Term-time Leave

Steve Double Excerpts

Monday 26th October 2015 Westminster Hall

[Steve Double (St Austell and Newquay) (Con)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered an e-petition relating to term-time leave from school for holiday.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr McCabe. I understand that this is your first time in the Westminster Hall Chair. It is my first time opening a debate here, so hopefully we can learn together.

It is a pleasure to open this debate on a controversial and unpopular policy that has provoked much public interest, as we can see from the number of members of the public present. The debate is the result of an e-petition calling for parents to be allowed to take their children out of school for up to two weeks for a family holiday; it has been signed by more than 120,000 people. I am leading the debate because I am a member of the Petitions Committee, but I also have a keen interest in the issue and have been campaigning about it for the past 12 months or more. I have been contacted by, and have spoken with, hundreds of parents, tourism-related businesses, charities and campaigning organisations about the issue. In my opening statement, I hope accurately to represent the views of all those people, while making it clear that I share those views.

To begin with, I want to make it absolutely clear that I support the aim that children should attend school regularly. Education is vital, but it is not the only important thing in a child’s upbringing. Although I support that aim, I fundamentally disagree that telling parents when they can and cannot take their children on holiday is a job for the state.

During the election campaign, I became increasingly aware of the policy’s detrimental effects; in my view, its wider economic and social impact outweighs the positive effect on school attendance. I represent the constituency of St Austell and Newquay in mid-Cornwall, and the policy’s impacts are especially felt in Cornwall and other places that depend heavily on tourism. I will lay out three main reasons why the policy is wrong and counterproductive and why it needs to be reviewed.

We have heard an awful lot about fairness in politics over the past few years. My first reason is that, sadly, the policy is blatantly unfair to a number of groups. The first group are those unable to take a holiday during school holiday times, including many who work in tourism and other sectors. Many small tourism-related businesses in Cornwall are too busy to allow their staff to take a holiday during the peak holiday season; many are owner-run and have to make money while people are on holiday. People with such work cannot, therefore, afford to close and take a holiday themselves during the season. In fact, the introduction of the policy has made things even worse for tourism businesses because the season is now even more concentrated, into six or seven weeks of the school summer holidays. That places even greater demand on the businesses during the peak season and makes it even more difficult for them to allow staff to take a holiday.

It is not, however, only those who work directly in tourism who are affected; it is also those who work in the public sector in tourism areas. For example, our local police in mid-Cornwall have for many years restricted police officers’ ability to take holiday during the peak season due to the increased demand for policing in the area. The policy effectively tells people who cannot take a holiday during school holiday times that they cannot have a family holiday, and that seems completely unfair.

The policy is also unfair in other ways—on people who cannot afford to pay for a holiday during the peak holiday season, for example. We all know that holidays taken during the peak season, whether in this country or abroad, are out of the reach of many families on low incomes; in fact, many families we would consider to be on middle incomes struggle to pay the peak season prices. There have been calls for the Government to intervene and bring some sort of regulation into the holiday market, but we have to accept that that is incredibly unlikely—we live in a free market economy and prices are set by supply and demand. But surely we can expect the Government not to introduce policies that make the matter worse, and it is worth noting that that is precisely what is happening.

The restriction on term-time holidays has had the unintended—I am sure—consequence of increasing demand during school holidays and pushing prices up during the peak season. Holiday resorts in Cornwall say that because there is greater demand during the peak weeks and they are also losing business during what we call the shoulder weeks, they are having to increase prices in the peak weeks to make up the difference. The cost differential between term-time and school holiday prices is widening. Far from helping the lower-paid to have a holiday, the policy is exacerbating the situation.

Another group that the policy is unfair to are the many families who rely on charities for a holiday. I have been contacted by a number of charities that have for many years taken groups of disadvantaged families on holiday during September. They do it then because prices are lower and they are often able to get a good deal on a holiday park during periods of lower demand.

An example close to my heart is an organisation called Cornwall One Parent Support. I have been involved with the charity right from its beginnings, almost 20 years ago, since when it has provided support for single-parent families, including taking them on a cheap, subsidised holiday in September. It has often taken groups of up to 40 families away for a week. The holiday provides a great opportunity for the parents and children to have a break and experience a holiday they would otherwise never be able to enjoy. However, since the introduction of the policy, the organisation cannot run the holidays in the same way, as the families are prevented from taking their children out of school. The policy is unfair to a great number of families, and sadly it is the lowest paid and most disadvantaged who appear to be losing out.

I also believe that the policy is detrimental to family life. As a matter of principle, I do not believe that it is the role of the state to tell parents when they can take their children on holiday. Every child is unique, and it should be for parents to decide what is right and best for their child. Some parents will decide that the best thing is for their child to be in school at all times; others will decide that the benefit of a family holiday—the experience of travel, new cultures and meeting new people—is more beneficial than being in school for that week. It should be, however, for the parent to make the choice.

[Steve Brine (Winchester) (Con)]

It is, of course, the state’s right and responsibility to see that children get a proper education, and we know that being in school clearly leads to that. I do not think that the signatories to the petition are saying that taking children out of school for family holidays is an absolute right, and I wonder whether there might be a compromise to be reached for children in the early years of primary school—reception, year 1 and year 2. Would my hon. Friend suggest that the rules could be relaxed for those years?

[Steve Double]

I agree with my hon. Friend. The vast majority of parents—if not all of them—want a good education for their children. The issue is not about a competition between education and family; it is that many parents, including me, consider that family holidays and the experiences they bring are part of a child’s education. One of the sadnesses of the policy is that it has pitted school and education against family, when we want them to work together for the benefit of the child and to do what is right and best for that child.

If we view education as just what takes place in the classroom, we rather miss the point; education needs to be about much more than that in a child’s life. The point that my hon. Friend made about flexibility is absolutely right—we need some common-sense flexibility brought into this issue. Parents want their children to be in school regularly, and that is what the Education Act 1996 asks for. Let us not forget that the 1996 Act gives parents the option to home educate, which seems to be a bit of a contradiction given the application of the strict rules that I am discussing.

Many parents have contacted me on this matter. It is a widely held view that a child’s upbringing and education are about more than what happens in the classroom. Clearly, formal schooling is a central and critical part of any child’s education, but it is not the only important element. The breadth and variety of experiences that children can gain from travel can enrich and deepen their view and appreciation of the world. I know that from my own upbringing. The times when I travelled with my parents shaped and developed my understanding of the world in a way that the classroom teacher would never be able to provide.

There is a deeper, more concerning aspect of the policy’s impact on families. The policy sends out the message that being in the classroom is somehow more important than being with their family, which is something I fundamentally cannot support. No matter how good a school or individual teacher is, being in school can never be more important, more valuable or more beneficial in a child’s life than a positive and healthy family situation.

We all know that we are living busier and busier lives these days; the pressure and stresses of daily life put more demands on family life than ever before, so the time that parents have with their children is more precious than ever before. The benefit of that week or two away—away from the pressures of life and the domestic and mundane responsibilities of home—can be an oasis for any family, offering the opportunity to regroup, to refresh their relationships and to strengthen the family bond. I know the cliché is often used, but the quality time parents can spend with their children on a holiday can be one of the most positive things a child can experience in the madness of today’s world.

[Neil Carmichael (Stroud) (Con)]

I just wonder whether the weekend is not an option for families to spend some quality time together. The real danger of allowing parents to take their children out at any point during term is that it interrupts their time at school, in the classroom.

[Steve Double]

Of course, weekends can play a part, but I again make the point that for many parents, the weekends these days are full of a great deal of activity. That week away, where a family can get away from the pressures of life and concentrate on their time together, is valuable.

[Dr Lisa Cameron (East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow) (SNP)]

On that point, in the broader sense we need to understand that many parents, such as those who work in our health service, work shifts and may have to be present during summer time. Not everyone can have their holiday at the same time, because we need to keep our health service running.

[Steve Double]

I absolutely agree. Gone are the days when our society was neatly packaged into the week and the weekend. The lines are very much blurred these days.

To reiterate the point, that week or two away from it all as a family cannot be replaced by the odd day here and there that parents may be able to get. If the choice for a family is a holiday during term time or no holiday at all, parents should have every right to decide that a family holiday would be more beneficial for their child than being in school for that week. I know from my many years as a school governor that the single most important factor in any child’s life is a positive and stable relationship with their parents, along with the degree to which their parents are involved in their life and upbringing.

The policy is not only preventing families from taking a holiday together. I have been contacted by dozens of families offering accounts of how their children have missed out on family events as the school would not authorise them to miss a day or two. One family told me how their child missed out on seeing their cousin compete in a sporting world championship as their school said the cousin was not a close enough family member for the child to be allowed to go. A four-year-old was refused permission to attend his grandmother’s 60th birthday celebrations as it would have meant taking the Friday off school to travel. I would welcome clarification from the Minister. My understanding of the 1996 Act is that there is no requirement to put children in school until after their fifth birthday. If a child is in school before their fifth birthday, do the strict rules apply to them?

[The Minister for Schools (Mr Nick Gibb)]

I am listening carefully to the powerful speech that my hon. Friend is making. In answer to his question, once a child is registered at a school, he or she is subject to the same rules as children who are of compulsory school age.

[Steve Double]

I am grateful to the Minister for clarifying that point.

Other parents have told me of children missing out on scores of significant family celebrations. In fact, there seems to be a bit of confusion on what constitutes an exceptional case where headteachers are allowed to grant an authorised absence. Headteachers are being put in the impossible position of having to make choices about children attending family events—quite frankly, those are decisions that parents should be free to make. Headteachers have told me that even when they do exercise their judgement and authorise an absence, they then risk the spectre of Ofsted criticising that decision. Pitting family life against the classroom, as the policy sadly does, is one of its most regrettable aspects.

[Nigel Huddleston (Mid Worcestershire) (Con)]

My hon. Friend makes some valid points that I have also heard in my constituency about the confusion over what constitutes exceptional circumstances, and he gave some good examples. Is he aware that 90% of those surveyed by the National Association of Head Teachers said that they would appreciate clearer guidance from the Government as to what constitutes exceptional circumstances? Perhaps that guidance might help.

[Steve Double]

I was aware of that survey. It raises the point that if the policy is to be continued—clearly, I hope it will be reviewed—there needs to be much greater clarity for headteachers on what constitutes exceptional circumstances. That especially needs to be applied to Ofsted, because I am hearing from headteachers that when they make a judgment call that they believe they are allowed to make and authorise the absence, those decisions are then queried at best, and perhaps criticised in other cases, by Ofsted. Parents want a constructive relationship with the school, where together they can decide what is right and best for the child.

My final point is on the policy’s economic impact. I was disturbed to learn that no economic impact assessment was made before the policy was introduced. In fact, when the matter was brought before Parliament in March 2013 by way of a statutory instrument, the explanatory note stated:

“An impact assessment has not been provided for this instrument as no impact on businesses or civil society organisations is foreseen.”

Unfortunately, that simply is not the case. The impact of the policy on the tourist industry, particularly in Cornwall, has been significant, as it has elsewhere in the country. Many tourist-related businesses are reporting a significant drop in revenue in the shoulder months of May, June and September, which used to be times when many families would come to towns such as Newquay to stay.

[Scott Mann (North Cornwall) (Con)]

I have been contacted by the Federation of Small Businesses, which has highlighted the concerns of many hoteliers, retailers and businesses that are affected by the six-week period. Has my hon. Friend been contacted by the FSB?

--- Later in debate ---

[Steve Double]

I have not been contacted by the FSB, but I am grateful to the Newquay chamber of commerce, and to its chairman, Rachel Craze, who was the first person to bring this issue to my attention about 12 months ago and has helped me in liaising with businesses in Newquay to understand the significant impact on them. Only last year, Visit Cornwall produced a report on the Cornish economy that stated that Cornwall had lost an estimated £44 million as a result of the policy. Individual businesses have told me that their revenue for June this year was 40% down on what they had previously come to expect. Others have told me that they have had to lay off staff, reduce staff hours and cut back on stock purchases.

A tourist business cannot be run based on having only six or seven weeks’ peak business during the school holidays. For most businesses, the shoulder months make the business viable. Some businesses are faced with the choice of having to stop catering for the family sector and completely shift their focus, or close.

It is also reported that owners of holiday lets are now changing to full residential letting because they simply cannot get enough lettings out of the holiday season. That reduces the capacity of the holiday trade in the peak season, and the knock-on effect is felt by surrounding businesses. The policy is damaging tourism in this country. As it was wrongly stated when the decision was taken that there would be no impact on business, clearly it should now be reviewed.

The policy is unfair; it undermines the place of the family and damages our economy. It is clear to me and many others that it needs to be reviewed. When the Government have been challenged on this matter, their response has been to say that headteachers have discretion. As has already been pointed out, there is a need for much greater clarity. Another suggestion from the Government was to allow schools to stagger their holidays, but I do not believe that would work. We have tried it in Cornwall. In some ways, it makes the matter worse, because if one school changes its holidays and another school nearby does not, and a parent has children in both schools, they simply end up with a childcare problem during a different week. Discussions have taken place on helping schools around the country stagger their holidays, but I do not believe that has come to anything. Perhaps the Minister can confirm where the Government are on that.

The petition calls for the Government to allow flexibility and to allow headteachers to grant up to two weeks’ holiday per school year for a family holiday. We are not talking about a free-for-all or giving parents carte blanche to take their children out as and when they like. We are talking about parents agreeing in conjunction with the school when they believe it is right for them to take a family holiday. Headteachers need to be given flexibility to authorise a holiday. Most parents would accept that there would be times when it would be entirely inappropriate to take a holiday: in years 10 and 11, and perhaps in year 6 as well. There might even be times during the school year when the school could say it was not a good time to be away. We need a constructive relationship between the school and the parents, not the tensions that currently seem to exist.

The vast majority of parents simply want the right to decide for themselves what is right and best for their own children. As I said at the start of my speech, I do not believe it is the role of the state to dictate to parents in the way that is happening, so I simply call on the Minister to review the policy. As no impact assessment was made when the policy was introduced, the Government should carry out an assessment now and consider the impact that it is having on the tourist industry and on family life. We should allow parents the right to bring up their own children in the way they believe is best.

--- Later in debate ---

[Peter Heaton-Jones (North Devon) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr McCabe. I congratulate my right hon. Friend—[Interruption.] I was pre-empting the obvious result of what is happening today. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for St Austell and Newquay (Steve Double) on securing the debate. I agree with a vast amount of what he said, and I suspect that the only thing we will disagree on is my view that North Devon is clearly the best place to spend a holiday.

There is a serious issue prompting me to speak in the debate, and it concerns the importance of the tourism sector in my constituency. On some measures, one in six of all jobs in my constituency depend directly or indirectly on the tourism sector. It is a vital driver of the local economy, and many families work in it. It is out of the question for them to take their family vacation in the school holidays. It is their busiest time; they have to be at work. The introduction of the new guidance in 2013 meant that many of my constituents faced a double whammy—not only their business but their family life is suffering.

That is not just my point of view. I have received, as many colleagues have, a number of emails and letters from constituents who share those concerns. I shall quote a small sample, because they say better than I could what the unintended consequences of the 2013 guidance notes are. One constituent writes:

“I operate a small bed and breakfast business in Woolacombe”—

which is a great place to spend a holiday. He says:

“To date, this year is proving a disaster (with the exception of the school holidays); our family rooms are being left unoccupied …Something needs to be done! Please air the views of the thousands of small operators, in the forthcoming…debate.”

Another correspondent writes:

“We feel strongly the negative effect this legislation has had on our seasonal business in Mortehoe”—

another fantastic place in North Devon in which to spend a holiday. They say:

“Our season is shorter and therefore harder to earn enough for the winter months. Also as parents we are penalised in high costs of…holiday charging by travel companies”

during school holidays. Another constituent writes that

“as a seasonal business”,

the regulations have had

“a negative impact on us; overall we have not been as busy whilst at the same time our peak busy periods have been more frantic, due to many more…bookings, making it harder to staff, manage and run a seasonal business…This has meant a reduction in profits and a reduction in staffing.”

Put bluntly, the guidelines are harming employment in North Devon’s vital tourism sector.

I want to quote a few sentences from a final, longer email, from a gentleman who says that he is writing because he runs

“an outdoor pursuits company which relies on the tourism industry”

and because he is the

“father of a 7 year old, who would like to spend more quality time with her Dad.”

He says that the situation has had

“a major effect on myself, my colleagues and lots of my friends that work in the emergency services…we are really struggling to spend time with our children”,

and the guidance only makes things worse. That is a small sample of the emails and letters I have received, and I am sure that colleagues will have had much the same.

I am sure that, as others have said, the intent of the 2013 guidance was good. Of course we should encourage parents to ensure that their children attend school, but I question some of the assumptions that led to the issuing of the guidelines. To delve further, I have dug out the 2013 explanatory memorandum. Much is made of the guidance and advice received by a respected adviser, Charlie Taylor. He was then the Government adviser on school behaviour, and he issued guidance in 2012. The explanatory memorandum to the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 and the Education (Penalty Notices) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 said:

“Charlie Taylor noted that if children are taken away for a two-week holiday every year and have an average number of days off for sickness and appointments, then by the time they leave school at sixteen”—

across their whole academic career—

“they will have missed a year of school.”

It is never the intention of any parent who takes their child away to do the same thing year after year for all 13 years of their child’s academic career. That advice is unfairly burdening parents with a view that they simply do not take. If the Government made their 2013 decision on the basis of it, I ask them to look at it again. I do not think any parent intends to take their child away for that length of time every year.

The word “flexibility” has been mentioned, and there has also been mention of interpretation. That is what it all comes down to. Schools and parents have been misguided in interpreting the arrangements to mean that there is no flexibility. Clearly, there is an intention of flexibility in the guidelines. I am sure the Minister will confirm that it was not intended that schools, teachers, headteachers and local education authorities should be told there was no flexibility at all. We need to get the message across to them and to governing bodies; I was a school governor myself. They need to understand that they have flexibility, which is built into the system but which they do not take advantage of at the moment.

[Steve Double]

Would my hon. Friend add Ofsted to that list? I believe that part of the problem is that at times Ofsted takes a much more legalistic view of the guidance than headteachers do.

--- Later in debate ---

[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.

[Steve Double]

Will the Minister clarify something? Although, in theory, families have 175 days a year to be together, some people work in tourism or other industries in which they cannot take time off during those times. Would he consider such a situation to be an exceptional case, where headteachers would be right in granting a holiday?

[Mr Gibb]

That is a matter for the discretion of the headteacher. In such a situation, I would commend, as the hon. Member for Scunthorpe (Nic Dakin) intimated, looking at the NAHT guidance. If we are talking about a whole industry across a large geographical area, employing many millions of people, the best approach would be to use the term-time flexibilities to change the school term times to take into account the particular industries of that part of the country.

[Steve Double]

I take on board what the Minister says. Does he remember that he recently wrote to me saying that the Department had consulted educational authorities, which had rejected this idea saying that they thought it was unworkable?

[Mr Gibb]

My hon. Friend is a powerful advocate of the case he is making. I have every confidence that he will apply that advocacy locally as well as he is doing in this debate. I hope that he will have more success with the local authority than has been achieved so far.

My hon. Friend the Member for St Ives raised the issue of the cost of holidays. He spoke of the period at the end of the summer term, when teaching might be reduced in some schools. If his argument is that all children should be allowed to be off school during the last two weeks of the summer term, holiday prices, supply and demand would of course be affected by the mass use of that time across the country.

We know that holidays can be important and enriching experiences, but so too is school. Although we recognise the difficulties faced by some parents in taking a holiday at particular times of the year, disrupting their children’s education is not the answer. Pupils need continuity in their education. A good curriculum is planned sequentially, with knowledge building upon knowledge. Missing a step in such a sequence can cause a pupil to fall back, with pupils often finding it hard to catch up. A two-week holiday might mean that a pupil misses out on the lessons in which their teacher explains long division, long multiplication, fractions, Newton’s second law or Ordnance Survey six-figure grid references.

I remind hon. Members that the NAHT guidance makes it clear that there are many circumstances that it would regard as exceptional, such as where children

“need…to visit seriously ill relatives.”

The guidance says that absence for a bereavement of a close family friend is usually considered an exceptional circumstance, as are

“Absences for important religious observances… Schools may wish to take the needs of the families of service personnel into account if they are returning from long operational tours that prevent contact during scheduled holiday time. Schools have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for students with special educational needs”.

Point 10 of the guidance states:

“Families may need time together to recover from trauma or crisis.”

The NAHT guidance lists carefully constructed exceptional circumstances that cover many of the issues raised by hon. Members in this important debate.

We encourage all parents and schools that want different term dates to discuss the matter with their local authority or, in other cases, directly with their children’s schools. If more schools and authorities, such as the David Young community academy or Reading local authority, vary their holiday and term times, access to holidays outside of the more expensive holiday season will become increasingly common for parents.

I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for St Austell and Newquay, and other hon. Members, for raising the issue of term-time leave. He has raised some important concerns, and I hope he is happy that the Government have heard those concerns, both today and in our previous meetings. I hope he will understand that our overarching objective is to improve the life chances of the most disadvantaged children in this country. I also hope he will accept that many of his objectives can be achieved by using local discretion to set term dates.

[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.

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[Steve Double]

The hon. Gentleman makes a good point. Unfortunately, by seeking to address one issue, a completely different set of people are being penalised. We have heard that only 8% of unauthorised school absences are for family holidays. The policy therefore affects only a small number of the families involved in the school attendance problem that we have sought to address.

I ask the Department for Education to reconsider the policy in the light of what we now know to be its impact. If the impact had been assessed correctly when the measures were introduced in 2013, and if the family test had been in place—it is unfortunate that the family test came into effect 12 months after the changes were made—a slightly different conclusion might have been reached. However, I will leave that with the Minister. I look forward to an ongoing debate on this issue in the months ahead, and I thank every Member for their support and their contributions to this very good debate.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered an e-petition relating to term-time leave from school for holiday.