NOTES FOR COMPLETION OF THE REQUEST FOR LEAVE OF ABSENCE FORM
1. In the Education (Student Registration) Regulations 2006, Regulation 7 (paragraphs 3 & 4) states:
“A student may be granted leave of absence from the school to enable him/her to go away on holiday where an application has been made in advance by a parent with whom the student normally resides AND the Head Teacher considers that leave of absence should be granted due to the special circumstances relating to
that application. Save in exceptional circumstances, a student shall not be granted more than ten school days leave of absence in any school year".
2. Further advice from the Department for Education states that:
• Parents should avoid term-time holidays whenever possible. Schools should encourage parents to avoid term-time holidays whenever possible.
• Only designated personnel at a school may authorise absence from the school.
They can only approve absence for family holidays if they consider that there are special reasons which warrant the holiday. Parents may not authorise absence.
• Schools are not obliged to agree to family holidays in term-time.
All applications will be considered on their merits in the light of the need to maintain continuity of learning.
• Holiday prices and the fact that parents have booked a holiday before checking with the school are not special reasons
• Unless there are exceptional circumstances, the maximum allowance is ten school days in a school year regardless of the number of holidays taken.
• No parent can demand leave of absence for the purpose of a family holiday by right.
• Ten days’ absence for a family holiday can result in students with poor attendance becoming persistent absentees.
3. Please ensure that you provide full and accurate information to the school to enable them to assess your
application. Incomplete forms and information not consistent with that already held by the school will
certainly delay the decision and may result in the rejection of your request.
4. If a completed form is returned more than one calendar month prior to the holiday dates, any notification by
the school to authorise the holiday period will be PROVISIONAL, pending a printout of a student’s individual
attendance certificate one month before the holiday start date. This is to ensure that the student’s
attendance will be maintained above 95% IF A HOLIDAY IS TAKEN DURING TERM TIME.
5. Your request will be considered as outlined above and, if it is not agreed by the school, the leave of absence
for your child(ren) will not be granted. If leave is taken without agreement, it will be regarded as
unauthorised absence.
6. If the leave of absence is unauthorised and you still take your child out of school a referral can be made to
the Education Welfare Service who under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 can issue a Fixed Penalty Notice.
Penalty Notices are £50 per parent per child if paid within 28 days and will automatically increase to £100 up
to 42 days. Failure to pay will result in prosecution in the Magistrates’ Court.
