‘Rip-off’ school holiday costs blamed as 100,000 pupils miss end of term
NEARLY 100,000 Scots pupils missed school in the last week of term this summer as families tried to beat sky-high package holiday prices. In some secondaries, more than half of all pupils were missing from lessons.
Education Secretary John Swinney yesterday attacked travel firms for hitting parents with massive price rises during school holidays and said the market is ‘broken’.
He said ‘schooling must come first’, but added: ‘That doesn’t stop me asking why parents are being forced to choose between school and a good holiday break. We can, and should, ask hard questions of holiday firms.’
Figures obtained from Scotland’s local authorities revealed absence levels doubled in the weeks leading up to the end of term.
Inverclyde Council had the worst rate of any council, with 29 per cent absent. East Dunbartonshire (28 per cent) and East Renfrewshire (24 per cent) were close behind.
Eastwood High School in East Renfrewshire had the highest absence rate in the final few days, with 68 per cent posted missing.
Parents say they are forced to take their children out of school because of massive holiday price hikes that accompany ‘peak season’.
Travel agents confirm the cost of holidaying in Britain and abroad soars after term ends.
Every Scottish council was asked to provide absence rates for each of the three final weeks of the summer term over the past three years. A pattern emerged which showed the number of pupils skipping school doubled as the break approached.
The rates also increased year-on-year. In total, 13.8 per cent of Scotland’s 684,415 pupils were marked as being off in the final week of this year’s summer term. That would mean 94,449 children took time off while school was still in session. By comparison, the absence rate was only 6.58 per cent in the third-last week of term.
Unlike in England, parents north of the Border are not fined for taking their children on holiday during term. But the Scottish Government advises that parents will not normally be given permission for such absences, and education authorities can decide sanctions for persistent truancy.
The City of Edinburgh Council has successfully prosecuted parents for neglecting to ensure their children attended school. In 2013, one was fined £150.
Scottish Tory education spokes- man Liz Smith said: ‘Having so many children miss the last week of term is hardly ideal, particularly given the challenges Scottish education faces and we know it is something that worries many teachers.
‘The last week of term is also one which includes many other enjoyable activities so it is unfortunate that so many children are missing from school.’
Hugh Henry, a former Labour education minister, said: ‘It’s a difficult one for parents because the cost of holidays is prohibitive. It’s a scandal that many can’t afford to take their kids away during the high-cost school holiday period.’
A spokesman for local authorities umbrella group Cosla said that councils worked with headteachers and family support workers ‘to ensure a proportionate response to each individual circumstance’.
Joanna Murphy, of the National Parent Forum of Scotland, called for a common-sense approach to solve the ‘complex issue’.
An Inverclyde Council spokesman said: ‘We recognise there are certain periods when there is a marked increase in the numbers of pupils who are absent and we actively discourage parents from taking children out of school.’
Ann Davie, depute chief executive for education at East Dunbartonshire
‘This worries many teachers’ ‘Unfortunate that so many miss school’
Council, said: ‘All our schools work to ensure high rates of attendance. Where there are concerns, schools take a proactive approach.’
East Renfrewshire Council said: ‘We have an excellent attendance rate, which is among the highest in Scottish local authority schools (96.7 per cent for primary and 94.4 per cent for secondary when last compared in 2014-15). As these figures only refer to the last three weeks of the school term, they paint a misleading picture.’