Parents are taking children out of school to take advantage of cheaper holidays


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Parents are so outraged at the surcharges levied by travel companies on breaks taken during school holiday and half term periods – during which time prices usually jump by well over 50% - that they are taking matters into their own hands. In what is being called the ‘Thomas Cook effect’, schools are consequently experiencing higher levels of absenteeism during term time.

By law, all children are permitted to take time off in the case of sickness or bereavement. Over and above this, leave of absence is usually down to individual schools’ discretion. While some schools are more lenient than others in their policy on this score, there can be no doubt that such a trend will ultimately prove detrimental to childrens’ education.

The president of the National Association of Teachers, Mick Brooks, gave an interview to the Sunday Times recently, where he condemned the greed of the travel industry, saying, ‘It is about time the travel industry started offering attractive family packages during half term and school holidays. They should remove the temptation for parents to take children out of school in order to take advantage of cheaper holidays.’

He went on to point out that head teachers are so alarmed at the raised levels of absenteeism that they are even considering bringing in non-standard half term dates so that there is no longer one single week during which travel firms can significantly increase prices.

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