January 2019
Featured in this insight: Education, Children & young people
Term-time holidays for primary pupils backed by two in five: It’s a hotly debated topic amongst parents and educators but for two in five people polled, a holiday during school time is acceptable for a primary school child.
The survey, recently published by the Department for Education, however, found that although 42% felt it was okay to take an 8 year-old out of school for a term-time break, the same view was not held for taking older children. Just a quarter (25%) of UK adults said it was okay for a 15 year-old to miss school for a trip away.
The research, polling 5,400 UK adults also looked at other occasions where parents felt it was acceptable to take their children out of lessons.
When considering an 8-year-old, 63% said it was okay to miss school for a funeral, while this figure was 89% for a 15 year-old.
Just over half (52%) believe that an important family occasion was a good enough reason to miss school as a ‘one-off’ for an 8 year-old, the same percentage as for the older child.
