REGARDING the new term time rules -- is this a complete joke again dreamt up by the council?

I fully support stopping persistent truancy and fining parents for not ensuring their children are in school.

Although for taking children out of school for a holiday, well to me it is nothing more than dictatorship from our local council and is very wrong.

I am not a parent, but if I had children, I would take them away on holiday when I wanted to, not when the council decided I could!

Children have a right to have a break as much as the next person.

Some parents may not be in a position to book a holiday that turns out to be almost double in price because it falls during the school holidays.

Sometimes the average holiday works out cheaper if you go out of term time. So, to me, what the council is doing is penalising parents on a low income by stopping them enjoying a family holiday with their children.

I am not a fan of package holidays. If I ever have children, their holidays would more than likely be to a city so the child in question would be learning while on holiday by perhaps visiting sights of historical interest, which can only help with their education.

Can I ask why it is okay for certain religious groups to take children out of school during term time for long periods of time, or do the new rules apply to them also?

What might "exceptional circumstances" be?

Could someone from the council clarify this for me?

(Name and address supplied)