Police in Germany carrying out checks at the airport have been questioned families with school age children flying out on holiday during term-time. The families questioned were allowed to continue with their holiday, but the news report states, they have 2 weeks to explain why the children were taken out of school. And if the authorities aren’t satisfied with the reason each family could be fined up to €1,000 (££876).
In the UK if you take your child away on holiday during term time you must get permission from the Head Teacher of the school. The Head Teacher will take in to account ‘exceptional circumstances’, such as, what the trip is for, family celebration for example or if they feel that the trip will actually enhance the child’s education. However, if the Head Teacher turns down the request, and you still decide to go, or if you go without asking permission, your local council can fine you £60, which would then double to £120 if you don’t pay within 21 days.
When planning a family break, it is also important to ensure you have travel insurance in place as soon as you have booked and paid the holiday deposit. If you are travelling as a family it would be best to buy a family travel insurance policy, however make sure you check the excess on the policy before going ahead, as excesses on travel insurance tend to be per person and not per policy. If you need to make a claim, this could leave you considerably out of pocket.