‘80% of parents take children on holiday in term time’
Parents continue to ignore warnings not to take their children out of school to go on holidays during term time.
Eighty per cent still regularly take their children out of school because of the higher prices of holidays during the peak summer season.
The snapshot poll of more than 100 parents was conducted by www.cooptravelshop.co.uk, which has a 5% discount scheme in place together with its agency chain Co-op Travel to try to deter parents from removing children in conjunction with ABTA’s ‘Every Lesson Counts’ initiative.
The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) says that parents should not automatically expect their child’s school to agree to a family holiday during term-time.
In a test case in March this year, High Court judges backed a local authority which pursued legal action against a mother who took her children out of school for a holiday without permission. Judges declared that schools alone have the right to decide whether children can be taken out of class.
Paul Drew, ecommerce marketing manager for cooptravelshop.co.uk, said: “Like any other product, holidays are subject to the laws of supply and demand and in general terms, prices go up at times during school holidays when demand is greater.
“We understand the concerns of parents. In addition to our own five per cent discount scheme, we are constantly striving to offer good value breaks during school holiday periods, and currently have a series of good value offers in the UK and overseas tailored purely at the long school holidays.
“We also support the DfES and ABTA, which encourages parents to book early for the best deals.”
Phil Davies
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