I’m head of the PTA but I took 9 and 11 year olds out of school for a trip to Disney, Florida – still saved £5k on fines

FINES for parents taking their children out of school will soon rise to £80 per child.

But mum Emily Cleary, 46, says:

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“A satisfied smile appeared on my face as I watched my kids splash in the pool while I soaked up the Florida sun.

I couldn’t help but imagine other moms frantically preparing packed lunches and navigating school while my family and I enjoyed the vacation of a lifetime.

A getaway that cost us £5,000 less – thanks to the simple fact that we did it during term time rather than during the official school holidays.

Spending our savings on a trip to Disney World in Orlando was not a decision I made lightly, especially since it meant taking my 11-year-old son and nine-year-old daughter out of school for a week.

I am a very discerning person and I despise people who take their children out of school during term time.

I found it quite unpleasant to think that the rules applied to everyone else but not them.

But now I’m one of them and – after saving so much money doing this – I don’t regret it one bit.

There was a time when my kids could have been left with a dangling limb and I still would have sent them to school with nothing more than a dose of Calpol to get them through the day.

And I always made medical, dental and hospital appointments outside of school hours.

As I am president of the PTA at my children’s school in Buckinghamshire, I have always felt I should lead by example.

I’m the face of fundraising at school, and I worry that people will think less of me or believe that I feel better than them if I don’t do everything exactly by the book.

But things have changed.

At the beginning of this year, I started looking for vacation packages to Florida.

My stomach sank when I realized that spending £10,000 on a family trip wouldn’t touch the sides.

Our dream vacation seemed to end before it began.

But then I started playing around with dates and researching cheaper alternatives, like a villa instead of a hotel, organizing our own itinerary, buying park tickets and renting a car.

To my surprise, I soon realized that by booking flights just the day before the holidays, we would save up to £500 on the cost of traveling to the US.

By moving another day into the term, the drop was another £500.

I was open to taking the kids out of school a few days before the Easter holidays, as it seems like there was never any learning in the week before the breakup anyway.

But then, out of curiosity, I checked the difference in flight prices if we went in the middle of the holidays and returned to school a few days after the start of the summer term.

To my surprise, we would save a staggering £4,000.

It was a no-brainer for me and my husband Jamie, 47, who works in construction.

Our vacation of a lifetime was back.

Not only were the flights cheaper, our villa was £400 less per week, and by timing our holiday to avoid spring break in the US, the parks and attractions were also cheaper.

The reality is that holiday companies and airlines are holding parents to ransom.

They are forcing parents to break the rules by raising prices – and the deterrent effect of a fine doesn’t even affect the potential savings made.

Don’t get me wrong, it was a moral dilemma that I really struggled with.

Even after I made the decision and booked the vacation, it took me two weeks to tell my own mother.

I’ve never been a rule breaker and of course that doesn’t feel right.

Our local council currently issues fines of £60 per child, per parent, for unauthorized school absences if paid within 21 days.

This rises to £120 if not paid within 21 days.

We haven’t been fined yet, but I’m waiting for it.

Over the five days we took the children out of school, the cost could be as much as £480.

But since my children have 100 percent attendance for the rest of the year, we will appeal.

But even with the charge, it weighs a fine of £480 against a saving of £5,000.

It’s not rocket science.

I believe the pandemic changed attitudes towards school attendance when many of us became homeschool teachers overnight.

And last year’s teacher strikes meant that my children were subjected to at least half a dozen days without last-minute classes.

Schools aren’t fined if kids can’t get in, so why should parents be?

Furthermore, a small fine is little deterrent when you compare the huge cost of traveling during the school holidays compared to heavily discounted term-time rates.

Not only are holiday prices significantly lower, but queues are shorter, everywhere is less busy and it’s easier to miss work if you have colleagues who are also vying for time off during the holidays.

I also firmly believe that the opportunity my children have had to see the sights, enjoy the attractions, and explore a new country more than makes up for a day or two in sum.

Disney is a surprisingly educational place, Orlando is filled with exotic wildlife, and my kids spent more hours swimming in water parks in two weeks than they did in six months at the local pool at home.

Vacation is an education in itself, and while I’m not claiming that Mickey Mouse offered algebra lessons, a week spent watching, reading, watching, and enjoying is worth a lot more than a week in the classroom.

There’s also love – we create memories that will last a lifetime.

I’ve never been one to break the rules, but if breaking the rules means not breaking the bank, I’m all for it.

And I will do it again.

Other parents I spoke to said they would do this too, and teachers say they understand.

I think it is completely unfair for children to miss holidays because their parents cannot afford to take them away during school holidays, nor pay out money for fines.

We’re in a cost of living crisis, but vacation companies still make a lot of money from cash-strapped families who just want to spend time together and make memories.

The government should go after them, not the parents.”