ACTION is being taken to reduce the number of parents who take their children on holiday during term time.

School heads are meeting with the local education authority to draw up a plan to cut the high number of pupils who are absent from classes because they have been taken on family breaks.

Chief Education Social Worker Ian Price is monitoring the problem and education bosses are to send out leaflets to parents warning that their child's education could suffer if they are taken on holiday when they should be in lessons.

At the moment, figures on the amount of school time Bolton children miss because of holidays are not in the public domain, but Mr Price said the numbers were high. "It is a worrying problem. You could say it is an issue for all the schools in the town."

According to the law, children who are taken on holiday during term time are not classed as truants. Schools have the discretion to authorise a maximum holiday of 10 days during the school term - in which case it would be classed as a holiday in term time.

In cases where schools refuse authorisation, it is classed as an unauthorised absence.

Mr Price said consequences of children going on holiday during term time included adversely affecting the school's performance figures and creating the possibility of children developing long term educational problems.

He added that while holidays during term time are generally cheaper, parents should not put the price of a holiday before their child's education.

There are exceptions however, where it would be reasonable for children to go on holiday during the school term, according to Mr Price. "If a parent's employer only lets them have particular weeks off for a holiday then that is an acceptable reason for children to go on holiday during the term."

Margaret Bowden deputy headteacher of Little Lever School Specialist Language College, said: "It is a problem, and significantly affects the attendance figures."

Local travel agents say that although holiday deals are usually cheaper during term times than in the school holidays they are doing what they can to help education chiefs tackle the problem.

Andrew Dickson, owner of St Andrew's Travel in Bolton said: "The travel agents' association has been working closely with the Government to have four terms each year so that holidays get spread more evenly throughout the year."