NAHT calls on government to address holiday price hikes

The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) has called on the government to take steps to address large holiday price hikes during school holidays.

The calls came in response to a letter sent by Schools Minister Nick Gibb telling schools to ignore the recent high court ruling that overturned a fine imposed for an unauthorised family holiday.

Russell Hobby, NAHT general secretary, welcomed the letter from Gibb for clarifying the expectations of school leaders when authorising term time absence and echoed Gibb’s sentiment that children should be in school during term time.

However, Hobby criticised the current system of fines, which is described as ‘too blunt and instrument’ and expressed concerns that repeated absences and truancy had become conflated with occasional absences for holidays.

As an alternative solution to the problem, Hobby posited that the government should instead focus on addressing the large holiday price hikes that occur during school holidays.

Hobby highlighted that ‘neither parents nor schools set the prices of holidays’ and expressed his view that many parents may not feel the need to seek cheaper term time deals if the cost increases were not so dramatic.