The price of holidays rise during school holidays for one simple reason: demand rises! Many families think about this rationally and take their children on holidays during times when it is more affordable but this obviously results in the child missing days at school. Now local education authorities are fining the parents for removing their children from schools without permission during term times.

Most parents of school children pay their council and income taxes and therefore contribute financially to their education but according to government they give up all rights in having any control over how their children are taught, what they are taught and when and where they can attend school. Parents want the best for their children at all times, admittedly putting them into the state education is going against the grain a little, but after paying all the taxes, what other choices are left. Being able to take their children on holiday, when it is financially suitable should not be something that is dictated to parents by the state. Children miss school in their early years through illness and accidents and yet this does not seem to hinder them in progressing through the education factory.

How best to regulate this? A solution could be to allow schools to test children at the end of each academic year to see if they have learned what they were supposed to (and been taught it well enough) during the previous months. If they fail, keep them back a year; if many of them fail, fire the teacher. Simplicity that allows a rational approach to a child’s education, allowing both parents and schools to see how well children are progressing against their own year group. And if they are doing well, why not take them on holiday, if they’re doing really well, take the teacher along!