The issue of families taking children out of school in term time to avoid higher costs has come under the spotlight again.
A head teachers’ leader has called for travel companies to be prevented from charging “exorbitant” prices during school holidays because fining parents for pupil absence is not working,
A recent increase in penalties from £60 to £80 per child for term-time absences has not created more of a deterrent, according to Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders.
Parents disregarded the rules because they wanted a family holiday that did not “bankrupt” them, he claimed. Some companies charge thousands of pounds more for holidays taken during school breaks.
He referred to family charity Parentkind which suggested that the government should review the marketing and pricing of holidays primarily aimed at families to reduce the gap between the cost of a trip in term time and one in the school holidays.
Writing in TES (Times Educational Supplement) on Friday, Di’Iasio said: “Of course, the hard economics are that this is a case of supply and demand. Prices rise in response to the market – that’s how capitalism works.
“However, in this instance it does feel as though the market has been allowed to run riot and now effectively exploits the situation to maximum advantage.
“There is a case, then, for government intervention to introduce some restraint on the extent to which travel firms are able to put up their prices.
“It would relieve pressure on schools and families, reduce absenteeism and stop this from being such a divisive issue.
“Regulation would, of course, have to be carefully considered and applied in a way that would avoid damaging an industry that is important to us all and supports many thousands of jobs.
“However, it is difficult to believe that the astonishing mark-ups on travel during school holiday periods could not be controlled to some extent.
“This is a classic case of striking a balance between social benefit and market freedoms. That may not be easy, but it is necessary.
“Every child should be at school during term time, and every family should be able to enjoy a decent holiday. Those aspirations should not be in conflict with one another.”
Di’Iasio suggested that huge numbers of parents disregard the rules every year.
The most recent statistics show that more than 350,000 penalty notices were issued in the 2022-23 academic year for unauthorised family holiday absence.
“This sense of a system that just isn’t working was reinforced this week by the findings of Parentkind’s national parent survey. It shows that 76% of parents believe that every school day matters. And yet the majority of respondents – 57% – said they would consider their child missing school for one or more days for a holiday. The same proportion said that the risk of a fine would not deter them,” he said.
“It seems like a contradiction that most parents agree with the importance of attendance while simultaneously being willing to take their child out of school.
“And yet it is not really a contradiction at all but merely a sign of the competing pressures on families.
“Most parents do support school attendance as being vital, but they also want to be able to take their children on holiday at a price that doesn’t bankrupt them.
“For schools this is a huge problem. The sector is under pressure to reduce rates of absenteeism, which soared in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic
“Attendance is mentioned no fewer than 55 times in Ofsted’s school inspection handbook. And absences contribute to teacher workload because of the time involved in helping children to catch up.
“The threat of fines, however, is clearly not working at all well, even with the recently increased rate of £80 per child.
“And penalty notices are a divisive issue when schools want to be working with parents.
“Ditching fines altogether may, therefore, seem like a solution. But that would also come with problems. There would be no deterrent at all.”