IPPN

Cheaper holidays and full school attendance not mutually exclusive.

For families with school going children, where the choice of timing of a holiday is limited by the standardised closing of Irish schools, there can be a great temptation to make significant savings by choosing to go outside the school holidays. This has led to some children missing out on school time.

Is there a way in which, nationally, there could be greater flexibility in schools choosing the timing of their breaks while still maintaining co-ordination at local level? IPPN (The Irish Primary Principals Network) thinks there is.

"Schools and teachers - as much as parents - appreciate the need for co-ordination of school closings and holidays. As principals, we are very concerned that all children should attend school fully. There is no argument about this." said Tomas O Slatara, President of IPPN. "However, the main need for co-ordinating school closures is at a local or regional level, not a national one."

In other European countries, where there is pressure on ski resorts and holiday destinations, they have adopted a staggered approach to school closings on a regional basis. Germany has ten regions where the closings are co-ordinated on a regional basis but staggered nationally. France has three zones. Denmark allows flexibility within a certain number of minimum days a school operates with municipalities deciding at a local level. Italy has eleven regions where closings are co-ordinated but staggered nationally. "These countries have had to come up with a sensible arrangement to cope with this issue.

If, as it appears, some children are missing out on school time because of pressure to avail of cheaper holidays, then we should look at a regional or local arrangement which would maintain co-ordination for practical purposes at a local level but which would stagger breaks nationally.The travel and holiday industry is no different to any other in the way that supply and demand works. Greater demand allied to lower supply means higher prices. If everyone is looking to go away at the same time, then availability will be restricted and prices will be higher" said Seán Cottrell, IPPN National Director

"The move in recent years to standardise school holidays arose out of a number of factors. Many parents were frustrated where they had children attending a number of different schools in the same locality and where these schools closed at different times for breaks and holidays. When schools did not all close at the same time, some families had to make arrangements for childminding and transport over a protracted period. One child in primary on break this week and another on break next week meant two weeks of special arrangements instead of just one. Co-ordinating school transport and other services was another reason for making all schools close at the same times."

The IPPN proposal can allow for the flexibility of arrangements to meet these different needs while still maintaining the integrity of the school year.