A recent proposal by the tour operator On The Beach to consolidate the school year’s five inset days into a single additional week-long holiday has drawn concern from parents and experts who caution that such a move could create more challenges than benefits.

Inset days are designated days when teachers participate in training and students are given time off. On The Beach’s campaign encourages parents to lobby headteachers to cluster these days together, creating an extended break during the school year. The company’s intention is to help families avoid paying high travel costs during peak school holiday periods by enabling travel during less expensive off-peak times.

However, many parents argue that combining inset days into a continuous week of school closure would exacerbate childcare difficulties rather than ease them. With the UK’s statutory holiday allowances typically providing around four weeks of annual leave, parents say an extra week off school would be hard to manage, especially for those with limited flexible work options. While scattered inset days can sometimes be managed through work-from-home arrangements or assistance from family members, an entire week without school is far more disruptive. This often forces parents to take additional unpaid leave or resort to costly childcare alternatives, negating any potential savings from cheaper travel.

The financial impact is particularly acute for lower-income families who may not have planned foreign holidays and for whom an extra week off school primarily causes logistical and economic strain. In regions like Yorkshire and Humber, which has the highest rate of pupil absenteeism due to holidays at 103 per 1,000 students, the majority of families do not take children out of school for vacations. This suggests that the proposed change would not be widely advantageous for most parents.

Critics also highlight alternative solutions to reduce holiday travel costs without disrupting school schedules. Some holiday providers, such as Jet2Holidays, have announced increased availability of free child places during school holidays in 2026, aiming to make family travel more affordable. Observers suggest that lowering travel prices during existing school breaks could better support families without complicating childcare arrangements.

While On The Beach’s campaign intends to make family holidays more accessible, its suggestion to group inset days into a longer continuous holiday has met resistance from parents who emphasize the practical challenges of balancing work, childcare, and schooling. Many express concern that the policy would impose undue financial and logistical burdens rather than offering a straightforward solution to high holiday costs.