Should families take holidays in term time?

THOSE teachers in the NUT who sympathise with parents taking cheap holiday deals in term time fail to see the problem (Mail). Parents who take children off to tacky resorts claim it is an amazing cultural education for them. As a retired teacher, I say that is a complete load of rubbish. I’ve had parents request I set holiday work so their child doesn’t fall behind. To refuse would lead to uproar about lazy teachers; to comply means hours of individual preparation for just one child … and do you really think the work set will get even a passing glance? Still, it helps to fool parents into thinking that they value education. The main problem is disrupted lessons as the returning child shares their cultural experience with classmates and demands a lot of individual teacher-time to catch up. I served for a few years as a teacher-governor. A parent-governor admitted to me that term-time holidays meant the family going abroad twice a year rather than once. It is ridiculous to portray this situation as one of poor families having no other holiday options.

SANDRA M. TOWERS, Standingstone, Cumbria. as a former NUT member, I’m delighted the union is challenging the government’s policy on taking family holidays in term time (Mail). Holidays taken during the summer are too expensive for many families, so they miss out, while those involved in tourism (as in our area) can’t take their holiday at their busiest time of the year. To suggest that two weeks off school a year is ‘detrimental to a child’s life chances’ is utter rubbish — ask any teacher. By July, my 14-year-old grandson will have had three weeks away from classes on school-organised trips. Why is that permissible? The sooner this stupid law is changed the better.

Mrs JOAN MURPHY, Bideford, Devon.