Parents should be allowed to take their children out of school for a very limited number of days per year, over reasons they choose. Let's show a bit of common sense here. The prices are so wildly different out of term time, it is often the difference between a family being able to afford a decent holiday abroad, or not go at all. Will a child missing a week of school a year damage their education? Perhaps, a little. Will that quality time spent with their family more than compensate? Yes, yes it will. And that is a decision for the parents to take, not the state. I have pushed the Department on this, with zero progress. They just don't want to know. Let's remember - MPs have very generous time off from Westminster, timed to coincide with the school holidays. Others do not have that same luxury, particularly in areas that are reliant on tourism - like my constituency All of this from the same people who shut schools for months when the virus posed almost zero risk to children, and were desperate to do it for longer. Forcing boys and girls to learn from a kitchen table, and many had no access to proper outdoor space. THAT did far more damage to children's education than a few days away in the sun with their family. PLEASE. Let's just show a modicum of common sense, FOR ONCE. If parents want to take their child out of school for a limited period of time, very occasionally, as they believe that experience will benefit their son or daughter? I say that's their choice.