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Saving for your holiday
Parents save money by taking family holidays during term time
A poll of 2,000 parents across the UK, conducted by the online travel website TripAdvisor, has revealed that 46 per cent of parents questioned had already taken their children out of school in order to get a better deal on their family holiday. From the remaining 54 percent, 36 per cent confessed that they may absenting their kids in the future.
The poll showed that Government spending cuts have reduced families’ holiday budgets with 53 per cent spending less this year than in 2010.
44 per cent of the 2,000 parents claimed that government budget cuts would directly impact their holiday plans for 2011.
Currently, schools are able to fine parents up to £100 for taking children out of school for a holiday during the term. This is cut to £50 if paid within 28 days. It’s claimed that now some parents are prepared to accept the cost if they can save a greater amount on an off-peak holiday. This is becoming a growing trend.
It's also claimed that many schools turn a blind eye to holiday absences while others only notified parents of their disapproval without any further action.
Only 7 per cent of parents said they had been fined for doing so although this rose to 17 per cent for parents in Scotland.
What do you think? Would you take your kids out of school to save on the cost of your family holiday?
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Stupid selfish people. What they may not realise (or dont care about) is that unauthorised absences reflect badly on the rest of the school and can tarnish the reputations of a school who otherwise work very hard to achieve good attendance levels. Just a few days absence can completely skew the attendance figures for individual classes, year groups and across the whole school. This usually why some schools overlook it - not that they approve but because the actions of selfish people can be seen to undermine their hard work.Another factor is that when their little angels return to school, teachers have to divert time and resources towards that child so they can catch up thus depriving the children who foolishly attend every day.
I totally agree, it is so ridiculous. If you can't afford the extra few quid, don't go on holiday! To take your child out of school is selfish.
There are, alternatively, people of this world like myself, who are single working parents and would love nothing more than to take my children "on an aeroplane" once in a while and taking my kids out of school is the only chance i have of doing it. It is not something i would prefer to do but have no alternative if i want to give my kids a sunny holiday which they deserve. These "selfish" people, such as myself, also ensure we take missed schoolwork with us so they dont miss anything from the curriculum and if the price hikes werent as they were, i would wait for the summer holidays.
I also would seek permission from school first and not just "phone in sick". I personally find the above comments incredibly offensive. Frankly, when push comes to shove, i care more about my childrens happiness than about a school scoring system, which makes me a good parent. Not a selfish one.