Add to this the often difficult task of co-ordinating time off work with your partner during the six week window and it’s no wonder that more and more families are booking holidays during the school term.

Although there are certain travel companies who do cash in on this busy time of year, a majority of them find themselves in a catch 22 situation whereby the number of families taking holidays during this time rises so dramatically that they have no option other than to recruit additional staff, organise extra hire cars and arrange additional accommodation thereby forcing a rise in the overall cost of holidays during the school summer break that can sometimes quite literally double the cost of the holiday for the consumer.

There are many differing views on the practicalities and drawbacks of holidaying in term time. It has recently been decided by the High Court that in future it will be schools, as opposed to parents and magistrates, who must now decide whether pupils may be taken out of class for holidays in term time.

The government is keen to put a stop to unauthorised term-time absences and is aiming to reduce the current estimate of one in six truants on any given day being away with their parents on a family holiday.

Ministers are hoping that a new scheme, Every Lesson Counts organised by the Department for Education and Skills in conjunction with the association of British Travel Agents, offering discounts, free child places and early booking deals for families, will stop, or at least greatly reduce, the amount of families in England going on holiday during term-time.

Many of the big names in holiday travel and accommodation including Thomas Cook, Airtours, BA Holidays, Virgin Holidays and the Co-operative Group are taking part in the scheme.

So, what are the possible effects on a child’s learning that term time breaks can have?

Any absence during school time inevitably means missing out on learning and other important school activities. Some children may have no problem in catching up on their return to the classroom, but equally there are those who may face difficulties. It is therefore strongly recommended to not only talk with your child’s teachers about the possibility of absence as far in advance as possible, but also to consider this as a last option when planning a family holiday.