by When the school term starts in January, Lisa Francesca Nand’s two children will be on sick leave. Except they won’t: they’ll actually be in southern Spain with her family, enjoying some sunshine: no back-to-school blues for them, and no guilt for her. Well, maybe a little.
“I often took the kids out of school during term time and felt a little guilty, but I still went ahead and did it,” says Nand, “but it’s the difference between going and not going, and we can’t. afford to go if we don’t travel during the school term.
Instead of facing a fine from their schools for an unauthorized absence, Nand plans to sign them in sick for the first two days of the quarter. “I can’t believe I’m saying this publicly,” she laughs, “but yeah, I’ll call you sick in January. I’m sorry to say it, but while I’ll probably feel guilty for twisting the truth, it’s the best I can do.”
The trip is booked for December 30 and will require a two-day illness, but the difference between that and traveling during the school holidays is “several hundred pounds”, says Nand, broadcaster and host of The Big Travel Podcast.
It will also be more than just a holiday, he says: “My parents live in Spain, so it’s about spending time together as a family. I’m not going to give up a Christmas trip to see them just because the flights are too expensive if we stick to the school holidays.
“It’s not like we’re going to the United States for a three-week vacation in the middle of the semester, although I wouldn’t be against that if it were the only way to do it. No, we’re talking about a few days here and there, for my children to spend quality time with their grandparents, who are 80 years old. They will never understand that [opportunity] again.”
Term holidays are always a topic of much debate and are on the rise, according to new figures from the Department for Education. In the 2022-23 academic year, a record 350,000 parents in England were fined for taking their children out of school to travel – 20 per cent more than in 2018-19, the last full year of fines before the pandemic.
While private schools have their own rules, state schools can penalize families for absences: £60 per child, per parent, which doubles to £120 if they are not paid within 21 days. If fines remain outstanding, parents may also be prosecuted.
But for many families, the savings of traveling during term time far outweigh the risk of a fine. Let’s say you fancy some Jamaican sunshine next winter. Through Tui, seven nights all-inclusive at Bahia Principe Grand Jamaica, a resort with three massive pools and an 800-metre beach, costs £2,016 per person from December 27, 2024, based on two adults and two children sharing a Junior Suite, a total of £8,062. However, if you change the dates by one week and move the trip to the quarterly period, the price drops by almost £3,000 – a total of £5,175, or £1,356 per person. And that’s just one example – see the “Vacation Cost Comparison Over Period” table below for more information.
Above is the total holiday cost for a family of four (two adults, two children aged nine and seven). Prices include flights and a shared room/suite. Dates in 2024, unless otherwise indicated.
For Laura Marfell-Williams, postponing her family’s annual ski trip from early January until the school holidays would add £1,000 to the £4,735 bill, but her decision to travel during term time is not motivated by money. “We go with my sister, who is an assistant principal, and obviously it wouldn’t occur to her to miss two days of school,” she explains. “However, her term dates are different to my daughters’, so she ‘ranks’ and we plan based on her availability: we have booked from December 30 to January 6, so my daughters will be missing two days of school as an unauthorized absence. .”
The prospect of a no-show fine is “a drop in the bucket when it comes to ski holidays”, says Marfell-Williams, an independent public relations consultant. “It all has to do with the snow guarantee and my sister’s availability, because last year we skied in the middle of the semester and there was no snow.”
Do you feel guilty about booking a seasonal trip? “Absolutely not. I think the time spent skiing is much more valuable than the first two days back at school. My parents were teachers, so we only went out during school holidays and I really try to do the same, but I still think firmly into travel, immersion in other cultures and languages, and taking advantage of the opportunity to spend time with family when you can.”
Since the pandemic, there has been a “sea change” in attitudes about when children should be in school, new research revealed in September. The Public First study found that the cost difference between term-time travel and school holiday travel “made the [former] “option impossible to ignore.”
Their results also revealed that many parents no longer consider ensuring their children’s daily attendance at school to be essential for good parenting, and that quarterly holidays “are now fully socially acceptable across all socioeconomic groups.”
However, that attitude is not always evident at the school gate, says style consultant Ginnie Chadwyck-Healey, who has two daughters aged nine and seven and a three-year-old son. “I did it once, to spend the holiday of a lifetime in the Maldives in February 2022. I certainly felt the need to promote the trip. There were many comments of ‘we will never do a trip like this again!’ comments to my friends at the time of collection.
“My justification to school staff and friends who might have raised an eyebrow was that my children would learn more in those 10 days than in the classroom, and they did.”
With holiday costs rising, the Chadwyck-Healey family may consider taking a second quarterly trip next year. “When reviewing the school calendar, I have noticed that the Easter holidays are not as opportune in 2024. I imagine it would be between 30 and 50 percent cheaper to go during term time, which for a family of five It is a big difference.
“Before long, children will be in senior school and exams, and will probably feel that being away during term time is hindering them. So this window we’re in is limited. We know each other well enough as parents (as does the principal) to catch up on reading, writing, and math. The last thing I want is for my children to be left behind.”
