out of school during term-time as holidays would be a lot cheaper, but I also agree that there should be a strict number of days available.

What I would also be interested in is someone from the holiday companies going on record to justify the price hikes during the school holidays as I've never had a satisfactory response.

Murphy_The_Cat

rmg1 wrote: »

What I would also be interested in is someone from the holiday companies going on record to justify the price hikes during the school holidays as I've never had a satisfactory response.

its a simple exercise in supply and demand & people paying it.

Another way to look at it is the sizeable discount that is offred if you avoid school holiday times.

unforeseen

As travel firms see more and more people taking their kids away one, two or even three weeks before/after the official school holidays then they will start bumping prices up to maximise their profits.

steve1500

The trouble with taking kids out in term time is the effect it has on the other children.
This can be disruptive to the other pupils as the teacher has to go over again what was taught while they were on holiday.
Also imagine the chaos if half a class decided to take the same time off 2 weeks before the actual summer hoilidayd

zagfles

It really is easy to get good value holidays in the school holidays - we've been doing it for over 10 years. Don't book a package and go to somewhere where it's off peak locally, eg late August is generally quite cheap in Europe. Been discussed here loads.

richardw

In the long term, all a UK government has to do is update the Education Act to say full attendance at school and this silliness goes away.

DigForVictory

Taking children out of school in term time cuts both ways - it can be very positive & the child comes back with a much better grasp of language & culture & with hours of material for show & tell.

It can also be very positive in that the worst troublemaker is gone for a week and the rest of the class can crack on with a project without disruption.

Our Primary was usually very tolerant of pre-negotiated family holidays for both reasons.

ince_mon

I heard on the radio earlier,that in one part of the country (not sure where)they are making the summer holiday period a 5 week slot,and putting the week they've taken off into Oct,so probably making the half term week,into a 2 week break. More expense if you wanted to go away either side of the original week for a cheap break.

tomtontom

DigForVictory wrote: »

Taking children out of school in term time cuts both ways - it can be very positive & the child comes back with a much better grasp of language & culture & with hours of material for show & tell.

It can also be very positive in that the worst troublemaker is gone for a week and the rest of the class can crack on with a project without disruption.

Our Primary was usually very tolerant of pre-negotiated family holidays for both reasons.

You're assuming the holidays have any element of language and culture. People in the main are complaining about package holidays, which rarely offer either. A week in Benidorm or some AI resort may be educational, but for all the wrong reasons!

vikingaero

The rise of The Chav Society. Chavs used to be confined to an underclass of Society. Now Chavs transcend all sectors of the population. We see it in how people drive recklessly and inconsiderately often in premium cars and we see it in behaviour such as taking your children out of school.

Justifications range from cost, taking kids on a "cultural" holiday to "they only watch DVDs at the end of term."

Rules are being bent by The Chavs to suit themselves. Schools may have to re-educate children who are away on unauthorised absences and this takes time and resources away from children who DO attend. But hey, today, what matters is ME! ME! ME! F*ck your kids - it's all about ME and my kids.

It's better not to argue with Chavs because they always shout the last word.