School Holiday Prices

[Snowy]

I work in a school, and we get our holiday sheet direct from government every year before the parents get them

we like all other schools are allowed to pick our training / non pupil days

but the minute we get these sheets and go online to book holidays the holiday firms have already been given the "nod" and increased prices accordingly 

I've been convinced for a long while now that something very under hand is going on with the government and holiday firms

the government constantly claim they are unhappy with holiday firms over charging, yet appear to do nothing about it

a friend of mine works in a different school and to combat parents taking kids out during term time

they use all their training / non pupil days in one week, thus allowing parents a 'cheap' weeks holiday 

anyone work in government willing to confirm my theory ?

[JamesLV]

The government seem quite happy selling most our other data so why not school dates, wouldn't surprise me!

[DAVIDH]

Hi Snowy,

Don't know how long you have had these dates but as far as Hoseasons are concerned, the prices are fixed at this year's prices until usually the end of October. As far as i remember for the holiday industry wider, the brochures (with prices) usually launch around one year before the start of the summer season, so May for the following May to October for example. So cannot see collusion unless the schools sort out their training / non pupil days before these dates.

Regards

David

[donnygeoff]

One thing about "training days" that I really don't understand is, why are they always the day after either 2 weeks or 6 weeks school holidays. Why can't they be done in the children's holiday times, as a parent I can not take my children out of school in term time, but head teachers can pick term time days to stop the children going to school, for so called teacher training days.

[Snowy]

4 minutes ago, donnygeoff said:

One thing about "training days" that I really don't understand is, why are they always the day after either 2 weeks or 6 weeks school holidays. Why can't they be done in the children's holiday times, as a parent I can not take my children out of school in term time, but head teachers can pick term time days to stop the children going to school, for so called teacher training days.

I'm not a teacher, I'm the caretaker /  buildings manager / site manager / premises manager or whatever my bloody title is these days

i totally understand what your saying, and don't get me started on the fines if you take kids out of school for a holiday and school saying ohh that effects the child's education 

and teachers strikes don't do that then ?!?! GRRRRRRRR rant over 

[donnygeoff]

 

2 minutes ago, Snowy said:

I'm not a teacher, I'm the caretaker /  buildings manager / site manager / premises manager or whatever my bloody title is these days

i totally understand what your saying, and don't get me started on the fines if you take kids out of school for a holiday and school saying ohh that effects the child's education 

and teachers strikes don't do that then ?!?! GRRRRRRRR rant over 

Rant fully understood and totally agreed with......

[Guest ExMemberKingFisher]

I've often wondered why the government doesn't set a 10 or even 12 week window for the school Summer holidays. Then some schools could chose the first 6 weeks, some the middle 6 weeks and some the last 6 weeks. This would spread the demand over a 12 week period and help to smooth out the trade for the whole holiday industry. In theory their would still be a premium during the 12 week period, but it should be far less than now as there would be less demand.

I'm sure there's a perfectly feasible reason why it wouldn't work, but I fail to see it at the moment.

[Timbo]

Schools in our area have a ridiculous system where one school has one-week holiday allocation and another an alternate week. Of course, there are many families in a stupid situation where they have kids in different schools. One family, I know of had a child in three different schools and one half term holiday that was a week for each school ran over three weeks for the parent. That parent has had to give up work as they cannot take sufficient time off work to look after their children and the costs of child minding were more than they were earning. Likewise, the current return to school after the summer holiday is staggered. Just ridiculous.

[Malanka]

Anyone from the North would have to say ya boo sucks to the southerners as ooop North especially in Lancashire and Yorkshire Mill towns we had so called wakes weeks (fortnight in june or july) a full month before the official school holidays start in August.

As a child I NEVER had a holiday in August it was always the last week in June first week in July. This was arranged so that not every mill was idle at the same time the periods were stagered and everyone could get to Cleethorpes or the fylde coast (Blackpool or Fleetwood) for their holidays. Whole streets would disappear at the same time.

It did shorten the summer break in August to 4 weeks ending in September though

This was still happening in the 80s when alas I became an adult.

 

M

[HEM]

1 hour ago, KingfishersTime said:

I've often wondered why the government doesn't set a 10 or even 12 week window for the school Summer holidays. Then some schools could chose the first 6 weeks, some the middle 6 weeks and some the last 6 weeks. This would spread the demand over a 12 week period and help to smooth out the trade for the whole holiday industry.

I almost hate to post this but this is pretty much what happens in Germany, although its federal state-by-state.  I'm not necessarily saying its good - its just the way it is.

Here is one view for 2017:  http://www.schulferien.org/Schulferien_nach_Jahren/2017/schulferien_2017.html

You can see that some states started in June (eg. Niedersachsen = Lower Saxony has Summer hols 22nd June to 2nd August) whilst Bavaria started on the 29th July & run until 11th September.  Each year the periods are set up fresh so there maybe movement of a few weeks (but the southern states are always "late" in the Summer).

The result is that the holiday prices (esp with flights) are locally high within those periods.  However, it my be worth departing from an airport in a neighbouring state if they don't have holidays at the same time.  Its true that the max number of flights are offered during each state's school holidays.

[HEM]

14 minutes ago, Malanka said:

Anyone from the North would have to say ya boo sucks to the southerners as ooop North especially in Lancashire and Yorkshire Mill towns we had so called wakes weeks (fortnight in june or july) a full month before the official school holidays start in August.

Eeee Chip Butties...  I consider meself as coming from Oop Norf but having grown up just inside the Northern borders of Cheshire there was no such thing as Wakes weeks for us (I recall my aunt who was a teacher at a girls school in Oldham talking about them though).

[Springsong]

From age 11 I lived in Cheshire I remember Macclesfield and Stockport both had wakes weeks. 

[Malanka]

Nobody from "Cheshire" is from ooop nooorf. Cheshire is posher than posh, apart of course from port sunlight .

Mill towns did it, not posh landowners in Cheshire lol . 

 

When we lived in Germany  we had the same type of system and Belgium too. Amazingly holidays in CH are also Canton based too. Just U.K. Being odd man out. Federal systems do work quite well. 

 

Freedom for Lancashire.

[grendel]

Historically of course the longer summer holidays were arranged so that the children could help gather the harvest in

[HEM]

36 minutes ago, springsong said:

From age 11 I lived in Cheshire I remember Macclesfield and Stockport both had wakes weeks. 

I went to school (senior school) in Stockport 1962 (?) to 1970 & the school had no wakes week.

[HEM]

24 minutes ago, Malanka said:

Federal systems do work quite well.

Brings a load of other problems (costs & inefficiencies).

[ranworthbreeze]

In our syndicate we have a major problem trying to fit in six weeks of allocations during the summer holidays for our School Share owners.

Every year I have to check the various regions education department to get an idea of when their terms are, they vary from area to area. We have owners from Cheshire, Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, London etc. To compound this before our AGM in November I have to check this out for the 2019 terms.

I fully agree with comments regarding taking children out of school is a no no but any excuse such as teacher training days or playing games to fill in days before an holiday is acceptable.

Regards

Alan 

[troutman62]

Unfortunately if schools staggered the holidays throughout the year, the friendly holiday companies would just respond by increasing prices for every bloody week ! Ya can' t beat the system.

[TheQ]

Grendels remarks about getting the harvest in  are correct, I was going spud picking in the summer holidays in the 1970s.

One problem with making a major changes to the holiday season would be the destruction of another way of life. The most common proposal I've seen from teachers is to make all major holidays the same length, of about 3 or 4 weeks. Do you fancy taking your holidays in October half term?

 You may wonder about my comment of destruction of way of life. At the moment should you be fit enough, you can sail at regattas through out the summer holidays. Moving the summer holidays around or shortening them would mean much reduced attendances at regattas and other summer events as you would end up with more events on at the same time.

 

[Matt]

In our syndicate we have a major problem trying to fit in six weeks of allocations during the summer holidays for our School Share owners.
Every year I have to check the various regions education department to get an idea of when their terms are, they vary from area to area. We have owners from Cheshire, Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, London etc. To compound this before our AGM in November I have to check this out for the 2019 terms.
I fully agree with comments regarding taking children out of school is a no no but any excuse such as teacher training days or playing games to fill in days before an holiday is acceptable.
Regards
Alan 

How does the 2nd week of their allocation work out? Easter, May half term and October half term but aren't you winterised over the others?

The boys school has inset days mon, tue and wed this week so flying back from Ibiza tomorrow in time for start of term!


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[dnks34]

Its Teachers I feel sorry for.

Spending their working days with the little cherubs and then having to go on holiday with them aswell and paying extra for the privilege!

Unless your old school and been in the game years the pays not all that either!! 

Still, someone has to do it !!

[TheQ]

A lady teacher ( from Norfolk) I knew was on her honeymoon in Australia, half way up Ayres rock (Uluru) she heard those dreaded words... Miss!  MISS!!!

[TheQ]

7 minutes ago, dnks34 said:

Its Teachers I feel sorry for.

Spending their working days with the little cherubs and then having to go on holiday with them aswell and paying extra for the privilege!

Unless your old school and been in the game years the pays not all that either!! 

Still, someone has to do it !!

A teacher's starting pay is about the same as my current pay, after 43 years working.....

[Malanka]

Sorry but we regularly took our eldest two out of school for a week at a time as two different schools different holidays grrr 

 

both now doing very well at University so obviously we ruined their lives. IMO the legislation should be linked to performance not just absence. 

 

Nail hammer anyone 

[MauriceMynah]

45 minutes ago, TheQ said:

A lady teacher ( from Norfolk) I knew was on her honeymoon in Australia, half way up Ayres rock (Uluru) she heard those dreaded words... Miss!  MISS!!!

Yes, but they were talking to a sniper. :-)