Term time holidays are an economic necessity for families

Walt Disney World is much more pleasant in November or January than it is in August. And besides enabling families to avoid the scalding summer heat in Florida, an off-season trip also saves a fortune: holiday prices typically double as soon as term ends, which helps to explain why so many school-age British schoolchildren can be found in the Magic Kingdom when they should be in class.

While Michael Gove was Education Secretary, he sought to eradicate such absences from the classroom by introducing a fixed penalty of £60. The unintended consequence was that the fine merely became an extra element in parents’ calculation of the savings to be made. With British Airways asking £750 for a Gatwick-Geneva return flight next February half-term, keen skiing families can save more than £400 per person – even with that £60 penalty – by travelling a week later.

Yesterday the High Court ruled that fining parents is a Mickey Mouse solution to a problem that has its roots in the nature of the travel industry and the structure of the academic year.

The heavy hand of central government is inadvertently fuelling conflict between parents and schools. Education is about much more than the narrow academic curriculum. Many head teachers recognise the value of expanding children’s horizons, and the importance of family travel as a social good.

Schools should be flexible about time off during term time. In return, they deserve support when they judge whether this freedom is being used properly, or being exploited by parents who place the value of cheap holiday above their child’s education. And the government and the travel industry should re-open the debate about staggered school holidays through the year – which represents the only sensible long-term solution.