All increasing to £80 per parent per child for 1st offence then more for repeat offenders. Maybe the government should look at the difference between holidays in term time and outside instead of using it as a tax.
Yeah, that's still a good deal compared to the holiday time uplift in prices at least. I'll happily pay that when my kids are school age
Not sure what the government can do. Businesses can charge whatever they want for people to use them.
Me and wife just been fined £60 each. Obviously, much cheaper than taking kid abroad during school hols, but we couldn’t have afforded to take her on this holiday at peak time. Also, there isn’t always the availability. Then she comes home with a letter requesting interest in a school trip to New York and Chicago next year. Ok to take them abroad then isn’t it? If you can afford it that is. They’ll Say it educational and beneficial in all sorts of ways for her, and I’m not arguing against that, but so was that recent holiday we had, and with family. It really does need addressing. As well as the increase in fine, there was talk of £5000 fine for ‘repeat offenders’ Holiday industry laughing all the way to the bank again
This is what we have done for years, holiday still cheaper despite the fine. It's profiteering by holiday companies out of term and the local authorities during term
Our kids school are OK tbf, providing they have had a good attendance record over the school year, failing that just phone them in sick or inform them your kids are having inset days at home and see how they like it ha ha
They've doubled the fine for us. Dunno if it's the same everywhere. It's a disgrace really. If the travel industry isn't hammering parents, the schools are. There will be kids deprived of family holidays because of this.
I’m not talking about taking her out during vital times such as exam prep and even exams. In any case, they could set students work to do online so they don’t have to miss out. It’s absolutely nothing to do with valuing a child’s education, that’s just a lazy argument in my eyes
This feels mad to me. When I was at school taking kids out for a holiday in term time just wasn't on, full stop. I think there's a big argument to be made for more flexibility, but I'm not sure what you could do about teaching. Hate the idea of fines though - especially at this kind of low level it just turns into a charge which some folk can pay and some can't afford.
As I like to say to the local tories when they're moaning about the state of the high street, I'm always happy to chat about planned economies if they like!
Tbh all the time that these fines have been in place we have never actually been fined but we have always been prepared to take the risk. No idea if we have just dropped on good schools or other factors have been in place. Our kids always have good attendance and we usually don't go while mid June by which time exam season is done and most schools are on the wind down to the summer holidays.
Just an aside ... there's only me and the wife so we look for self catering cottages for two. But we still have to suffer the doubling/tripling of out of season prices as a result of school holidays. We've no kids, so why charge so much for accommodation for two? Rip off obviously, however I feel for all of you that do have families in holiday times.
It's daft. Punitive fines will mean that some families won't be able to afford holidays. I'd say a week on holiday is much more beneficial to a child's overall development than an extra week in school.