Term-time Leave

John Pugh Excerpts

Monday 26th October 2015 Westminster Hall

[John Pugh (Southport) (LD)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for St Austell and Newquay (Steve Double) on securing this important debate, which is not entirely about tourism in Cornwall—it goes much wider than that.

I declare an interest. I never took any of my four children out of school during term time. That probably had something to do with the fact that I was a teacher. My employer would have regarded it rather dimly.

There is a legitimate debate to be had about how much time a pupil needs to spend in school and how valuable that time is. In life, there is always a trade-off between quantity and quality. The Minister can point to the fact that the Chinese spend more time in school than we do and make progress rapidly. We reach the same point, but they get to it somewhat earlier. University technical colleges have longer school days and their pupils make more rapid progress, although I do not know whether they get further in the long run. Against that we can set the example of the great public schools of England, which sometimes have ridiculously long summer holidays. If a pupil is in the cricket team, they are hardly in during the summer term anyway. Their results appear to be quite commendable, so we cannot draw general conclusions.

I am rather sad at the general perception that it is ultimately damaging to take children out of school at all times and on all occasions, except in very exceptional circumstances, which certainly do not include holidays. Most parents accept that school is valuable and important and want their child to be there. If they put in a request to take their child out for a time, they do so reluctantly. The Government struggle with this, but I think most parents are reasonably good judges of their own child’s interests and that most requests are put in only at the margins of the school year. These days, pretty much all parents juggle their working life with school time. If their children are at multiple schools with holidays at different times, they find the task formidable.

What is to be done if a parent feels that it would be desirable and not too damaging if their child was out of school during term time? I suggest that the answer for the school and for parents is simply to allow flexibility, which was the generally agreed answer until quite recently. There are exceptional circumstances, which will sometimes involve holidays or other events of family importance. That, however, does not appear to be the view of the Department for Education and Ofsted, which seem to take the rather Gradgrind approach that a child should never miss an hour in school, otherwise the consequences might be fatal.

As I said, I was a teacher. I have not taught for 14 years now, but I had a fairly long teaching career. I have to say that not every hour in school is that educational. Towards the end of the summer term, when exams are done and people are tired, and when the days are hot and the pupils sleepy and looking forward to the summer, one cannot always say that time in school is absolutely precious and could never be forfeited under any circumstances. Equally, most holidays are educationally very productive. After all, that is why so many schools organise holidays. Strangely enough, they sometimes start such holidays towards the end of school time because they recognise the benefits they bring to pupils.

Children improve on holidays. They certainly improve faster on holiday than they do in the last few weeks of school. I recently had the benefit of taking all five of my grandchildren on a holiday to France for two weeks. We did not go around museums, nor did I lecture them about things such as French literature or test their maths, but they came back far more developed after two weeks away than they had after the previous term. I could actually see the difference. They are small children and the development that took place was there for all to see.

The Minister will undoubtedly say that there is an anxiety that for some children there will be some sort of tail-off in the summer. There is a tail-off among certain groups because of the long summer holidays, which some people see as something of an anachronism. Real holidays, subject to the headteacher deciding that that is what is taking place, are life-enhancing and educational. How would we distinguish between real holidays and school-shirking or lesson-skipping, which the Minister would legitimately fear? I do not have a clear answer to that, but I am certain that if we want to make that sort of judgment, it should be done not through the DFE or Ofsted, but based on local information. Local schools should be allowed to make their decisions. We certainly must not poison the relationship between the school, the parents and the child by imposing fines.

A common-sense solution is being urged, through the petition and eloquently by the Members who have spoken so far. I hope that the Minister, having seen some of the errors that the Government have made through their Gradgrind approach, will review the legislation and commend a more sensible regime to schools.

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[Dr Daniel Poulter (Central Suffolk and North Ipswich) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr McCabe. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for St Austell and Newquay (Steve Double) for securing this debate and for raising the issue of the petition. I commend my other hon. Friends and hon. Members who have spoken for their thoughtful contributions. There have been a number of contributions, and the issues and arguments appear to me to be as follows.

Several points were made about the guidance given to headteachers on how to implement the regulations. Hon. Members discussed the potential impact on tourism and the seasonality of work—in Cornwall, in particular, but also in other areas of the country with a tourist trade. Hon. Members mentioned the potential impact on public sector workers who may have their leave cancelled during those periods. Although that is certainly true during the summer holiday period, other holiday periods are available to public sector workers—I speak from experience. Hon. Members also spoke about the issue of affordability and the effect that inflated holiday prices during school holidays can have on certain families.

I want to talk about the educational case that underpins the current regulations. Although there are clearly concerns about the regulations, I will talk about why they are in place and outline some of the issues at stake. Fundamentally, they are about doing the right thing by children. There is clear evidence that absence from school is detrimental to school performance and leads to lower levels of attainment. Absence data from the academic year 2012-13 and previous years indicate that pupils with no absence from school during key stage 4 were nearly three times as likely to achieve five A*, A, B or C grades at GCSE. Even a small amount of absence from school can reduce performance. Indeed, 44% of children with no absence at key stage 4 achieve the English baccalaureate, which is the gold standard package of GCSE qualifications including English, maths and science. That figure falls by a quarter to 31.7% for pupils who miss up to 14 days of lessons over the two years that they study for their GCSEs—that equates to about one week per year.

There is therefore clear and well-established evidence that missing lessons equals lower achievement in schools, and that is why the policy is in place. The policy is well intended and is there to ensure that all children have a good education.

[John Pugh]

The hon. Gentleman is talking about absence generically, but the evidence clearly includes two sorts of absence: the occasional absence, which people talk about and has extenuating circumstances, such as holiday absence; and systematic, regular absence. Do the data show any difference? The data will show clearly—I am only guessing; he may correct me if I am wrong—that children who are underperforming because of absence are not those who are taking the odd week off in exceptional circumstances because their parents have asked, but children who are repeatedly absent for one reason or another throughout the term and the year.

[Dr Poulter]

The hon. Gentleman makes a good point. The data are generic—we know that there is a link between absence rates for all reasons and lower attainment at school. Of course we would expect pupils who are missing school regularly and not turning up for reasons such as truancy to do less well at school than those who attend regularly—there is other evidence to support that. That is the hon. Gentleman’s point, but my understanding of the data is that, generally, higher rates of absence equal lower levels of attainment.

When putting regulations in place—perfect ones are difficult, but they are there for the right reasons—we need to look at something the Minister alluded to in an intervention on my hon. Friend the Member for St Austell and Newquay. Were we to facilitate routinely two weeks of holiday for pupils during term time, over a pupil’s school career that would represent about 24 weeks of extra holiday in school time—almost half a year of extra holiday and of lost learning time being facilitated by law. That is not something that anyone ought to want to facilitate in Government regulation. Such a situation would clearly be detrimental to a child’s development, future life chances and chances at school.

Regulations are difficult to make, but there is a reason why they are in place. We have failed to discuss the level of discretion available to headteachers at the moment and I will come on to that. It is right to have given discretion to headteachers, who may look at the circumstances involved, but there might be an issue to do with refreshing some of the guidance. Perhaps the Minister will talk about that in his response.

The background to the legislation is that parents are not now able directly to authorise absence themselves; they must do so with facilitation from the headteacher. The initial framework of the regulations was put in place by the then Labour Government in 2006 and changed by the coalition Government in 2013. Under the new regulations, headteachers may not grant leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances.

The matter is therefore one for the headteacher. A fine for an unauthorised absence is possible, but discretion has been given to the headteacher to look at the circumstances, and they have done so in a number of cases. Clearly, in our increasingly multicultural country—something we celebrate—different religions have certain celebrations at different times of the year. Certain schools and headteachers recognise that and use those exceptional circumstances of religious celebration to exercise their discretion.

We need to look at what we want in regulation—a duty that is in effect permissive, allowing such absence, or one that allows the headteacher to look at the circumstances, making it the rule that leave should not be given without exceptional circumstances. A permissive duty would in effect allow an extra half year of holiday and missed school in pupils’ lives, so the legislation has probably come down on the right side of the argument: in support of the headteacher’s having discretion.

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[Michelle Donelan (Chippenham) (Con)]

I echo the gratitude expressed to my hon. Friend the Member for St Austell and Newquay (Steve Double) for introducing a debate that carries the British public with it. There is considerable support for his opinion among my constituents —the issue cropped up regularly on doorsteps during the election and has reached me subsequently in correspondence and in surgeries.

The existing situation is simply not fair. The changes in September allow headteachers to have discretion over emergency circumstances, but the term is subjective, so different schools judge those circumstances differently. One family in my constituency who had been through a traumatic time requested two weeks away together to get over their personal loss. They were not given that. In fact, they were fined, despite the fact that they promised, and did, keep up with their children’s primary school education while away. In other areas, I hear of cases where children were granted permission in similar circumstances. That seems unjust; it seems that in effect we have created a postcode lottery situation.

I have two primary concerns. First, why is so much money and administration being used to fine those parents who are not really neglecting their children’s education or enabling truancy? Should we not be targeting those resources on those actually abusing the system and damaging their children’s education and chances?

Secondly, the policy punishes servicemen such as those who work at MOD Corsham. They often work inflexibly and can be deployed during school holiday time; their leave periods may not align with the school holidays. It also punishes the hard-working families whom we were elected to represent, especially those on low incomes who simply cannot afford to go away during the holidays.

The Department stated that it is not denying any family a holiday, but the reality is different, because poorer families are denied that chance. For what? To stop them from travelling? We must not underestimate the value of travel. Different places, cultures, customs, activities and people all enrich and enhance a child’s education. They also enable children to be more tolerant and help produce well rounded individuals. We must ask ourselves whether that is also an educational objective. The issue is not just about grades.

I question the key argument the Department gave in its formal response to the petition, which was that taking children out of school during term time lowers attainment levels. That is true, but the figures used in the response were based on children who were absent for 15% to 20% of the time, or primary schoolchildren absent for 31 days. The petition does not suggest 15% to 20% absence; it discusses a period of just two weeks.

The figures indicate that less than two weeks’ absence can affect GCSE students, so surely it would be best to introduce changes just for primary schoolchildren. That would ensure that no time was taken during exam periods and when work is harder to catch up on. Primary school work can be done easily while away—it is easier to keep up. I do not suggest that children should be allowed to take two weeks off without parents ensuring that they keep up to date with their work, but I would like to see a much more flexible system.

To make our education system less rigid and more understanding would enhance the relationship with parents. Education relies on parents and guardians—in fact, they are vital. The current law creates a “them and us” mentality, which is the polar opposite of the ethos of “from school to home”, a partnership between parents and teachers. There needs to be much more trust and flexibility. We can introduce a change that is logical and fair, which could be just for primary school level. However, what we must not do is continue with a system that punishes hard-working families and alienates parents.

We must not also forget that this concept can easily be blown out of proportion. We are talking about two weeks to offer children, especially those from poorer backgrounds, an opportunity to have time with their families and be enriched.

[John Pugh]

The hon. Lady made a good point about 15% to 20% absence. Is she familiar with the DFE report that said:

“The proportions of pupils achieving the expected level stay relatively similar for increasing levels of absence due to authorised family holidays, religious observance and study leave”?

In other words, leave makes precious little difference when we are not talking about 15% to 20% absence.

[Michelle Donelan]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that. We need further studies on the value of travel and family time. We need to look at the reason for absence.

We must not blow the petition out of proportion. It is only about two weeks’ absence. That is two weeks to offer children, especially from poorer backgrounds, the opportunity to have time with their family and be enriched. As a member of the party that stands for hard-working families and opportunities, I see that proposal as not only the best thing to do, but the right thing to do.

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[Steve Double]

I will say a few brief words. First, I thank everyone who signed the public petition that led to this debate—all 120,000 of them. I am grateful for all the encouragement that I have received from many members of the public since saying that I wanted to lead this debate. I thank all the members of the public who came and sat through this debate, particularly those representing Parents Want a Say, the Family Holiday Association and whoever else is here—sorry, but I cannot remember all of them. I am grateful for their interest and support.

I am sure that one thing on which we all agree is that children across our nation should have the very best opportunities in life. Education is clearly at the centre of that, but so are parents. Every parent I know wants the very best for their child. I am disappointed that we do not seem to have persuaded the Minister to reconsider the policy. I still believe that, as well intended as the policy was when it was introduced—I support and agree with the aim of getting as many children into school as possible, and with the social justice motive behind that—the introduction of the measure has had unintended consequences. The impact on our economy and on wider family life was not foreseen.

I have considered some of the proposals for addressing term-time leave. Personally, I do not believe that staggering term times in the way the Minister suggests is the way to achieve that. The feedback I have received from various sources is that many people agree that such a proposal is not workable.

[John Pugh]

The Minister said towards the end of his contribution that the policy is all about helping disadvantaged children, but the burden of the debate did not suggest that the parents of disadvantaged children are particularly the parents who are having difficulty with the regulation.