Holiday companies who bump up their charges during school holidays are the villains - Yorkshire Post Letters

As a former teacher, I was disappointed to read of Jayne Dowle’s tacit approval of parents taking their children out of school in term time for family holidays, especially at the start of the September term (The Yorkshire Post, March 4).

The start of a new term is a crucial time for pupils as standards are set then by teachers in the hope of establishing a structured learning process for the rest of the school year. In missing this vital start pupils face playing ‘catch up’.

I acknowledge that there can be valid reasons, as Jayne writes, where a family break may alleviate family stress, but I would advise consultation with the head of the school prior to such absence.

The real villains are of course the holiday companies who bump up their charges during school holidays, a fact which troubled me when I was forced to take my own holidays during approved holiday breaks.

Sadly cheaper holiday offers during term time must tempt struggling parents on limited budgets but I would urge parents to place their offsprings’ education first and foremost.