You may have heard the recent news from the Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Education, who threatens to fine any parent who takes their children on holiday outside normal school holidays. Now without getting political, as I kind of like Michael Gove and what he is trying to do generally, I find I don’t agree with him on this. The aim for any parent is to educate their children. They make sacrifices to do this. Some send their children to private, expensive schools, many cannot afford such luxuries and struggle to afford to take their children on holiday during the peak holiday weeks, which are the most expensive.

When I first came into travel 34 years ago, I opened a small travel agency in Atherton near Wigan. Many towns in the North of England and some in the Midlands had “Wakes Weeks”, which originated from religious festivals but later during the industrial revolution became holidays in which the whole town closed down. Oldham “Wakes Week” was the third week in June (maybe two weeks), Bolton the last week in June, Wigan the first week in July etc. Shops closed, schools closed and factories and pits closed. It’s interesting to note the number of weddings on the local Wakes Week Saturdays in those towns – yes, I was married on Bolton holiday Saturday 40 years ago.

From a commercial point of view closing factories and schools at the same time saved money and allowed families to travel on holiday together. I am not advocating towns close down for two weeks but spreading holidays across a longer period has its advantages. The problem of concentrating holidays across seven or eight weeks for everyone in the country just increases prices. Spreading this demand over a period of 12 to 14 weeks makes much more sense. It would reduce the price of holidays allowing the travel industry to more fairly price their holidays and match supply to demand across a longer period. It would allow airports and infrastructure to similarly become better used and less chaotic.

So why not close schools down or just allow the school to concentrate on a more relaxed curriculum for a different two weeks than the norm in term time and allow families to take their children on holiday during those two weeks if they want to. Those who decide not to travel could still turn up for school, the lessons would be about travel and the culture of different countries. If parents wanted to take their children away at the peak periods then that would still be possible.

Educating children is the core of what we all do as parents. Good parents should not be labelled bad or fined for wanting their children to experience the joys of travel and the excitement of visiting new places. The Gove proposal deters those who believe travel is important for their children yet are marginalised because of the high price in peak season.

With just a bit of innovation and an understanding that education comes outside as well as inside the classroom, then there is a better solution than making parents criminals.