How to find cheap (or free) days out for the kids, come rain or shine
Amid the cost of living crisis, and the high price of attractions, many children are stuck indoors. But there are affordable, but no less exciting, trips
The Eva Wiseman column
Are you giving your kids a 90s summer?
Eva Wiseman
Balls, bikes, possibly boredom. As the summer holidays begin, and nostalgia for the good old days kicks in, it’s worth wondering if it really was better back then
Summer holiday childcare in UK now costs £1,000 a child, research finds
Parents or carers in full-time work said to be ‘dreading’ expense, and sum may be even higher in Wales and south-east England
May 2024
Drivers warned of busiest bank holiday in years with 20m UK journeys forecast
RAC and AA prediction means more than half of cars could be on roads over late May long weekend
March 2024
School accused of ‘snooping’ on family homes to crack down on pupil absences
Union criticises Doncaster academy for sending staff to homes to track movements of bins and cars
February 2024
School summer holidays in England should be cut to four weeks, report says
Staff absences fell 50% after schools introduced longer half-term break
December 2023
Record 350,000 parents in England fined over term-time holidays with children
DfE data also shows record cases of pupils caught cheating while sitting A-level and GCSE exams
November 2023
I’m a teacher, and even I think we should cut the long school summer holidays
Lola Okolosie
Wales wants to shorten summer school holidays – but are they really too long?
October 2023
‘Cost of children crisis’: UK parents on coping with half-term on a shoestring
As food and heating costs rise with children at home, compromises range from washing less to cancelling holidays
August 2023
The Eva Wiseman column
The maths of school holidays and being a parent don’t add up
Eva Wiseman
I am counting the days until the school holidays end – and I have space to think
Brief letters
Why would anyone give a job to a Tory MP?
Brief letters: Second incomes | Kwasi Kwarteng’s woes | Bereavement help | August holidays
The weather is terrible and the forecasts worse – why do we bother with holidays in August?
Simon Jenkins
The British summer is still based on pre-industrial events. It’s time a government had the guts to shake up the holiday year, says Guardian columnist Simon Jenkins
July 2023
The Stephen Collins cartoon
‘Not all school holidays are created equal’ – The Stephen Collins cartoon
Don’t expect compensation if strikes disrupt plans, UK holidaymakers told
April 2023
‘A win-win for all’: five fail-safe ideas for keeping kids entertained on budget
I have discovered the secrets to surviving school holidays at home with your children
Saman Shad
August 2022
Money hacks
Back to school: how parents should prepare for the big day
Conversations with experts
Should school summer holidays be shorter? We ask an expert
