for rob. so a week or 2 weeks holiday once a year in term time has more effect on education then it does in all half terms especially with the 7 weeks summer holidays??

As a full time working, tax paying, non mouthbreeding member of the public I pay into the education system without benefit at the moment, and as much as I dont like kids..... I have to say that I cant blame parents for taking kids away during non-holidays. I mean lets be serious £50 wont come close to the pocket lining charge levvied by the vampire travel companies and given the standards of education these days I doubt they'll miss much anyway. For me I would say bin the entire 7 week summer thing and get kids ready for working life, but as bitter as I am I wouldnt think that punishing parents for wanting to give children a good upbringing, for the sake of a government statistic is a good thing.

Rob i dont know how to say this but times have changed in the last erm 30/40 yrs since you were at school having a holiday abroad back then was for the wealthy & not for us working folk who had to suffer going to ayre butlins..if i was a kid now doing the same i would be crying to the head teacher NOT to let me go! even when i left school 20yrs ago things have changed now my 3 kids 8/4yrs can run rings around me with a pc or even an ipod. my youngest is 4yrs old & he finds things on my phone i never knew where there. holidays are for when you can get them & at the best price its as simple as that. now i work on a 2wk on 3wk off rota which might sound good "which it is really" but at times it isnt.. take for instance easter in the last 7 yrs i have been home for 1 easter & im missing this 1 yet again i miss out on other school holidays inc xmas's & birthdays too through out the year so when im home & i can take a holiday then i will do to my convenience not anyone elses.. my kids are learning things now that i was learning at an older age they have great results each year & if i thought my kids were going to suffer for having a few days off in term time then i would think the same as you...but they arent!! so if its down to paying a fine or having a thoughtful head teacher to see to ask for time off then thats how it will be.

I am still confused! A week or two weeks family holiday will have a "serious effect on your child’s educational progress", however six weeks summer holiday has no effect at all? In my experience a six weeek summer break is the biggest disruption there has, or ever will be to children's/student's education. How are the government/councils going to bridge that little flaw in the education system? anymore

this is clearly a child stealth tax based on policy implemented by the last labour administration.

Parent, totaly agree with you strikes, snow etc but two wrongs do not make a right, most family holidays are spent lying around a pool on the beach or visting Disney/where ever hardly educational and no doubt the kids do get something out of it. BUT it is not more important than setting the example to the kids that their education is the most important thing (assuming that their physical and emotional wellbeing are ok). At the end of the day parents should not be able to take their kids out of school for frivolous reasons and if they do their should be a consequence. And before you ask I have 3 kids and we always have our holidays during the school break and I am not a teacher or on a huge salary, we live within our means and if that means we don't go to florida every year then that is what we do.

Good one Rob. Idiot ! Children gain loads from a family holiday. Far more than a week at the end of term playing games and watching DVD's as the teachers wind down. I trust that this will mean no more closures because of a little bit of snow or teachers holding us to ransom and going on strike? Thought not !

Even with adding on the £50 fine, it will still be cheaper to go away mid-term. I don't blame schools for this; they are made to account for pupil absences and are judged by these figures.It's just another tool to batter schools with, so that successive governments can pretend they're doing something about education.

So far, even in Brampton, the authorities are threatening fines, but will any actually be imposed and what legal authority will force parents to pay?

The Director of Education rightly says that only head teachers can authorise holidays. But, if they are taken unauthorised, there is no comeback on parents - it just looks bad on stats when school is Ofsteded.

It seems to me there is a huge difference between a family who takes ten days off school to go on one holiday a year if they have little choice for work or financial reasons, and those who take four holidays a year, all in school time. I'm sure Heads will use discretion and common sense in applying these guidelines.

So far, even in Brampton, the authorities are threatening fines, but will any actually be imposed and what legal authority will force parents to pay?

The Director of Education rightly says that only head teachers can authorise holidays. But, if they are taken unauthorised, there is no comeback on parents - it just looks bad on stats when school is Ofsteded.

It seems to me there is a huge difference between a family who takes ten days off school to go on one holiday a year if they have little choice for work or financial reasons, and those who take four holidays a year, all in school time. I'm sure Heads will use discretion and common sense in applying these guidelines.