Taking children out of school

Following recent comments by Michael Gove this issue is firmly back on the agenda. Whilst no one would defend wholesale bunking off, I feel strongly (as both parent and Tour Operator) that there is a case for occasionally missing school to pursue other interests.

Education is not a wholly classroom based experience. Most of the key experiences of my young life happened not in class 4B but out in the countryside, up a mountain or on a boat.

My take on this is perhaps best exemplified by the letter I wrote to my daughter’s head teacher at the start of the year as we planned our own family skiing trip. The text is below:

I am writing to request permission to take ____ out of school for the week beginning 6th February 2011.

We will be going on a ski holiday during this period away from school. As I run a travel business taking time out from work is an impossibility during school holidays; it is by far my busiest time operationally.

In addition, I am keen to introduce ____ to the sport that I love (and for better or worse has shaped my career!). I see this trip as a great opportunity for ____ to enjoy the mountain environment, start participating in an involving and exciting sport and experience a foreign country.

We have explained to ____ that going on a ski holiday is a great privilege and she will be expected to work hard at school before and after the trip. If there are any pieces of work or projects you would like ____ to take with her on holiday please do let me know.

I appreciate that I have a strong argument in that work constraints play a role, but I don’t think this should be crucial. In fact I wrote a more general template letter that you can find on this link.

I understand that schools need good attendance in order to have any chance of getting the results they want (and parents expect). However, holidays and activities outside school have the potential to support rather than undermine educational objectives.

I’m not condoning unauthorised absences and would not consider taking my daughter out of school for a “fly and flop” trip to the Med, but some trips have value. From a position of complete bias I believe that skiing is one of them!

It's impossible to discuss this issue without making reference to prices. For me Simon Calder, Travel Editor for the Independent and something of a consumer champion, summarised it well in a recent piece on Parrallel Trails;

Many package holidays, including skiing holidays, are sold at a loss a lot of the time. So while it is true that prices during school holidays can be 50-100 percent higher and this is not a comfortable state of affairs, it is the reality of the situation. If the pricing changed then the whole business model would unravel and we would have fewer holidays and ski operators to choose from.

If Mr Gove would like to discuss in more depth I’m easy to find …

Chris
skifamille.co.uk

Why my family skiing holiday worked so well

On the 4th February I took a week off work … to go on a Ski Famille holiday in Reberty Village. You may be thinking it doesn’t get much more “busmans” than that, but it was genuinely a relaxing family break.

When I look back on why it worked so well for all of us there were four key elements.

Not having to think
This was key and was echoed in a conversation I had today with a guest who had recently returned from Les Gets. Working parents normally have days jammed full of planning, thinking and doing; and that’s just the bits outside work. On a Ski Famille holiday you don’t need to think about what you’re going to eat, how to entertain children or the seriously dull tasks like loading the dishwasher. It just happens, marvelous!

Location, location, location
Now I’ve stayed in our Reberty chalets and skied the 3 Valleys for a week I can admit it – it’s not a ski area that’s really appealed to me in the past. I knew our guests wanted to go there, but personally I thought I could take it or leave it. My views are now very different; it’s a stonking ski area! In addition, having thoroughly explored, I couldn't see any better located chalets anywhere in the 3 Valleys … bar one or two exclusively available to travellers on a Russian oligarch’s budget.

Childcare without guilt
We spent a lot of time together as a family but did make use of the Ski Famille childcare. As our daughter is now at school it seemed a bit cruel to leave her for chunks of the day on a holiday. At least it did right up until we realised she was having a complete riot with the childcare staff and the other children in resort. Mummy and Daddy were decidedly dull in comparison so we happily pottered off for some skiing and a lengthy lunch or two.

Snow
The conditions this winter have been much publicised in the travel and wider press – it’s been a cracking season. I can’t remember a week’s skiing with better conditions since I was first started flailing around on skis on a school trip nearly 30 years ago. The off piste was pretty much skied out by the end of the week, but conditions on piste were superb; fresh grippy and well groomed. It really was a joy.

There were other superb elements to the holiday, but the four above really stand out. The team in Reberty did a great job of looking after us ... and it's a bit of a though gig having to put up with the boss dropping in with wife, child and friends for a week!

Chris
www.skifamille.co.uk