Shropshire Star

Poll: Should the rules imposed on headteachers over pupils' term time holidays be scrapped?

Tough new rules on term time holidays should be overturned, leaving headteachers to decide whether to allow pupils to be taken out of school, council leaders have said. What do you think?

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The changes, which mean that school leaders can only grant permission for trips in "exceptional circumstances" fail to recognise that family life is not simple, and there may be times when parents need to take children out of lessons for legitimate reasons, according to the Local Government Association (LGA).

It is calling for headteachers to be allowed to use their common sense when approving trips, allowing mothers and fathers to take their youngsters away from school during term time without running the risk of a fine.

Under the current system, parents who take children out of school without permission could face a £60 fine per child, rising to £120 if it is not paid within 21 days.

Those who fail to pay can face prosecution, with a maximum fine, if convicted, of £2,500 or a jail sentence of up to three months.

The new rules on term time trips were introduced last year and have proved controversial, with opponents arguing that some families were unable to, or could not afford to take breaks during school holidays.

Previously, school leaders could grant up to 10 days leave a year for family holidays in special circumstances.

The LGA argued that while it supported the government's view that every child should be in school every day, it believed there were occasions where parents' requests should be considered - such as religious festivals, weddings, funerals or a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity".

It added that currently, parents looking to go abroad during school holidays could find that costs were double that of travelling during term time, as travel firms ramped up prices.

As an example, the association claimed that the cost for a family of four to go to Cyprus this half-term - which for many schools is next week - is around £510 per person, but drops to £119 per person two weeks later.

And long-haul flights to Orlando, Florida, were around £181 more expensive per person flying in half-term than two weeks later, it found.

The LGA also said that bans on term time breaks were particularly hard on those working in professions such as the NHS, police and armed forces.

Councillor David Simmonds, chairman of the LGA's children and young people board, said: "Ensuring every child has a good school attendance is of paramount concern for everyone working with children.

"However, common sense must prevail in cases when mums and dads ask to take their child out of school during term time if there is a legitimate reason.

"An outright ban is too simplistic, and doesn't recognise that family life and circumstances aren't always so black and white.

"We shouldn't have a system where family holidays are just for the rich or indeed children aren't able to take time off in light of family bereavement.

"There needs to be flexibility within the system.

"Headteachers know the circumstances of families and what's going on in their school throughout the year and should be trusted to make decisions without being forced to issue fines and start prosecutions."

But Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) said: "There is already the flexibility to allow children to miss school for 'exceptional circumstances' such as a family wedding or once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but these should be extraordinary and rare.

"We sympathise with parents' plight, but the way to address this problem is to tackle the holiday companies that charge extortionate fees, not to allow more children to miss out on school.

"In this case we agree with the Department for Education completely."

Missing school puts a child at a disadvantage and means that teachers need to spend extra time making sure the youngster is back up to speed, which impacts on the whole class, he added.

Figures published earlier this month showed that 2.5 million school days were lost because of family holidays in the autumn and spring terms of 2013/14, both those authorised by the school and unauthorised, down 0.8 million from 3.3 million the year before.

Government officials suggested that this drop was down to the new rules on term time holidays.

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