Holidays in Term Time
For most pupils, the best place to be during term-time in is school, surrounded by the support of their friends and teachers. This is important not just for your child’s learning, but also for their overall wellbeing, wider development and their mental health. Every moment in school counts and days missed add up quickly. Evidence shows that pupils who have good attendance enjoy better wellbeing and school performance than those who don't. When children miss school, it disrupts their learning and the learning of others in their class. Consequently, your child must attend every day that the school is open, unless:
- Your child is too ill to attend.
- You have asked in advance and been given permission by the head teacher for your child to be absent on that day due to exceptional circumstances.
- Your child cannot attend school on that day because it is a day you are taking part in religious observance.
- Your local authority is responsible for arranging your child’s transport to school and it is not available on that day or has not been provided yet.
- You are a traveller family with no fixed abode, and you are required to travel for work that day meaning your child cannot attend their usual school.
Applications for pupil leave of absence during term time should be completed by the parent/carer and returned to the school as far in advance as possible and preferably at least 6 weeks before the first date of the period of leave being requested. Parents/carers must obtain the school’s permission before making any arrangements for leave in exceptional circumstances, otherwise the absence will be recorded as unauthorised.
No parent/carer can demand leave of absence as of right. The Education regulations state that applications for leave must be made in advance by a parent with whom the child lives and can only be authorised by the school in exceptional circumstances. Each application is considered individually by the school.
The following are examples of the criteria for leave of absence, which may be considered as ‘exceptional’:
- Service personnel returning from active deployment
- Where inflexibility of the parents’ leave or working arrangement is part of the organisational or company policy. This would need to be evidenced by the production of written confirmation from the organisation/company
- Where leave is recommended as part of a parents’ or child’s rehabilitation from medical or emotional problems. Evidence must be provided
- When a family needs to spend time together to support each other during or after a crisis
Please note: Head teachers would not be expected to class any term time holiday as exceptional.
This is not an exhaustive list and Head teachers must consider the individual circumstances of each case when making a decision on this matter. Where a Head teacher feels that there may be exceptional circumstances which do not fit the criteria, they may refer to the local authority for advice. The decision of the Head teacher is final.
If your child is absent for any reason other than illness and you haven’t received advance permission from the head teacher to take your child out of school, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised. All schools are required to consider a fine when a child has missed 10 or more sessions (5 days) for unauthorised reasons. In August 2024, the fine for school absences rose to £80 per parent per child if paid within 21 days, or £160 if paid within 28 days.
A second fine, for the same child, within any three-year period, will be automatically be charged at the higher rate of £160. Fines per parent will be capped to two fines within any three-year period. Once this limit has been reached, other action like a parenting order or prosecution will be considered. See the government guidance for more information on parenting orders: Working together to improve school attendance (applies from 19 August 2024) (publishing.service.gov.uk)
If you would like to make an application for leave during term time, you must download and complete the following application form.