MSE Poll: Should parents be allowed to take kids out of school for a holiday?

I am in contact with numerous of my old college friends, all of whom are teachers/ex teachers. We discussed this topic and were unanimous that children would actually benefit from holidays of around a week `s duration, with their parents, more so than the week spent in school.
I still teach and I used to work for The Youth Service. I undertook a survey of what teenagers wanted. The consensus was that what they actually valued was TIME spent with their parents...from a game of footie in the park with dad to a family holiday.
Parents who are working, often bung their offspring a tenner. The kids liked this but still, TIME won .
Parents are often stressed, what could be better than quality family time where the whole family are on holiday?
The judges aren`t living in the real world. I teach at a secure unit for young offenders and welfare children. Parents need to spend as much time with their kids as possible. If the family can afford a holiday...take the kids away. One week of grace should be no problem .As old teachers we reckon young teachers are probably too frightened of their standing as teachers to actually stand up and say what they really think. We oldies are considering a petition if stupidity persists.Holidays...great things for families!
Also...sporting trips/visits and school trips abroad...where do they stand? We regard them as being educational .

Why do people not think before making stupid comments? Why do people still think holiday prices are inflated in school holidays just for companies to profit instead of considering supply and demand? Why do they assume that only the UK school holidays count? How do people think it is possible for every parent to take their holiday during school holidays? What about the people who work in the holiday industry, should they never ever take their children on holiday?

Small companies have to spread holidays over the whole year, not just school holidays. When I was a child factory fortnight meant the country virtually shut down for the last week in July, first week in August but that would never happen now. My children would only have had a holiday about twice because my husband worked with a group of fathers but only one could be on holiday at a time. We used common sense and didn't take our children away at or near to exam time, why can't parents do the same now without the nanny state interfering?

My sons school (year 1) does not fine parents for term time holidays, but they did issue a notice advising parents that teachers would no longer be doing 'catch-up' with children once they returned.
Apparently teachers were often required to sit with children after school or in break times to go through work that they had missed, or devote one-to-one class time instead of teaching the whole class, or spend time preparing work in advance for the children to take with them. If work has already been prepared, they are welcome to take it with them but ultimately it is the parents responsibility to ensure that their child catches up (or not as the case may be).

If they are helping other children (e.g. if a child has been ill), they are welcome to join in, but apart from that, it's the parents responsibility. It hasn't gone down well with some parents, but most do support it.

If these so called 'experts' say it is damaging to take children out of school, why is it not damaging when teachers go on strike or take one of the seemingly ever increasing 'inset' days. Why not an even playing field and make it illegal for teachers to go on strike? After all, these also penalised parents who have to either take of day off work or find someone to care for offspring. As for 'Inset' days; what is all that about. For years we never had them, had better teachers and a far better education system!