Teachers value holidays over school days
· food
When Holidays Matter More Than School Days
Research on pupil attendance in England and Wales reveals a grim picture: nearly one in five children are missing at least 10% of school, and teachers themselves doubt the value of full-time schooling. A report compiled by youth charity Impetus and policy firm Public First found that frontline staff don’t just tolerate term-time holidays – they’d take them for their own kids if given the chance.
The admission from teachers reflects widespread skepticism about the effectiveness of holiday fines. These punitive measures, meant to deter parents from taking unauthorized breaks with their children, are seen as counterproductive by many educators. “We’ll send a penalty notice out and then we’ve really annoyed that parent,” said one senior leader, highlighting the tension between enforcing attendance rules and building relationships with families.
The data supports this anecdotal evidence: 492,825 penalty notices for unauthorized absences were issued to parents in England last year alone. This is part of a significant shift in attitudes towards attendance since the pandemic, as some parents question whether full-time schooling remains necessary or beneficial. The absence rate has risen from 4.7% before the pandemic to 6.93%.
Researchers identified several factors driving disengagement, including gaps in mental health support and unmet special educational needs. Schools are increasingly seen as one-stop shops for everything, but this expectation is unrealistic given available resources. Teachers spoke of being stretched thin, with many students requiring specialist provision that their schools cannot provide.
Efforts to build relationships, mentor struggling students, and conduct home visits are deemed the most effective interventions – but also the most time-consuming. This tension between punitive measures and supportive strategies speaks to a deeper crisis within our education system: one where the needs of children and families often take second place to bureaucratic targets and attendance rates.
The government’s response has been inadequate so far, relying on fines rather than addressing root causes of disengagement. Rachel de Souza, the children’s commissioner, warns that we’re facing a hidden crisis of young people not in education, employment, or training – an estimated 42,000 16- and 17-year-olds enrolled in colleges who attend less than half the time.
In this context, the report’s findings on teachers’ attitudes towards term-time holidays take on new significance. They reflect a broader disillusionment with the current system, which prioritizes attendance over genuine engagement and support for students. If we’re serious about addressing this crisis, we need to rethink our approach – not just tweaking policies or procedures, but fundamentally reorienting our understanding of what education is meant to achieve.
The teachers’ willingness to admit that holidays can be worth more than time in school should serve as a wake-up call: a reminder that the value of education lies not in mere attendance, but in the relationships we build with children and their families. By listening to educators on the frontlines, rather than just enforcing policies from above, we might finally begin to address the disengagement crisis – and create an education system that truly supports its students.
Reader Views
- PMPat M. · home cook
The so-called "holiday fines" are nothing but a slap in the face for parents who can't afford a last-minute foreign trip. The real issue is that schools are expecting to be all things to all children - therapist, social worker, and educator rolled into one - without providing adequate resources or support staff. It's time to rethink our expectations of what schools can realistically achieve and give teachers the tools they need to do their job, rather than piling on more pressure and paperwork.
- TKThe Kitchen Desk · editorial
The data on unauthorized absences is telling, but what's striking is how little attention is paid to the root causes of disengagement among parents and students. We're fixated on fining families for taking term-time holidays, rather than addressing the systemic issues driving this behavior. That means acknowledging that some schools are woefully unprepared to meet special educational needs or provide adequate mental health support. By not confronting these underlying problems, we risk exacerbating the problem, creating a cycle of disengagement and resentment that's hard to break.
- CDChef Dani T. · line cook
It's no wonder teachers are questioning the value of full-time schooling when the system is already broken. We're asking educators to be everything from counselors to social workers, and then penalizing parents for taking a much-needed break with their kids. The real problem lies in underfunding schools and neglecting mental health support – not in families exercising what little flexibility they have left. By targeting low-income communities with holiday fines, we're just adding insult to injury.