Budget holidays lead to more school truancy - Car Rental News
Budget holidays lead to more school truancy
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Car Rental News - 06/06/2011
Latest research suggests half of parents risk fines by exploiting the cheap holidays available during school terms.
Rising prices for holidays during term time are leading many parents to take their kids on cheaper holidays while they’re supposed to be in school. The finding emerges following the release last week of official numbers that show that, after sickness, holidays are the leading reason for children missing school.
The news comes even though new regulations were introduced that provide for spot fines for parents who continue to allow their children to miss school. In extreme cases, parents even risk prison terms.
It is thought that many families, facing increased financial pressures during the recent recessions, are choosing to save money with cheap term-time holidays. In the latest research, 400 parents were surveyed.
The results, published today, show that 48 per cent of fathers and mothers admit to having taken their kids out of school lessons to go on a family trip. Nearly a third of those questioned said took holidays at term time in order to avoid the costs of the peak holiday periods.
Roughly one parent in four said travel forms a key part of their children’s education. The study, conducted by travelsupermarket.com, showed that the cost of a two-week holiday during term time for a typical family of four to the Algarve has risen by as much as 42 per cent.
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