Lancashire mum fined £240 defends term-time holiday
Lancashire mum fined £240 defends term-time holiday
In the last academic year, pupils across England missed more than six million school days through unauthorised holidays.
Thoughts?
Asides from what was mentioned in the article, I think the current rules are unforgiving of children who have family abroad whose school holidays don't align.
From a financial point of view paying £240 to save £3,000 makes complete sense.
Shame my other half is a teacher, otherwise we might think about doing the same.
Saving £3000 should always be applauded.
Well, £2760, but close enough
Basically poor kids aren't allowed to go on holiday. Aren't allowed to go during term time, can't afford to go during holidays. It's such a dystopic rule.
Totally agree with her. The experiences on that holiday will last a life time. I seriously doubt that whatever they missed in those weeks will have any impact on their lives.
The £240 fine is well worth the savings they made.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
"It's a no brainer," mum Laura Melling said after she decided to take her daughters out of school during term-time to save £3,000 on their family holiday.Mrs Melling and her husband Paul from Leyland, Lancashire, were each fined £120 after taking their children out of primary school for a trip to Egypt.The nurse, whose TikTok about the fine has been viewed 1.4 million times, said the term-time holiday ban was "ridiculous".The Department of Education said school attendance was the key to giving "every child the best start in life".
Lancashire County Council, which issued the fine, said it always encouraged schools to work closely with parents to reduce unauthorised absences.
"A holiday can feel like a small period of time to families, but this is having a big impact and we don't want that to be the case," he said.
"All of us within the education sector are imploring parents to recognise the detrimental impact it can have when children are not consistently in school."
It is harder for schools to hold the line that every day missed has an impact on education, because bluntly families no longer believe it is that stark.
Yet this week research has confirmed that tests and exam results are showing the pandemic led to a widened gap between children from the highest and lowest income families.That suggests missing days at school will have a bigger impact on some children than others.At the same time, it's clear how much the cost of living crisis is hitting families, making a trip away during school holidays ever more expensive.Some parents may decide that £80 is still cheaper than a family trip in the UK or abroad in July or August.
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Given that the entire countries school system starts and breaks up at the same time you get an absurd system that holiday companies are able to rinse parents wanting to get away with their kids.
And since it isn’t tied to income it essentially ends up as a tax on poor people who aren’t able to afford the fines or the additional cost of taking them out during holiday times.
It’s a crap system that wouldn’t actually be that difficult to fix if they put some thought into it
Mrs Melling said she took her children out of school during term due to the "unbelievable price" of holidays in the summer months.
One travel agent told the BBC that holiday costs can be as much as 40% higher during the school holidays.
"It was £5,500 to go in the summer and to go in February it was £2,500, it's a no brainer," Mrs Melling said.
Yes, the reason it costs more is because everyone else is following the rules
Yes, the reason it costs more is because the wealthy follow the rule following the rules. And less walthy kids just do not gain such learning experiences.