PARENTS are being offered cut-price holidays to stop them taking children out of school during term time.
Families of primary schoolchildren will receive ten per cent off breaks taken during school holidays to improve attendance rates in Sunderland.
In 2002/2003, 39,046 schooldays were lost in the city because parents took children on holiday during term time when breaks were cheaper.
The voucher scheme, one of the first of its kind in the country, is a partnership between city council project Every Schoolday Counts and Sunderland company Hays Travel.
The discount, available until August next year, is being offered to 16,000 Sunderland families and will cut £180 from the cost of the average holiday.
Sunderland's director of education, Dr Barbara Com-iskey, said: "This is yet another proactive and innovative step to increase attendance and help children take advantage of the excellent opportunities available to them in the city's schools."
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