The National Association of Headteachers (NAHT) has announced that it has drawn up new guidelines for the profession that will clarify when parents will be able to take their children out of school during term time.

Writing in the Sunday Times, Russell Hobby, general secretary of the NAHT, said that previously policy had been confusing and severe, resulting in an increase in the number of parents being fined for unauthorised absences.

He explained that under new rules, “exceptional circumstances” for taking students out of class would include religious events, weddings and funerals.

Previously, he acknowledged, the definition of this had been somewhat vague, resulting in misunderstandings, as well as a “sense of unfairness” among parents.

In some cases, it would be acceptable for children to be allowed time away from school to see a parent returning from duty with the armed forces, Mr Hobby outlined in his piece for the newspaper.

Headteachers, the expert continued, will not tolerate the excuse that cheaper holidays are a reason for missing school during term time. This, he cautioned, “did not fit the bill”.

“It’s not a good enough reason to damage an education; you cannot easily make up the lost learning at home, and falling behind in class can put children at a permanent disadvantage,” Mr Hobby outlined.

“Those who work in schools share your pain. Many are parents themselves and pay these prices, too. We must tackle this. The government should work with the holiday industry to find a way through.”

Mr Hobby’s comments come on the back of the Local Government Association saying that the current restrictions on term time holidays should be scrapped and replaced with a “common sense approach”.

David Simmonds, chairman of the LGA's children and young people board, said that while it is of “paramount concern” for all working with children to ensure they have a good attendance, an “outright ban is too simplistic”.