Does the evidence show that banning term time holiday has a detrimental effect on students that have a high attendance record, and has this policy actually improved the attendance of those with a poor attendance record and are persistently absent?

government needs to think about the best interests of the children and not stats. One example is this whole term time holiday policy, what's more educational than a family holiday to a different culture to learn basic languages and about foods etc. with the hike in prices in school holidays it's cheaper or parents to accept the 'fine' which I think is clear in the stats. Government needs to tackle truancy on an individual basis and not punish everyone. Secondly ofsted, do they help or hinder? Reports would say they hinder

I would ask that you revisit your policy on term time holidays. School is not a prison and i, as a parent, have the right to decide what is best for my children. Some common sense should be applied to a child's attendance and absence at school. As working parents we do all we are expected to to contribute to society, pay our taxes, claim no benefits, yet we are penalised by being forced to take holidays out of term time. For us it is about the cost but also the quality of our time spent together. Perhaps summer school would help address any school time missed and give a more flexible approach to schooling, given that employment is more flexible than ever, i dont see why this approach cant be looked into further. An outright ban is not the solution. One last thing..it never did me any harm!

the term time holiday is a must to be reviewed , it angers me that were turning supportive hard working parents into criminals for simply trying to give there children good childhood memories, isn't that what being a parent is all about , it certainly is for me , I have four children the oldest who's 20 , we have taken him out of school every year for a holiday , he's been to some amazing places and still talks about them now (good childhood memories), he finished school with good exam results went through college and is now a qualified chef , were extremely supportive to all our children with there school work , reading every night , making sure there homework is done etc , I can't see why children with good attendance are being stopped from getting the family time they need to give them the special childhood memories , which I truly believe motivates them into doing well , it's so important for children to have time with their family's and we should be able to choose when we want to do that , for many it's not always possible or affordable to do it in the school holidays ,this really needs to be looked at so that we can stop being punished for being good parents as that's really what is happening .

holidays in term time. the new rule is a mess rubbish that it affects a childs education my i took my daughter out of school thro out her school years for holidays she now has a degree and a masters degree so certainly didnt harm her i comment as i have 5 grandchildren would love to take them to florida and there are several reasons why would prefer term time 1 being the weather 2 being the crowds 3 being some family members cannot get the time of work in school holiday time on another note holidays can be educationa years ago we went to hawii on my daughters return to school they where learning about pearl harbour as we had taken a boat trip with oral and visible information she learnt more than she ever would have in the classroom

You have provided no evidenced based policy on harmful effects of term-time leave,outside of natural absnece whatsoever. There is, however, DfE research providing definitive evidence that there is no harm to children from term-time holidays at KS2 attainment, yet you refuse to publish this to the public or base your policy on that evidence. Why are you lying to the public and to Head Teachers and Local Authorities, instead of declaring this research form your own department? Instead, the media report that term-time holidays impact education, yet the stats we have, produced by you, contradict this. How dare you lie to the public like this? Why ?

In regards to attendance and attainment surrounding term time holidays , the new policy has Little evidence to back up the changes. It was poorly thought through and is ruining some families right to time off together when required. As parents we can make the right decision in regards to whether we think our child will suffer, advice can be sought from teachers and work caught up on. Ithe current policy needs looking into further to assess whether the evidence that made it into play was sufficient enough. My child was off school for two weeks after a tonsillectomy , I asked constantly for home work but was given none. In school reports subsequently , my child was above expected on. Every level! I

The policy on school term holidays should be reviewed. It's been thought out as a black or white policy without considering the myriad of greys in between. Not only certain jobs should be considered for family time outside holiday periods, but families abroad. This broadens children's education, increases their knowledge of the world outside the UK, improves their wellbeing, and thousands of other unconsidered reasons. Family time should be considered as a huge part of a child's education. The school our children attend to rejected our request despite my family living on the other side of the world stating my request "fails to meet the national government test for exceptional circumstances". This is not defined at all. It's not only cost of holidays but family dates falling outside holiday terms as well. It can't be right that children can only see their family abroad only if they die, attending to their funeral. Parents must be allowed a say as well. This must be reviewed. The law as it is has been designed to catch repeat offenders who will still take children out of school as they didn't respect the law in the first place, and parents that do things the right way are punished with unreasonable fines for the sake of a few bad apples.

Please revisit the 'evidence' for the government's position on attendance and attainment in terms of family holidays taken in term time. Those children whose attendance is poor are absent from school for a multitude of reasons unrelated to family holidays. They have frequent days off throughout the year which may (or may not)impact on their progress but a child who takes one holiday from school a year will not suffer setbacks. They usually have supportive families who ensure that their catch up if necessary and children attend school regularly throughout the year. All the arguments offered so far by those involved in setting this unworkable new rule are contradictory and do not stand up when scrutinised.

The recent change to the policy that allowed Headteachers to use discretion is granting leave for children in term time has been a bone of contention with parents and many openly air their views that the evidence on which the policy was developed was not read properly. The whole experience has undermined parent confidence in the education dept's ability to make decisions based on children's wellbeing as opposed to meeting targets. The Education Dept. must remember that they are helping Parents to educate and prepare their children for adult responsibilities - there does seem to be a view that it is Parent's that are helping the Education dept prepare our children for adulthood.