Over two million UK parents taking children on term-time holidays

More than two million parents have taken their children out of school during term time because they could not afford to travel in the holidays, according to a national survey.

 

As many as 21% of parents - equivalent to more than two million across the UK - have removed a child from school during term time to secure a cheaper holiday.

 

More than a quarter (28%) admitted they had not told the school the true reason for the absence, and half of parents support the idea of a shorter summer break.

 

The findings from the annual poll by charity Parentkind reported by The Times suggest that rising holiday prices are forcing many families to choose between following attendance rules and being able to afford a break.

 

The survey, which polled 6,053 parents in the UK who have at least one child aged 4-18 in school, found that financial pressures cut across income groups and indicates growing public support for reforming the school calendar.

 

Half of parents backed reducing the six-week summer holiday by one week and moving that time to another point in the school year, while 21% opposed the proposal. 

 

Support was particularly strong among parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) (59%) and single parents (56%). 

 

A record 459,288 fines were issued to parents last year to a total of £36 million, up four per cent from 2023-24, according to the Department for Education (DfE).

 

However, almost a quarter (23%) of parents in households earning more than £100,000 a year said that they had taken a child out of school to reduce holiday costs. The figure was 25% among parents of children with Send.

 

Parents in Wales (32%), Scotland (29%) and those with primary school-aged children (25%) were also more likely than average to do so.

 

At the same time, 28% of parents, equivalent to about three million, said that they had been unable to take a family holiday at all in the past year because of the cost. 

 

Half of parents in households earning less than £20,000 annually said that they could not afford a holiday, as did 43% of those earning between £20,000 and £35,000.

 

The research, which took place between March 27 and April 28, highlighted wider pressures during school holidays. 

 

More than half of parents (51%), representing more than five million people, said that school holidays were financially difficult, while 42% described them as stressful.

 

Parentkind chief executive Frank Young said that although children should go to school and there was no excuse for a “term-time holiday bunk”, parents were “in a tight spot” because school holiday dates were fixed centrally, leaving “no free market for parents boxed in by school terms”.

 

He added: “We need to talk about school holidays and think about reducing the six-week summer holiday to support parents. This is an idea that at least half of parents back today as we head towards a six-week summer slog for Britain’s parents.”

 

Young urged ministers to improve transparency around holiday price hikes and consider measures to ease the financial burden on families, adding that “greater transparency should be part of the answer”. 

 

The government recently announced a summer VAT cut on cinemas, zoos and adventure parks to help parents afford day trips during the summer break.

 

“Future chancellors should look at this carefully … They could reduce the cost of family jaunts by relieving the tax burden on holiday companies … maybe even extending this to the cost of flights or popular holiday destinations at home,” Young said.

 

“Parents are being pushed into a terrible position when it comes to a family holiday. It is no surprise that some parents are taking children out of school during term time and trying to hide the true reason.

 

“We need a proper conversation on the school holiday and the cost of a family holiday.”

 

The DfE told the newspaper: “Every child deserves the best start in life and that begins with being in school. Term-time holidays place the burden on teachers to support missed learning and affect the entire class.

 

"We are playing our part to support those children who face barriers to attending school and this is making a difference with five million more days in school last academic year and 140,000 fewer pupils persistently absent.

 

"Alongside this, fines continue to have a vital place in our system so everyone is held accountable for ensuring children are in school.”