New Start for School Attendance

A popular money-saving travel scheme is returning this September to help keep even more Sunderland children in school. Sunderland City Council is reminding parents planning the next family holiday that they can save money and give their children the best chance for full attendance by making use of a 10 per cent discount incentive. Sunderland City Council’s Attendance Team ‘Every Schoolday Counts’ and local travel agent Hays Travel have joined together again to offer parents a great 10 per cent discount on any family break booked within the official school holidays. By choosing to book their holidays out of school term time and to make sure their children make the most of their lessons, many parents in Sunderland have already reaped the rewards. The holiday discount scheme saved Sunderland families over £30, 000 in the last academic year. Over the duration of the scheme local families have made savings in excess of £150,000 in total. Alison Currie, 45 from Washington, was looking forward to booking a family break after spending the summer holidays at home. However with two children in school, she was keen that it didn’t clash with term time. She said: “A lot of tour operators hike the price of packages up during school holidays which can make you think about taking the children out of school. However I’ve always taught my children to value good attendance and I think it’s important for them to make it in whenever they can. It’s really good that this scheme gives parents a hand when booking holidays. “Through using this scheme this year I saved almost £100 on a holiday to a caravan site in Filloth and the children won’t miss any time in school as a result. Next year I’ll definitely be booking holidays outside of term time again and we’ll be going for a perfect 100 per cent attendance record.” Elaine Matterson, Attendance Manager within Sunderland City Council, said: “It can be tempting to take children out of school to take advantage of special travel offers during term time. However, this can be very disruptive to a child’s learning and it can then be difficult for them to catch up when they return – so it’s important that children make it to lessons as often as possible. John Hays, managing director and founder of Hays Travel, said: "The success of the scheme speaks for itself. Fewer children in the North East are being taken out of school for holidays as a result of the discount on offer, which is great news. A new school year means a new opportunity for the whole family to really make the effort to achieve a 100 per cent attendance. In Sunderland we are very lucky that parents have the opportunity to make use of this great scheme. It allows families to save money whilst ensuring that their children are not missing school and are at the same time getting the most of out of their valuable school years.” Improvements in school attendance levels have been proven to have a beneficial impact on raising achievement and attainment, reducing school exclusion, improving transition between key stages and decreasing youth crime and the potential for social exclusion. ~Ends~

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