'Term-time holiday is quality time with family'

An East Sussex farming family said term-time January holidays gave them a chance to get away from the farm for quality time.

Lucy Holt, 38, has twice been fined in the past for taking her children out of school during term time, but she said January was the quietest time on the farm, offering the opportunity to vacate.

"If we don't get off the farm as a family of five, we don't have that quality time together because my husband is always busy working," she said.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said school absences were an "epidemic".

Ms Holt, who lives on a farm in Chiddingly with her husband and children aged nine, seven and two, was fined in 2024 and 2022.

She is concerned about increased fines that will be handed out for future term-time absences.

She said though every farm would be different, jobs fell on various holidays throughout the year.

During February half term and at Easter she said they were busy lambing, and in Autumn they prepared for the next year's harvest.

"Summer is totally out of the question because it's haymaking and harvest," she continued.

She said she knew holidays were a luxury not everyone could afford and said hers had become "a really special time" for the family.

The minimum fine increased in August from £60 to £80 per parent as part of a government drive to return attendance to pre-pandemic levels.

Ms Holt thinks the guidance should not be "one-size-fits-all", though she understands schools are trying to get attendance back up.

East Sussex County Council said it "recognises" pressures on families but "guidance states that absences from school should only be authorised by headteachers in exceptional circumstances".

It said taking a child out of school during term time disrupted both their education and that of other pupils.

The authority said it was working with schools on a range of measures to increase attendance.

Ms Phillipson said the government would do "everything in its power" to tackle the problem.

"We need a national effort to tackle the epidemic of school absence so we can give children the best start in life – with government, schools, and parents all playing their part," she said.

"When children miss school unnecessarily, all children suffer, as teachers' attention is diverted to helping them catch back up, and we will not apologise for ensuring every child is in school accessing high and rising standards so they can achieve and thrive."

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