April 7, 2017 8.55 am This story is over 83 months old

Lincoln residents have their say on supreme court term time holiday ban

Following the supreme court’s ruling on Thursday, April 6 that a father taking his child to Disney World in term time was illegal, we asked Lincoln residents what they thought about the controversial decision. Many parents agreed with the justices’ ruling, believing that children already get enough time off without missing vital parts of their education.…
School closures and lockdown meant that children

Following the supreme court’s ruling on Thursday, April 6 that a father taking his child to Disney World in term time was illegal, we asked Lincoln residents what they thought about the controversial decision.

Many parents agreed with the justices’ ruling, believing that children already get enough time off without missing vital parts of their education.

Livi Ringsell said: “Kids have a good three months of holiday a year, why not just use that instead of risking their education?

“Fundamentally, especially in maths, missing one stage of learning early on can throw the the whole thing off and make you ‘bad at maths’.”

Suzi Lee said: “Kids get enough holidays from school, so yes it was right he lost.”

Hayley Toulson said: “Unfortunately I think it’s a case of a few people ruining for the rest of us. Whilst there will be some parents who are extremely practical about our children’s education and hold importance on it, there are also others who couldn’t care less about their schooling.

“I doubt taking my daughter out of school for a week would make that much difference to her education and we’d ensure she’d caught up on anything she’s missed but there are also some parents who value their week abroad as far more important. Therefore the school has to make the same rule for everyone.”

Others were divided. Saying that it wasn’t the government’s place to tell them how to raise their children and that the high price of out of term holidays justified taking children out of school.

Nicola Green said: “It’s absolutely ridiculous that the government and schools can decide what is best for my children.

“If my husband and I decide that it is in the best interests of our family to take our children out of school for a holiday then we will. After all, they are our children.”

Alex Hepworth said: “If someone has a good record, grades are running right, and they are caught up and willing to catch up on work. Yes. Show a little sense, if someone is behind or got bad attendance then no, they probably should be in school. Give it some leeway with conditions.”

Christine Burton added: “I think the ruling is ridiculous, How come some parents are let off, and others are not? Make the holidays cheaper when the kids are off, then parents wouldn’t have to do this.”

What do you think? Should parents be able to take their children out of school whenever they want to? Or should schools enforce the ban on term time holidays? Let us know in our poll or by leaving a comment.