Only 37 per cent of teachers support the policy of parents beingfined for taking their children on term-time holidays, a TES poll reveals.
InSeptember 2013, it was ruled thatchildren can only be taken out of school during term time in “exceptional circumstances”. Parents who act against thisface fines of £60 per child, which then rises to £120 if not paid within 21 days.
Figures revealed that50,414 fines worth £3 million were issued to parents for “unauthorised absences”in 2014-2015.
Holiday price hikes
Teachers, parents and the Departmentfor Education have been at odds over the issue since the introduction of the fining system, with a rise in flight and accommodationcosts, levels of disruption and the educational value of a holiday all being discussed.
The ongoing row over term-time holiday fines attracted yet more mediaattention this week as, which has been at the heart of the debate, reached the Supreme Court.
On Tuesday, a QC for education chiefs told the court that taking a child to Florida for seven consecutive days during term time without a school’s permission cannot be lawful. The outcome of thecase, which is being followed closely by school leaders and parents across the UK, could have a huge impact on current regulations.
Teachers took to Twitter to react:
Parents on Twitter have said that increases in the cost of holidaysduring the summer break have leftthem with little other choice than to take holidays in term time. Educational journalist a trip to Majorca went up from £1,876 in term time to £4,028 in the summer holidays.
However, headteacherthe impact that unauthorised absences can have onschool standards.
“Last year we had almost 3 per centabsence due to unauthorised term-time holidays alone - a figure which will likely be repeated this year. With illness on top of this, our attendance is barely satisfactory,” she wrote.
Yesterday, ITV’s This Morningasked its viewers to take part in avote on the issue.
The result was staggeringly in favour of allowing parents to remove their children from the classroom without the threat of being fined, with just 8 per cent of voters agreeing with the current rules.
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