These parents rubbed their three term-time holidays in their children's school's faces - by dancing gleefully on TikTok while bragging they still 'save thousands' despite being fined every time. Brogan and Shane Cole, 30, were looking forward to holidaying in Zante with their two children Archie Cole, 10, and Ellie Cole, seven.
In a bid to save money, mum-of-two Brogan says they chose to book the 11-day break for 18th May - which happened to be during the school term - and was hit with a £240 fine in return. The content creator, 29, claims that she approached Archie and Ellie's primary school prior to the trip, and was told that the family had until 6th July to pay up or the fine would double to an eye-watering £480.
However, Brogan claims that the family has no regrets about their trip away as they managed to save £2,000 by jetting off during the academic term. The influencer parents even shared a clip to their TikTok earlier last month that shows the pair dancing happily as they boast they 'saved 10 times [the amount of the fine] by going in term time'.
Despite this, Brogan claims that she finds the fine 'frustrating' and feels as though they are being 'punished' for wanting to give her children some time to relax. The mum admits that this is the third time the family of four have gone away during term time and the third time they've been fined, as holiday companies raise travel costs during the summer.
Brogan, from Coventry, West Midlands, said: "We saved £2,000 because we booked the holiday in term time. "I told the school before we went away, and they just gave me the fine.
"The fine is £60 per person, and we had up until the 6th of July to pay it, or else it would double to £120pp. And there's four of us so it’s a lot of money. It’s my third time receiving it [the fine] just because it's so much cheaper and quieter going in term time.
"Holiday companies make it so expensive to travel in summer, so that’s why we do it. "We were really frustrated when we got [the penalty], because we feel that they are our own kids but yet we are having to pay fines for them. They are our own children who we want to take away and create memories with.
"We want to take them to have a nice time away from their little worries, [away from] whatever it may be that’s worrying them. To get away from normality. But we feel as though we are punished for wanting to do that."
Although Brogan claims that the family had an 'amazing' time away, the mum believes that many other parents will struggle to pay the fines that come part and parcel with taking their kids out of school.
Brogan said: "We had an amazing time - we always do. "It's so hard to save up to take your family away as it is, it's so expensive. So I know it will be hard for families to pay this extra cost in the summer holidays.
"But it will also be hard for families to pay the fine too when they get home. People need to speak up about this to let other parents and carers know they are not alone in the struggle."
The Cole family shared their story on TikTok, where it racked up more than 90,000 likes and comments. Plenty of parents backed Brogan, and even claimed to be saving money on holidays by booking holidays during term time themselves.
One said: "We're taking our boys in school time next year, saved over £700 on the holiday by [booking] it for the week before the half term." A second agreed, saying: "It's alright for them to go on strike when they like though. We're going on holiday on the 9th of October. First holiday abroad and I can't wait."
A third commented: "We are expecting one too but saved £3k on our holiday to Florida by going away during May half term and the week after." Meanwhile, others disagreed and thought that the parents were making the wrong choice by taking their children out of school without permission.
One said: "Imagine being a teacher and having no choice [but to go away during the holiday period]." A second commented: "Right, so when the teacher is spending all her time getting everyone on the same page, please don’t moan that your child has missed half the curriculum."
