Parent's Group to challenge UK Government over holiday rules

It had to happen...

Parents to take legal action against term-time holiday ban

Travelmole wrote:A group of parents are planning to take legal action against the ban on term-time holidays and have already won the support of 200,000 other parents.

The campaign group 'Parents want a say', which was officially launched at the weekend, is seeking a judicial review of the rules, claiming they are a breach of the human right to family life.

Last September the Education Secretary Michael Gove put a stop to a policy which allowed schools to grant up to 10 days holiday a year to families in "special circumstances." Head teachers are now only allowed to give permission in "exceptional circumstances."

Frankly, this...

Under the new rules, parents can be fined or even put into prison if they take their children away during term time.

...is flipping ridiculous. :twisted:

This is bad news for all of us, even if you're currently kid-free and never ski in the school holidays.

Today's kids are tomorrow's skiers; they are the future of our sport and if their families can no longer afford to take them skiing then the "market" (upon which all our favourite resorts depend for a living and future investment) will shrink further. A shrinking market means less choice, fewer flights, higher prices and - ultimately - quite possibly fewer resorts.

Bah, humbug.

Another bonkers law from the spoon feeders who think that education is all about attendance.

I would have incurred a few fines had mine been a few years younger (now 18 & 21).
Like many other working parents I don't get half term off every year and I can't take time when I want.

For me it wasn't about the money (although for many that is a factor given the high prices charged) but more about spending time with my family. When it was half term we avoided the big destinations to avoid being ripped off.

I fear some in the educational establishment (I hasten to add I don't mean the teachers themselves) are so detached from reality that they fail to understand that life has many competing needs. Sadly we live in a world where dogma and rule books are deemed more important than anything else.

In Scotland there are no week long mid-term breaks. There are one or two areas with two/three days closure. Hence, Scotland, which has a five area ski industry, does not offer the children an opportunity to ski, outside of Christmas/New Year or Easter. Pretty daft.

We kept our lads off school for a few years, to go skiing, until exam years came along. All we had to do was put a note into school.

Again they are tackling this one from the wrong angle ...... We all know we should not take our kids out of school ...... the tour companies airlines should be the ones targeted ..... My suggestion don't book any flights or holidays are see if they come down in price, but people wont do it and will still continue to pay over the top prices ...........

Dave Mac wrote:In Scotland there are no week long mid-term breaks. There are one or two areas with two/three days closure. Hence, Scotland, which has a five area ski industry, does not offer the children an opportunity to ski, outside of Christmas/New Year or Easter. Pretty daft.

This is very true but on the upside Scotland doesn't fine parents for taking their kids out of school for ski trips. I've had written permission from head of my kids' school every winter for years granting time off.

The airlines and holiday companies are unlikely to tackle it - they rely on the big prices at peak times to balance the books - at quieter times they may well be running at a loss.
Dynamic pricing is a fact of life.
Perhaps the time has come to leave the historical holidays behind?

What happens to home schooled children? Do the parents fine themselves?