The Survey Sample

 

2933 members of the public completed the Parents Want a Say survey, as of 20 April 2015. 19.7% of these respondents had not heard of or engaged with the term-time holiday issue before completing the consultation.

 

Respondents were evenly distributed across the UK, as shown in fig I. 

 

50.2% of respondents were aged 35-44; 19.2% aged 45-54, and 18.2% aged between 25 and 34 years. 77.8% of respondents were female; 92.7% had a White British ethnic background, with the rest having declined to state their ethnicity.

62.1% of respondents were in employment, 16.4% were self-employed, 11.8% were homemakers and the rest were retired or out of work. 22.1% of respondents had GCSE or BTEC-level qualifications; 11.4% had A-Levels; 7.8% had a Diploma or Certificate of Higher Education. 3% of respondents had a Higher National Diploma; 2.3% had a Higher National Certificate. 10% of respondents had a National Vocational Qualification. 25.7% had a bachelor’s degree, 8.9% had a master’s degree and 1.9% had a doctoral degree.

Survey Findings
 

A staggering 97% of respondents either disagreed or strongly disagreed with the term time holiday absences law (Q2), with 63% of respondents being negatively affected by the ban (Q4). 83% of those surveyed would have the law abolished completely (Q13).

8.46% of these respondents work in teaching and education (Q2); 94.5% of those surveyed are parents, family members or guardians.

 

Of the 2% who agreed or strongly agreed with the holiday ban, a high proportion – 7% – work in government, a local authority or the public sector. A further 11% work in teaching and education (Q2). It is revealing that the two groups who apparently benefit most from the 2013 ban also form the two largest occupational groups in support of the law.

Respondents stated that these two groups benefited most from the law. 64% of those surveyed believe the laws are designed to help councils and the government (Q5). Educational administrators were the next biggest beneficiary, getting 31% of respondents’ vote (Q5). Travel providers and those responsible for “government statistics” – figures the government provide to justify policies or legislation – are also widely seen as benefiting from the new law.

 

51% of respondents said they or their children missed between 5 and 10 days of school each year, before the law was changed; only 2% missed more than this (Q7). Since the September 2013 amendments, a majority – 67% – of respondents said their attendance had not improved (Q8).

 

According to government briefings, the holiday law was changed on the assumption that taking term time holidays is detrimental to a child’s education. Only 3% of respondents believe this assumption is correct; 44% believe there is no direct correlation between term-time absence and academic retention (Q10).

 

76% of respondents want to know why public schools are not covered by the law, given the government claim that the ban was put in place to protect children (Q9). Of those who believe that including public schools is not important, 51% have achieved a Bachelor’s Degree or higher.

Based on the current law, each parent faces a penalty of £60 per child for making an unauthorised absence, rising to £120 per child, per parent, if the fine is unpaid for after 21 days. If the fine is unpaid after 28 days, court proceedings can be initiated with a possible fine of £2,500. Only 12% of respondents think putting a value on school absence is a good incentive to reduce absence (Q9). Even fewer – 4% – think the current pricing structure is fair.

In October 2014 the Department for Education stated that head teachers would have the ability to choose their school’s term dates, in order to help families deal with the limitations of the term-time holiday ban. Despite this, only 3% of respondents believe schools have amended their term dates to accommodate the new law (Q11). Only 1% feel the ban has had a positive effect on parent/guardian–school relationships, with 62% of respondents strongly disagreeing that this is the case (Q11).

80% of comments on the impact of the new law were negative (Q18). The most common adjectives used to describe the ban were “unfair” and “detrimental”. “Experience” was mentioned more than 200 times and “cultures” almost 120 times. Other responses included:
 

“As a Headteacher I believe I am best placed to make a decision as to whether to allow an absence. I do not agree with taking holidays during term time but this law has made it very difficult to allow any time to be taken for amazing life experiences, visiting distant relatives (especially when ill) or other such occasions. It has also meant that staff cannot be allowed any time for special events, even if they offer to make up the time or take unpaid leave. As a small, close community we like to feel we cater for individual needs. This law does not allow us to do this.”

 

“If the schools can take the kids on an educational trip "ski-ing" to France then what is the difference in parents taking their kids on a holiday abroad where they can visit and learn about that country whilst there? Plus it costs at least 2-3 times more to let your child go away on a trip of any description than taking them yourself”

 

“Taking time to attend to children's social and emotional development is worth its weight in gold. If the only time that a family can manage a holiday is during term time then it should be a priority. With very little effort schools could capitalise on holiday experiences when children return to enhance their learning”

38% of respondents believe the Conservative–Liberal Democrat Coalition is responsible for implementing the law (Q14). Other responses to the question of responsibility included “all of the [political parties], as they are all liars n cheats” and “It feels like this issue is being ignored in politics”.

 

Despite Shadow Education Secretary Tristram Hunt’s comments in October 2014 that Labour would make “no change” to the law [1], 10% of respondents believe Labour would be most likely to repeal the ban; 5% believe the Greens would do so, 4% UKIP, 2% the Conservatives, and 2% the Liberal Democrats (Q15). Other responses to this question included, “I believe none of them care about it as they're not affected”, “I don’t think any will they dont listen to the electorate anymore” and “Which ever one wants the votes of millions of parents”.
 

63% of respondents would change their voting preference if term-time absences became a topic of debate during the General Election. Only 10% said they would not change their vote for this reason (Q16). Of those who would change their voting preference, 51% are aged 35 to 44, 77% are female, 42% have attended 

university and 86% are married or in a domestic partnership. Analysis of the postcode location of these respondents shows that many of those who would change their vote live in marginal constituencies. This is true of Pudsey, Milton Keynes South, Lincoln, Norwich North and High Peak, wards currently held by Conservatives which could swing to Labour representation following the May election.

 

Conclusion

 

The Parents Want a Say survey raises a number of significant conclusions.

 

Respondents have demonstrated overwhelming opposition to the current term-time holiday laws. From supporting complete abolition of the law to believing their relationship with their child’s school has broken down because of the ban, respondents feel the law has let them down in its methodology and implementation.
 

Our data also demonstrates a significant majority of respondents willing to change their vote for parliament, should any party raise a banner against the term-time holiday law before May 7. This has massive implications for all parties campaigning for seats in parliament. Our data analysis has identified a number of marginal seats that could be retained or won by the Conservatives, should the party commit to abolish the holiday law. Shadow Education Secretary and Labour MP Tristram Hunt has previously stated that “There will be no change [to the ban]; it is important for children to remain in school during term time. It is up to the headteacher’s discretion and we want to support it” [2]. 97% of parents surveyed here do not believe headteachers have taken advantage of their power to alter term-dates to alleviate pressure on parents. Backing the measure for headteachers therefore appears impotent on Labour’s part. In turn, the Conservative party has a huge opportunity to swing the vote of the undecided electorate, should it promise to repeal the ban on term-time holidays in parliament.

Finally, respondents have revealed how the law has impacted their right to family life. Stories from those surveyed include:

 

• Autistic children being denied time to go on holiday, then being caused to behave more aggressively when travelling during busy periods (Q18, responses 12, 2892, 3244);

• Children prevented from spending time with terminally ill parents, or unable to attend family members’ funerals (Q18, responses 351, 6);

• Parents receiving threatening letters from schools when their children are seriously ill and in hospital (Q18, response 2738);

• Small business owners unable to holiday because their work is busiest during peak periods (Q18, response 2737);

• Teachers who cannot take their children away during half-term, because their school holidays differ from those of their children; and

• Public sector employees, including NHS nurses and military personnel, who cannot take leave during school holidays and who are unable afford to pay fines or risk obtaining a criminal record by making unauthorised absences. As a result, these workers are unable to take family holidays for years at a time (Q18, responses 44, 1125).
   

One respondent, a chair of governors, stated that the term-time holiday ban “has nothing to do with holidays; it’s all about schools hitting their attendance targets, and headteachers are terrified of the consequences if they don’t”.

 

Parents, guardians and family members have given evidence they want the law on term-time holidays to change. They are supported by the National Union of Teachers, whose members oppose fines issued to parents who take their children on holidays during term time [3]. The time for change is now.


Notes to Editors

 

To complete the term-time holidays survey, please visit MyCommunity.net.
 

All data and conclusions from this report may be used for additional purposes, but any and all references made must cite MyCommunity.net.
 

For more information about the Parents Want a Say campaign, please visit Parentswantasay.co.uk.

 

 

Footnotes

1. Quote taken from http://www.mkweb.co.uk/change/story-23395317-detail/story.html#ixzz3Xr3OCICe

2. Ibid.

3. www.theboltonnews.co.uk/comment/12873946.NUT_vote_on_no_fines_for_term_time_holidays_was_a_vote_for_common_sense/

 

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