'Big School Holiday Scam'

[Vavavoomer]

At LAST!

Somebody in the media who gets it! Who understands how absolutely scandalous it is for holidays to cost us parents and indeed teachers DOUBLE everyone else!

www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/news/your-say/letters/editor-s-comment-government-needs-to-tackle-the-big-school-holiday-scam-not-persecute-parents-1-5956925

Not sure what 'SpeakOut' is trying to achieve! Isn't it about using your common sense?

This makes me cross - as does the way schools/Ofsted/govt concentrate on bashing parents for taking their children out of school rather than applying pressure on travel companies to make the prices more equitable.

What made me cross was the comment that allowed sensible parents no scope whatsoever to control their own child's upbringing, whilst making absolutely no acknowledgment of the fact many people - myself included - cannot afford to take our children away from the same 4 walls they see everyday of there lifes.

There are plenty of affordablle options in the school holidays.
No excuse for term time.
There are loads of campsites and holiday park in the UK

It's like saying wedding caterers can't make money from weddings, nor christmas shops fromselling christmas decorations.
Of course the price goes up when there's more demand on places, it's like everything else in life.

I don't think the issue is so much that holidays less in term time (supply and demand) I think it's the pressure put on parents not to miss any school whatsoever, without taking a sensible view.

My DCs school is actually sensible about this. Friends of ours are going to Australia in term time. It had to be those dates for a certain reason, nothing to do with cost. The HT said he couldn't authorise it, but have a lovely time. On the flip side I spoke to one parent who was in tears because she was scared she was going to be fined for taking her child out of school for two days before a holiday in order to visit her mother abroad who has cancer. It dawned of me afterwards her child was still 4, and so legally didn't have to be at school. I don't think that HT handled the situation quite so well.

Obviously if parents just aren't bothering to get their DC into school, and are taking masses of "holiday" its a different matter.

Yes, that's the point; it's the prssure being inappropriately applied on parents, rather than the travel industry. Of course school hol prices will go up, but they shouldn't be nearly double 2 weeks later!

I am a teacher so we always have to pay inflated prices - but that has nothing to do with my beef really, I suck it up as part of the job. This is about people who aren't as well off as us being penalised for taking their kids away at a time they can afford to do so.

I do get that holidays at whatever price are out of some peoples' leagues too.

We stay in budget places and pay a fraction of what most people spend.

I understand that people want to make as much money as they can but it does feel unfair. We went to Italy in a caravan in June before ds1 started school. The holiday including car hire and flights cost £700. The same holiday in the school holidays is £2400. It just means that families with school-aged children have to miss out.

We have had some lovely holidays since the children are at school, they usually involve staying in farmers fields which we love but is not to everyone's taste.