Published: 25 April 2014
The UK Government‘s new law, making it very difficult to take children out of school in order to go on holiday during term time, may be a bit of an annoyance. However, fear not, because Feel Good Holidays have got it covered.
From September 2013, the government introduced stricter rules on taking children out of school during term-time to go on holiday. All parents in England and Wales now have a legal responsibility to make sure their children attend school - and failing to do so is now classed as an offence under Section 444 of the 1996 Education Act.
During autumn term last year, there were almost 5,300 fines imposed for taking children out of school to go on holiday across 34 councils in England. Parents can request term-time holidays in 'exceptional circumstances' but the outcome is at the discretion of the head teacher and they can grant or refuse the requests however they see fit. This has left many parents feeling very frustrated and left with very few options when it comes to booking a family holiday.
Early Booking Discounts...
Even during peak times, many resorts we deal with have early booking discounts for those booking well in advance. We find the single biggest obstacle to booking early is that people are unsure of their plans or want to save up first. So they wait until they are sure.
Flexible Booking Policy...
However, there is no need for this caution. With our flexible booking policy, we can hold seats on flights with many airlines, worldwide, without paying any deposit, or just a very small one of approximately £50 per person.
Likewise, we can book 95% of the resorts we deal with and cancel up to 6 weeks prior to the proposed arrival date.
Most other tour operators would not pass this benefit on to their clients, but we most certainly will if there is an element of doubt in your mind.
So, the basic message is to book as early as possible and hold what you want, securing the best airfares (from the moment they go on sale, most only ever go one way – and that’s up…) and also the best early booking discounts at the resorts. The holiday can often end up costing considerably less than if you’d waited, and in many cases, the cost is not the key factor, but the availability.
Come and speak to us about your plans for 2014 & 2015 as early as you can (booking now for February 2015 half term would be very advantageous). If your plans change you have nothing, or very little, to lose.