Calls for school holidays to be staggered

A campaign asking for school term dates to be changed across the country to make holidays more affordable has been set up by a new travel company.

TimeAway started the #ChangeSchoolTermDates campaign and they believe that this change would spread demand and increase affordability for hard-working families.

During the school holidays, the price to go away with the family increases and this change could see more parents take their children on cheaper holidays.

Once 100,000 parents sign up to the campaign, TimeAway are looking to hold regional meetings with head teachers in order to agree on new term dates.

The campaign comes as a result of the Supreme Court considering whether councils should fine parents who take their children out of school for the sake of a holiday.

Many families find that when their children break up from school, it’s four times more expensive to go take a break, however, the Department of Education has claimed that having time off school can harm pupils’ attainment.

Other European companies already stagger their school holidays, such as Germany, and the term dates are set by region to ensure that family members attending or working in different schools are not separated during half term.

For more information or to sign up to the campaign, see below.