Term-time Leave

Nicholas Dakin Excerpts

Monday 26th October 2015 Westminster Hall

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve for the first time in a debate under your chairmanship, Mr Hanson. This has been a lively, interesting, timely and useful debate. First, I thank the campaigners and petitioners whose efforts led to this debate in Westminster Hall today. People feel passionately about this issue, and it is right and proper that we spend time thinking through how best to respond to the heartfelt concerns of people who feel that the current Government’s policy on term-time holidays has been detrimental to their family life or their relationship with their children’s school.

I know from personal experience of running a college that there is a strong relationship between attendance and achievement. That is why education maintenance allowances were so transformational in impacting on students’ performance; they incentivised attendance and thereby transformed attainment. It should go without saying that all children should aim for 100% attendance and that any absence from school is to be regretted and therefore discouraged. That is why I applaud all those children up and down the land who are achieving high levels of attendance and why headteachers and their teams should be congratulated on the work that they do day in, day out to encourage and celebrate high levels of attendance.

However, this is not a simple issue. Would that it were. It is rather complicated. That is why it is helpful that we are having this debate today. A pretty tough approach to attendance was in place up to September 2013. That gave headteachers the discretion to allow up to 10 days’ absence from school if they felt that the circumstances warranted it. I have not seen any evidence to demonstrate that headteachers were failing to use that discretion effectively. After all, headteachers are pretty hard-headed individuals who are well aware of the relationship between attendance and achievement. They know the families and parents of their pupils better than any Secretary of State and are capable of using discretion sensibly. They are accountable to their communities through published results and Ofsted inspections. It is not in their interests to abuse the discretion entrusted to them. The hon. Member for North Cornwall (Scott Mann) was right to underline in his contribution the importance of headteachers in this decision-making process.

There was a very useful and interesting exchange between the hon. Members for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich (Dr Poulter) and for Southport (John Pugh) on the relationship between types of absence and impacts on achievement—how the impact on achievement depends on the type of absence. The hon. Member for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich is undoubtedly right to say that there is a relationship between longer periods of absence and an impact on performance. However, the hon. Member for Southport was right to remind us of the evidence published by the Department for Education in 2011. That analysis of performance at key stage 2 concluded that the likelihood of pupils achieving the expected key stage 2 level differs greatly not only according to the amount of absence accrued, but according to the different reasons behind the absences. The proportions of pupils achieving the expected level stay relatively similar for increasing levels of absence due to authorised family holidays, religious observances and study leave. However, long-term absences due to exclusions or illnesses tend to be associated with significantly lower proportions of pupils achieving the expected level.

The policy existing up to 2013 appears to have changed, as the hon. Member for North Devon (Peter Heaton-Jones) said in his helpful contribution, after work by the Government’s expert adviser on behaviour in his review of attendance. However, that review looks primarily into the issues around serious and persistent absence, does not appear to have drawn on evidence from parents or children themselves and contains no reference to academic sources.

The hon. Member for St Austell and Newquay (Steve Double), whom I commend for getting the debate off to a very good start, made the telling point that when the statutory instrument was considered, the impact assessment basically said that there was no impact, although we have heard in contributions by hon. Members from across the House and particularly from St Ives and other parts of Cornwall and Devon that there is a clear impact that they can observe in their communities and that information on that has been shared with them.

I first became aware of the change in policy and the difficulties that the change was causing when I was contacted by a local primary school headteacher who was concerned about a letter that she had received from North Lincolnshire Council stipulating the following:

“The amendments from this month make it clear that head teachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. Unfortunately, there is no definition, nor are there any examples provided, in relation to exceptional circumstances. However, the word ‘exceptional’ would imply that leave in term time should be granted only on rare occasions where the head teacher believes this is justified.”

I took the matter up with the then Under-Secretary at the DFE who is now the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. She wrote back to me to say:

“We changed the regulations because it was necessary that we addressed the widespread misconception about term time holidays. Over the years, some schools and parents interpreted the previous law to mean that parents were entitled to two weeks holiday during term time. This led to some pressure on headteachers to grant holidays during term time. This led to some parents booking holidays when it was convenient and putting pressure on headteachers to grant their request to take their children out of school. There was never an entitlement for parents to take their children out of school during term for a holiday, and this has always been at the discretion of the headteacher.”

The hon. Member for Mid Worcestershire (Nigel Huddleston) was right to underline the fact that there should never be any sense of entitlement to time off. Of course that would be completely wrong. However, I have never picked up from headteachers that there was ever any sense of that under the previous regulations; nor have I seen any evidence to support the contention in this letter, which goes on to say:

“Headteachers will retain this discretion to grant leave, but they may only do so in exceptional circumstances. Headteachers must consider each request on its own merits.”

Everything hinges on the interpretation of “exceptional”. Is it exceptional, if parents work in industries in which access to holiday is severely limited—as we have heard, that is the case in the tourism industry in Cornwall and Devon, for example—and does not match the child’s holiday time, for the child to miss some school time to access a family holiday? Is it exceptional to attend the funeral of a family member? Is it exceptional to attend a family wedding? We could go on asking such questions ad nauseam. The Minister is smiling; I am sure that he has thought of even more questions.

It is clear to me that no headteacher worth their salt would encourage children to take time off—quite the opposite. Such a headteacher knows the relationship between attendance and achievement and wants all their children to achieve 100% attendance. The change in rules has meant that headteachers have less discretion than they had, however, and they were initially less confident about how to apply the changed regulations. That has led to an increase in situations in which headteachers and parents have come into conflict, as we all know from our postbags. In some circumstances, it may well have resulted in families being unable to respond to a family situation as constructively as they would have wished. In other circumstances, it has clearly resulted in a rise in truancy with parental support, which is a very bad thing.

Among the 98 councils that responded to a recent survey about the number of fixed penalty notices issued, there has been a rise from 32,512 in 2012-13 to 62,204 in 2013-14 to even more last year. These statistics are of concern, because they represent a growing problem with school attendance that needs to be addressed. Parents being lured into thinking of going on holidays in term time for no other reason than the availability of better deals from holiday companies does not represent a good reason for a headteacher to use any discretion they have, and it is certainly not exceptional circumstances. Any request from parents to take advantage of cheap deals should be firmly rejected under whatever regulations are in place. However, some scrutiny should fall on holiday companies, as hon. Members have said strongly during the debate, to encourage them to look again at their pricing mechanisms. They should not be, inadvertently or otherwise, encouraging truancy.

Schools, parents and children themselves want children to achieve their very best. All the evidence shows a strong relationship between attendance and achievement, but the subject is complex. As the hon. Member for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock (Corri Wilson) emphasised in her perceptive contribution, real people lead complicated lives with complicated relationships. Headteachers need the discretion to use their knowledge of children, families and parents to make the right decisions to maximise achievement while supporting families.

Given the high level of concern expressed in the petition and echoed in the debate, it would be helpful if the Education Committee—I saw its Chair, the hon. Member for Stroud (Neil Carmichael), here earlier in the debate—were to undertake a thorough inquiry into the evidence on attendance policy. The Committee could look at how the policy operated prior to September 2013, and at the impact of the changes that were made at that time. As my hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby (Melanie Onn) pointed out, the National Association of Head Teachers surveyed its members on the matter, 90% of whom said that they would welcome more detailed guidance from Government on what constitutes exceptional circumstances. Is the Minister considering developing and issuing such guidance? Does he agree that the recent decision by magistrates has driven a coach and horses through the Government’s approach to term-time holidays and school absence? What conclusions does the Minister draw from that, and what action will he take to remedy the situation?

Finally, we all know how important family holidays are, and it is invidious that price hikes during the school holidays make family holidays unaffordable for many. What has the Minister got to say to holiday companies who put parents in such a difficult position by hiking up prices by thousands of pounds, as we have heard in the debate, during the school holidays?

[The Minister for Schools (Mr Nick Gibb)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship for the very first time, Mr Hanson. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for St Austell and Newquay (Steve Double) on securing this debate on a subject that is close to his heart. We met in July to discuss these very issues. I also thank the Family Holiday Association and the Parents Union for their briefing on the matter.

I am pleased that this debate gives me the opportunity to set out the Government’s position and to hear other colleagues’ views. We have had an interesting debate, with powerful speeches from my hon. Friends who represent some of the most beautiful parts of the country, including my hon. Friends the Members for Chippenham (Michelle Donelan), for Mid Worcestershire (Nigel Huddleston), for North Cornwall (Scott Mann), for North Devon (Peter Heaton-Jones), for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich (Dr Poulter) and for Stroud (Neil Carmichael). We also heard from the hon. Member for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock (Corri Wilson).

We are talking about an important issue. It is part of our objective of pursuing social justice. All our education reforms are about social justice and about ensuring that every child, whatever their background, benefits from an excellent education, so that they have a chance to succeed in the modern and demanding economy that Britain has become. That is what our behaviour policy is all about. It is what our reforms to the curriculum are all about. It is what our focus on phonics in the early teaching of reading in primary school is all about. It is what ensuring that all children, regardless of their background and regardless of geography, attend school regularly is all about.

I listened carefully to the argument made by my hon. Friend the Member for St Austell and Newquay about the impact on the tourism industry in Cornwall of our objective of ensuring that all children attend school regularly. I want to start by clarifying what the 2013 regulatory changes actually change. There is a widespread misunderstanding that before 2013, parents were entitled to take their children out of school for a holiday. That was not the case, and it never has been. The amendments to the law in 2013 simply clarify the position. Previously, as the hon. Member for Scunthorpe (Nic Dakin) has said, headteachers were able to grant leave for the purpose of family holiday in “special circumstances” for up to 10 school days per year, and longer in other circumstances. That was, however, being interpreted as a right to take two weeks off every year, which has never been the case. We wanted to clarify the legal position to make it clear that it is not the case that every person has a right to take their child out of school on a term-time holiday. Even before 2013, it was not the case.

I understand that in some areas of the country with seasonal industries, whether agriculture, horticulture or tourism, there are particular challenges. We are currently reforming education in this country to create a school-led system, so that decisions can be made close to home, reflecting local needs. Therefore, schools and local authorities in the south-west have a clear role to play in supporting the tourism industry, without compromising children’s attendance at school.

If parents and schools want different term dates, we encourage them to discuss that with their local authority. Academies, foundation schools, voluntary-aided schools and foundation special schools can, even now, set their own term dates. As of January 2014, some 76% of secondary schools and 35% of primary schools, educating some 52% of all registered pupils, already had responsibility for their own term and holiday dates. That does not have to involve massive restructuring. This year, schools in Reading returned for the autumn term on 8 September, and next year they will close for the summer holiday on 26 July. Similarly, the David Young community academy in Leeds operates seven terms, or blocks. That enables parents to take their children on holiday outside the expensive peak holiday season. Although it is at an early stage, another example of innovation is Visit Cornwall’s development of a proposal for a family enrichment week for early years and primary schools in the spring of each year. It strikes me that Cornwall provides a perfect example of a situation where the local industry should prompt schools and local authorities to change their term dates so that families who work in the tourism industry can take their own holidays outside of the peak season. These examples show that measures can be taken to address the needs of a local tourism industry, while ensuring that children stay in school.

Keeping children in school is crucial for achieving our aim of educational excellence everywhere. Evidence shows that pupils with no absence from school during key stage 2—in primary school—are over four and a half times more likely to reach level 5 or above at the end of primary school than pupils who missed 15% to 20% of school time. The outcomes are similar at key stage 4, where pupils with no absence are nearly three times more likely to achieve five A to C grades in their GCSEs, including English and maths, and around 10 times more likely to achieve the English baccalaureate range of GCSEs than pupils missing between 15% and 20% of school time across key stage 4.

When evidence attests to the benefits of good school attendance so clearly, parents have a duty to ensure that their children attend school regularly. No one in the Department for Education says that holidays are not enriching experiences—of course they are—but schools are in session for 190 out of 365 days a year, leaving 175 days in a year in which parents can take their children away on holiday.

My hon. Friend the Member for North Cornwall made a thoughtful speech. I listened carefully to what he said, but I do not accept that two weeks in each year of a child’s education is a drop in the ocean. As my hon. Friend the Member for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich pointed out, even one week away from school in a year can make a significant difference. Some 44% of pupils with no absence achieve the English baccalaureate range of GCSEs, but the figure falls by a quarter to just 31.7% for pupils who miss up to 14 days of lessons over the two years in which they study for their GCSEs. My hon. Friend the Member for North Devon quoted Charlie Taylor, the Government’s expert adviser on behaviour. In his 2012 report “Improving attendance at school”, Charlie Taylor calculated that if children are taken away for a two-week holiday during term time every year and have an average number of days off for sickness and appointments, by the time they leave school at 16 they will have missed a year of school. It is for that reason that I cannot support the request set out in the petition.

My hon. Friend the Member for North Devon said that no parent would use the two weeks of flexible term-time holidays every year, but he cannot guarantee that. We have heard powerful arguments about how important it is for parents to be able to take their children out of school; those arguments apply each and every year to all the pupils that that argument is deemed to affect. Instead, I encourage headteachers to use every measure they can to ensure that children attend school. Charlie Taylor found that the best schools work with parents to improve attendance and offer a wide range of support to help parents to get their children to school. If that is not successful, headteachers can, as a last resort, issue parents with a penalty notice or take them to court.

Criminal prosecution can result in fines of up to £2,500 and possible imprisonment. In 2012-13, about 52,000 penalty notices were issued. The number of prosecutions also increased in that period, but these measures have resulted in significant progress in reducing absence. Now 200,000 fewer pupils regularly miss school compared with five years ago—down from 433,100 in 2010. Overall, the absence rate is down from 6% in 2009 to 4.4% in the 2013-14 academic year, which means that 14.5 million fewer school days were lost to overall absence as a result of the combination of policies that we have introduced over the past five years. Some 3 million school days are lost due to holidays, and that figure is down significantly; 2.3 million more teaching days are happening as a result of clamping down on unauthorised term-time holidays. We should be proud of that if we believe that every child should have the opportunity of a first-rate start in life.

Headteachers continue to have discretion to approve term-time leave, but should only do so in exceptional circumstances. Many of my hon. Friends, including my hon. Friend the Member for St Ives (Derek Thomas), have called for more guidance. The National Association of Head Teachers published guidance in October, which made it clear that:

“If an event can reasonably be scheduled outside of term time then it would not be normal to authorise absence.”

It went on to say that children may need time away from school to visit a seriously ill relative or to attend the funeral service of a family member. However, term-time holidays and visiting family members abroad are not considered by the NAHT to be exceptional circumstances and it says that they should be scheduled only for holiday periods or outside of school hours.

My hon. Friend the Member for Chippenham raised the example of a family going through very difficult circumstances and wanting time off as a family, a request that was refused by the school. The NAHT guidance says:

“Absences to visit family members are also not normally granted during term time if they could be scheduled for holiday periods or outside school hours. Children may however need time to visit seriously ill relatives.”

[Nic Dakin]

I just want to check whether the Minister is commending the NAHT guidance to headteachers as a point of reference? He is drawing good attention to it.

[Mr Gibb]

Yes. The whole essence of our education reforms is to hand back more power to the teaching profession. It makes absolute sense for teachers and headteachers to rely on the guidance produced by the NAHT. The introduction to the guidance states:

“Term times are for education. This is the priority. Children and families have 175 days off school to spend time together, including weekends and school holidays.”

That is the NAHT’s view and we think that it is correct.