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It might be cheaper, but if you want to whisk your kids off on holiday during term time you could end up with a Welfare Officer on your case.
Headteachers are clamping down on leave of absence for holidays after 8,006 days were lost by pupils in the Island’s primary schools last year.
Headteachers have been reminding parents that the Education Department doesn't support any leave during term time and that they don't have the automatic right to take their kids out of school. If they do, they'll be marked as taking unauthorised leave and this will be followed up by Education's Welfare Officer.
They've said they will consider time off for things like special birthdays and weddings once parents have filled in an "Application for Leave" form.
Education say the persistent absentee rate for primary schools is lower in Jersey than in England, and their latest figures show that authorised absence in the 2014/2015 school year was actually the lowest recorded for at least six years.
A spokesperson for Education said: "Our approach is that every day in school matters. There is a direct correlation between good attendance and good results at school, and children often find it difficult, if not impossible, to make up the learning they have missed. We recognise that there are exceptional circumstances when a trip during term time is unavoidable and would recommend that parents talk to their head teacher if this is the case."
"Family holidays" are the second most common reason after illness, cited for absence, with both authorised and unauthorised holidays accounting for more than a fifth of all absence in primary schools.
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