A measure to ban parents from taking their children out of school during term time will be ‘fraught with difficulty,’ says one Bournemouth Councillor.

Councillor Barry Goldbart, Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s Services at Bournemouth Borough Council said that flexibility would be needed if such plans were to be introduced.

‘In principle I would rather that parents didn’t take their children out of school in odd times, but it does rather depend on how long they take them out for.

‘I think you would need a bit of flexibility.

‘It [a ban] is going to be very hard to control. Nationally there must be a big problem, but I am not aware it is down here in Bournemouth.’

One of the reasons why families go away in term time is because holidays are much cheaper.

And according to Cllr Goldbart, it is the travel companies who lie at the heart of the issue.

‘The real problem comes down to the holiday firms who take advantage of the parents – that’s what the government should be looking more closely at.

‘They [holiday firms] effectively cause the problem.’

Cllr Goldbart also said that a possible solution would be for the government to ‘name and shame travel companies and airlines.’

This is a view enforced by Louise Isaacs, a local education specialist.

‘It’s a difficult balancing act for schools,’ says Ms Isaacs, who works with schools in the Bournemouth area.

‘Some parents can’t afford to take their children away during the school holidays.

‘Holiday firms can increase their prices by 50% – the problem lies at their feet.

‘If there were fairer holiday prices, this wouldn’t be an issue – the prices are just astronomical.

‘Most secondary heads don’t support Michael Gove as they fear the country is becoming too much of a “nanny state”’.

A headmaster of a local independent school says parents at his school are urged not to remove their children during the term.

Alastair Reid, headmaster of Ballard School in New Milton, said: ‘We actively discourage holidays in term time and parents who wish to take their children out of school are required to complete a form to formalise their request and explain their decision.

‘We work in partnership with parents to ensure that any work missed is then caught up and this might mean staying on late at school or coming in over a weekend.

There are, thus, consequences for any such absence.’

A local teacher though, who asked not to be named, said the parents were to blame for the problem.

‘Ultimately it’s the parents’ responsibility.

‘Education should come first and not be interrupted, unless it’s for a very good reason.

‘I would support a ban, but I think it would be difficult to enforce.

‘It’s always going to be more expensive [to go on holiday] at peak times, that’s the same for everyone, so it’s not the fault of holiday companies.’

Nearly double the price

A Thomson holiday to Spain is nearly double the price during the Easter holiday, as opposed to just two weeks before.

It costs £1360 for a family of four to go to the Costa Blanca between the 19^th and 26^th April.

But just two weeks later, in the first week of the Easter holidays, the exact same holiday costs £2556 – an increase of £1196.