This headteacher created a bonus week off for kids to go on cheaper holidays

Record numbers of families are flouting fines to swap the classroom for the beach.

Almost half a million penalty notices were handed out last year for an unauthorised family holiday as more parents choose to travel at off-peak times.

Now, one headteacher says his school has a solution.

Andy Stirland, principal at Python Hill Academy in Nottinghamshire, is giving pupils one week off in the middle of term using a simple educational trick.

At the heart of the scheme are ‘Inset days’ – the mandatory teacher training days usually spread throughout the year.

However, Mr Stirland, 49, has grouped all five of these days into one long week when the children don’t have to be at school.

This means families can go on a term-time holiday, which he says offers crucial educational and financial benefits.

The principal told Metro: ‘A family of four can save over £1000 in a term-time holiday.

‘For some of our parents, it is the difference between having a family holiday and not having a family holiday.

‘It won’t impact children’s attendance, and you won’t be put forward for a fine.’

Python Hill Academy, with about 330 pupils, is in the just 1 per cent of schools which have implemented ‘Inset Weeks’.

But the idea is at the centre of a new campaign by package holiday provider On the Beach.

They are calling for more headteachers to implement the term-time week off, staggered in different weeks throughout the country, so more families can get cheaper holidays.

Mr Stirland says that his new ‘Inset week’, timetabled for the week after the May half-term holiday, is a ‘win for everybody’.

He explained: ‘Attendance is hugely important in school for children. Any unauthorised absence is going to create a gap in education.

‘With the government’s crackdown on attendance, a term-time holiday also comes with fines.

‘Parents are very much aware it will incur a fine, but the savings probably outweigh the cost.’

While the school still sees some unauthorised absences for holidays, Python Hill has sky-high attendance, at more than 96 per cent.

That is well above the national average of 93.4 per cent.

‘I believe that without an Inset Week this would be a very different story,’ Mr Stirland adds.

It is not just parents who are better off with the ‘Inset week’ model. Mr Stirland’s colleagues also get five days off.

That’s because the primary school uses the ‘Twilight model’ for teacher training.

Instead of full Inset days throughout the year, the school leadership hold two-hour-long after-school development workshops once a week for teachers.

The head teacher believes this extra week off afforded to teachers also supports their wellbeing.

As part of the campaign launching today, On the Beach is calling for millions of parents to write to their child’s headteacher to ask for an Inset Week.

One mum who will be speaking to their head straight away is Kate Greenway.

She was fined last year after she took her then 7-year-old daughter, Leila, on holiday to Turkey during term time.

The trip last May saved the family £1700 compared to the same holiday during peak season.

Kate told Metro: ‘It was just too expensive for us to travel outside of term times.

‘If we did not take our daughter out of school, we just would not have a holiday.

‘With the cost of living crisis, even more families are going to be priced out.’

As many as 492,00 penalty notices were issued in the 2024/25 academic year for unauthorised absences.

More than 90 per cent of those were for unauthorised family holidays.

In 2024, the UK government introduced a National Framework for penalty notices, raising fines for unauthorised school absences to £80 if paid within 21 days, or £160 if paid within 28 days.

Local authorities and schools set their own term dates, not the government.

Kate and her husband, Andy, have taken Leila, now 8, on term-time trips for several years despite knowing the problems with missing education.

The mum added: ‘We do worry. It is a measured decision to take her out. I feel that time away from her family is equally as important as school.

‘A holiday will dramatically improve a child’s mental health.’

Kate, who says she knows other parents who do the same, says an ‘Inset Week’ would ‘prevent’ parents like her from ‘breaking the law’.

She continued: ‘It is a sensible and practical solution to an issue that is plaguing a lot of schools.

‘That predictable week would help lots of families access lots of holidays. It would also improve attendance across the board.’

Zoe Harris, Chief Customer Officer at On the Beach, said: ‘Families shouldn’t have to choose between following the rules and being able to afford time away together.

‘The real frustration we hear is that parents can see cheaper off-peak holidays, but there’s no straightforward way to access them without their children missing school, and that’s exactly where Inset Weeks can help.’

A Department for Education spokesperson said: ‘Every school day is vital to ensure every child, no matter their background, can achieve and thrive.

‘While academies and councils have the flexibility to set term dates that best suit their community, it is of utmost importance that no child loses out on essential learning time.

‘More widely, through our Plan for Change, we have made huge progress in tackling the attendance crisis, with over 5 million more days in school last academic year and 140,000 fewer pupils persistently absent – signalling the biggest year-on-year improvement in attendance in a decade.’

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