Holidays

[Chippy_Tea]

The subject of taking your kids on holiday in term time raises its head again as fines are raising from £60 to £80, I get that we are being ripped off having to pay inflated prices during holiday time but it's not compulsory to take your kids abroad if you cannot afford to go in the school holidays don't go or choose somewhere cheaper

 

[Clint]

Couple of weeks ago they shut all the schools round here coz it "might snow". It didn't. So what about all that education lost? Teachers sat at home on a snow day,parents having to not work to look after kids...load of rubbish!
I'd bill the school.

 

[Cwrw666]

In Wales they're going to reduce the summer holidays to 4 weeks instead of 6. How the hell are they all meant to fit their holidays into just 4 weeks? Imagine you're a small business and all your employees have kids. You might as well just close down for the month.

 

[Clint]

Wales is run by idiots.

 

[Leon103]

In Wales they're going to reduce the summer holidays to 4 weeks instead of 6. How the hell are they all meant to fit their holidays into just 4 weeks? Imagine you're a small business and all your employees have kids. You might as well just close down for the month.

Can't people take their holidays during the other time? THey are not extending term time just moving the holidays around.
On another note, I always take my kids out of school for holidays.

 

[Rodcx500z]

We always took our kids on holiday during term time, no way were we paying double for the same holiday during school holidays. all is good they both have good managerial jobs

 

[Chippy_Tea]

The £60 fine didn't deter parents and a fine of £80 will make no difference its nothing more than a money making exercise, if they are serious why not make it £1000 and see how many parents still take their kids out of school in term time.

 

[The Baron]

I want to know where does the money really go?. Is it just a cash cow like speed cameras?

 

[jof]

I want to know where does the money really go?. Is it just a cash cow like speed cameras?

I believe it's exactly like that.
The school doesn't see any of it.
It's a tax on getting a discount holiday.
BTW not all schools enforce this (or at least they didn't have to a few years back when the Mrs was a school governor) and is was supposed to only be there for dealing with problem truants.

 

[fluketamer]

yeah i hate that the day before school ends or the day after school starts the prices immediatley drop. it was also nice when they were wee and free at the resorts. i have dreamt of the days when the kids are grown and off on there own and me and the missus can take cheap holidays again. but i know i will regret it once that day comes.

 

[Leon103]

BBC ran an article on Welsh councils recently, most, if not all didn't enforce fines.

 

[An Ankoù]

Couple of weeks ago they shut all the schools round here coz it "might snow". It didn't. So what about all that education lost? Teachers sat at home on a snow day,parents having to not work to look after kids...load of rubbish!
I'd bill the school.

Why not bill the Met Office for not making good on the snow/

Poor old parents having to look after their own grubby offspring while teachers get a day off putting their feet up in front of a roaring fire, pouring an early pint and catching up on Netflix. My heart bleeds.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

It's been many years sinse we have had a family holiday abroad We would rather spend our spare cash on things we really need, I don't like really hot weather and spending days on the beach would bore me so as we live in the lake district we have days out we have no interest in faffing about at airports for hours on end paying rediculous parking charges etc it would drive us mad.

 

[Leon103]

It's been many years sinse we have had a family holiday abroad We would rather spend our spare cash on things we really need, I don't like really hot weather and spending days on the beach would bore me so as we live in the lake district we have days out we have no interest in faffing about at airports for hours on end paying rediculous parking charges etc it would drive us mad.

Most onsight Airport parking is less than £10 a day, I used my club card vouchers. Airports aren't that bad, check in before getting there, drop bags off and relax. OK things can be taken out of your control with delays etc. I am not one to get there stupid early just to neck some pints at 6am.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I am not knocking those who love to travel abroad its just not for me if I did like holidays abroad I would pay the £80 which I guess I would have saved by not going in the school holiday period.

 

[dad_of_jon]

In Wales they're going to reduce the summer holidays to 4 weeks instead of 6. How the hell are they all meant to fit their holidays into just 4 weeks? Imagine you're a small business and all your employees have kids. You might as well just close down for the month.

As long as they put the extra weeks to make a longer half term it *might* allow a cheaper break, as long as the week doesn't co-incide with english half terms. As you probably know welsh half term is often a week before or after english half term.

 

[dad_of_jon]

I am not knocking those who love to travel abroad its just not for me if I did like holidays abroad I would pay the £80 which I guess I would have saved by not going in the school holiday period.

We'd go with the kids to centreparcs abroad either early july, the week after exams and the wind down in school week or october half term. much cheaper than uk centre parcs.

 

[Jim Brewster]

Given that prices rise a lot during the school holidays, a small fine is probably still a net saving.

I don't think missing a week or two as a one-off is really going to make a huge difference to education as long as its not in the lead up to SATS or GCSEs which would arguably affect future prospects.

However from my point of view having no kids I prefer to take holidays during term time, so I'd rather they didn't

 

[MattH1973]

Couple of weeks ago they shut all the schools round here coz it "might snow". It didn't. So what about all that education lost? Teachers sat at home on a snow day,parents having to not work to look after kids...load of rubbish!
I'd bill the school.

exactly this - schools were perfectly happy to close for weather warnings (not actual bad weather), strikes, staff training days and - of course - lockdowns. The government's revealed behaviour during those incidents was that it didn't care one iota about our children's education and for it to pretend it does now is laughable.

Since lockdown, school attendance has dropped significantly - particularly on Mondays and Fridays when presumably families are disappearing for long weekends as the parents "work from home". Until the government admits that it shouldn't have closed schools for the pandemic no-one will take them seriously on this. And even less so Labour, who campaigned for longer and harder lockdowns - including specifically advocating school closures when places like Sweden and Florida were not doing this. Of course, much of the world suffered from this groupthink but any suggestion from labour that they would be less worse than the government on education is without evidence.
https://labourlist.org/2021/01/star...f-shutting-schools-in-fresh-england-lockdown/

But whilst the government don't care about my children, I do, and so we don't take them out without permission.

So in summary, these fines are just another desperate gimmick from politicians (across all parties) who have totally failed our young and continue to do so by stacking the economic deck in favour of hugely advantaged pensioners.

 

[Clint]

You are correct!