A NEWPORT school will take all five inset days in the same week so parents can save a fortune by taking their children away on holiday during term time.

Eveswell Primary School head teacher Catherine Barnett came up with the back-to-back training days for staff to help parents save up to £500 on their family holidays.

It breaks with tradition where schools are allowed to have five staffing training days - known as inset days - a year but normally spread them out.

Parents at 485-pupil Eveswell Primary School in Newport were told five days would all be taken during one week in June next year - to allow them to book cheaper holidays.

Head Mrs Barnett said: "There will be five training days for staff where the school is closed to pupils.

"It has been decided to take these as one whole week with the hope that cheaper holidays can be booked and therefore holidays will not affect attendance at other times in the year.

"This will be Monday 6th to Friday 10th June 2016."

The days add an extra week to the Whitsun half-term holiday - and given families the chance for up to weeks holidays at cheaper rates than summer peak.

It comes as education chiefs have been clamping down on parents taking their children out of school during term time - with some being fined £60 per child for "unauthorised absence".

Parent Gemma Thomas said: "If every school did this but chose a different week to other council areas it would be completely fantastic for families."

Fellow parent Kirsty Powles said: "I was very happy to see this in a letter this week - I think it's a fab idea.

"I just hope holiday companies don't click on to it though and hike prices up."

Mother-of-three Bethany Walpole-Wroe, spokeswoman for campaign group Let Children in Wales Have Holidays During Term Time, said: "It is great to see a school taking the initiative to enable families to take a holiday during a cheaper time of the year.

"It would be great to see more schools doing the same."

Holidays are around 40 per cent more expensive during school holidays.

More than 60,000 families across Britain have been fined by councils for taking children out of school without approval.