Education expert says more frequent but shorter school holidays will keep pupils in class

The Supreme Court ruled against Jon Platt and wife Sally over unauthorised holidays during term time (PA)

SCHOOLS should rip up their holiday timetables to give families cheaper holidays, according to one leading expert.

Keir Bloomer, an architect of the Curriculum for Excellence, believes shorter holidays spread throughout the year could provide a solution to the current system.

Describing the summer break as a “serious educational problem” he said: “We would be better with shorter holidays split throughout the year. It would be educationally sounder and could also give families the opportunity to take breaks at cheaper times.

“We could solve that problem and also an educational problem at the same time.”

Mr Bloomer, chair of the Commission on School Reform, revealed that education experts have suspected “for quite a long time” that our revelations about youngsters taking time off school was a serious problem.

He said: “We also know that most schools wind down towards the end of term anyway. In some cases, whether the child is there or not is of very little consequence.

“I’m not condoning taking time off school.

“Frankly, I think schools should be offering something educationally worthwhile in all of the 180 days they are open.

“A long summer holiday is a serious educational problem. Middle class families are able to sustain children’s learning across the six weeks of the summer holidays by, at some point, doing worthwhile things with them, be it trips abroad or to a museum with them. Poorer families are unable to do this.”

Education Secretary John Swinney urges firms to help stop parents having to choose between school and cheaper holidays

The former director of education and chief executive of Clackmannanshire Council said “considerable research” suggests the attainment gap between rich and poorer pupils could be caused by slippage during summer holidays.

He added: “We have just inherited the terms of school holidays from the past. We have tattie howking holidays and all sorts, which is just ludicrous.”

However his idea to spread holidays throughout the year has failed to gain any sort of traction with the travel industry.

A spokeswoman for the Association of British Travel Agents said the reason prices rise during school holidays is “supply and demand” – and that will always be the case regardless of when the holidays are timetabled.

She said: “Allowing schools to set their own holiday dates is a good first step to alleviating the sharp peaks in pricing. However, if it is to achieve results there needs to be a coordinated approach to staggering holiday dates to allow demand to be spread over a longer period and avoid any problems for families with children in different schools.

“While staggering holiday dates will help alleviate sharp peaks, demand, both from families and from holidaymakers across Europe, will likely still be concentrated around the traditional school holiday periods and so prices will still be higher at Christmas, Easter and in the summer, than at off-peak times.”

Scotland’s largest teaching union, the EIS, claimed that taking breaks during term time could harm children’s education.

A spokesman said: “Clearly, it is never ideal for pupils to be absent from school during term time as unauthorised absences can have a detrimental impact on pupils’ learning and leave them with a significant amount of catching up to do.

“It is, however, somewhat understandable that some parents elect to take their children out of school in the run-up to the end of term due to a number of factors such as lower holiday costs.”

Meanwhile, a man found guilty of failing to secure his daughter’s regular attendance after taking her to Florida during term time has claimed that skipping school improves her educational performance.

Jon Platt’s lengthy campaign went all the way from the Isle of Wight magistrates court to eventual defeat at the supreme court – at a cost of nearly £140,000 to the public purse. He was originally taken to court after he refused to pay a £120 penalty for taking his daughter on a term time holiday to Disney World in 2015.

Despite local magistrates and two High Court findings in his favour, the Supreme Court ruled against him.

He was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £2000 costs, as well as a £20 surcharge.

Mr Platt claimed it was “almost impossible” for couples who worked in the police, NHS, or who ran businesses to get time off during the summer holidays.

Mr Platt is now trying to convince his daughter to quit state school for a private education so he cannot be prosecuted for taking her on holiday during term time.