Term-time holidays okay, says teachers’ union boss

The contentious issue of parents taking their children out of school in term-time has reared its head once more, with a leading teachers’ union saying the practice should be allowed. According to the Daily Telegraph, Geraint Davies, secretary of the NASUWT in Wales, said he believed pupils could learn more from the experience of travel than being at school, and called for a change to the rules that allow “permitted absences” of up to 10 days a year. Recent reports have shown that absenteeism has increased in primary schools over the last five years, mainly because of parents taking children on holiday. Mr Davies is quoted as saying: “Parents take their children on holiday during term time for a variety of reasons, particularly because it can be hundreds of pounds cheaper. Travel broadens the mind and captures the interest of pupils – it can help very much with their education. “Primary school children in particular would learn more from two weeks in the sun than they would in school. In years gone by pupils would have gone away at the end of a school year for a trip, so what is the difference?” A spokesman for the National Family and Parenting Institute reportedly endorsed Mr Davies’ views, but added: “What we would really like to see is the travel companies removing those extra costs so parents do not have to take their children away during term time.” Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad Ltd