Mum saves £10k by taking children on term time holidays - and plans to do it again despite fines

A mother who has been fined several times for taking her children on holidays during the school year said she plans to do it again this year. The mum-of-two says she has saved about £10,000 by travelling during the off-season.

Rachel Smith, 33, takes her two school-going children, Brayden, 11 and Elianna, nine, on an overseas holiday every year during term time. The single mum who works in finance saved £3,000 last year by taking her children to Majorca and Magaluf in May and June instead of August.

Whilst she regularly receives £60-per-child fines, she says the decision is a "no brainer" as "it’s nothing compared to the cost of holidays in the school holidays". They have been on four holidays so far during term time, and are heading off to Majorca next week for another round of holiday.

Rachel, from Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, said: "Although I have a good job, as a single working parent I just don’t have the money to take my kids on holiday during the school holidays.

The cost is outrageous. Why should people, and most importantly children, be penalised because they can’t afford to pay £5,000 for a holiday in August?

"I’ve worked really hard and so do my children, why shouldn’t we get to go on a family holiday? Why should some children miss out on those experiences and only the kids with parents that afford it get to go?

"The cost is double, even triple, out of term time compared to in term time. So long as you look carefully at the school calendar and make sure it’s not impacting your child’s education, I think it’s fine."

The first holiday the family took during term time was to Ibiza in May 2018 when Brayden was five and Eliana was four. The following year, they visited Magaluf, Majorca, Spain, during term time.

Unfortunately, they were unable to holiday abroad for the next two years due to Covid.

However, they made up for their lost time by holidaying in Magaluf again in May last year, followed by a trip to Can Picafort, Majorca, Spain, in June.