The survey, carried out as part of the annual World Travel Market industry
report, follows the introduction of legislation aimed as dissuading parents
from allowing their children to miss school for a family holiday.
Of those questioned, 55 per cent said they were aware of the new rules, which,
if ignored, can result in fines for parents of up to £60 per child. Around
half of those polled had children, and 37 per cent of those said they would
pay the fine if it meant they could secure a cheaper break outside of the
school holidays.
Last
week a petition calling for the Government to overturn the ban on
term-time holidays was presented to the Department for Education (DfE).
Until recently, head teachers had the power to grant students up to 10 days’
leave a year for family holidays in “special circumstances”, but since
September 1 they have no longer been able to do so. Absence during term time
is now only permitted during “exceptional circumstances”, and there is no
mention of the 10-day limit in the new regulations.
The petition, hosted by the website 38 Degrees Campaigns By You, has attracted more than 130,000 signatures. It claims that the recent changes to the rules “will adversely affect many families who cannot afford the cost [of a break] during school holidays.”
“All children who have a good attendance record should be allowed the opportunity to enjoy quality time with their parents on an annual holiday of up to 10 days once per year,” it adds. “Good parents or parents that work full time should not be criminalised for wanting to enjoy an affordable annual family holiday.”
Nick Trend, Telegraph Travel's Consumer Editor, expressed “sympathy for families who are restricted to taking their holidays during school vacations - especially during the longest recession in living memory.”
"The laws of supply and demand at a time when the whole of Europe takes its holidays, mean that August prices are often twice those in June, camping holidays quadruple in cost, and flights and ferry fares on peak summer weekends can also be up to four times more expensive than at quieter times," he added.
The petition, hosted by the website 38 Degrees Campaigns By You, has attracted more than 130,000 signatures. It claims that the recent changes to the rules “will adversely affect many families who cannot afford the cost [of a break] during school holidays.”
“All children who have a good attendance record should be allowed the opportunity to enjoy quality time with their parents on an annual holiday of up to 10 days once per year,” it adds. “Good parents or parents that work full time should not be criminalised for wanting to enjoy an affordable annual family holiday.”
Nick Trend, Telegraph Travel's Consumer Editor, expressed “sympathy for families who are restricted to taking their holidays during school vacations - especially during the longest recession in living memory.”
"The laws of supply and demand at a time when the whole of Europe takes its holidays, mean that August prices are often twice those in June, camping holidays quadruple in cost, and flights and ferry fares on peak summer weekends can also be up to four times more expensive than at quieter times," he added.
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