Term time holidays and requesting a planned absence

 

All leave of absence requests will be unauthorised unless the circumstances are exceptional. I would like to take this opportunity to remind parents that we are unable to authorise any holidays during term time.

To request a leave of absence, a parent/carer should complete the absence request form below and submit this to the school at least two weeks prior to the date required. School will respond to the request within two weeks.

Please complete all fields marked (*)

Your first name *

Your last name *

Your email *

Child's Full Name *

Please Note: Leave of Absence that has not been agreed will be marked as Unauthorised. These absences may be referred to the Education Welfare Officer for consideration and may result in a Penalty Notice.

Your relationship to the child *

Child's Class *

Address Line 1 *

Post Code *

Please enter the first date of the absence *

 

Please enter the last date of the absence *

 

Number of school days missed *

Reason for leave of absence *

Please detail below the exceptional circumstances for requesting to take your child out of school. You may be invited into school to discuss your request with the Head Teacher. You may be asked to provide evidence of exceptional circumstances for your request.

 

DFE guidelines make clear that leave of absence during term-time should be regarded as exceptional.  An example that can be given is that during 2012 London Olympics all police leave was cancelled.  As a result, for that specific timeframe it was agreed that requests for leave for the children of Police Officers affected by the cancellation of their leave would be treated as exceptional.

If, once notified in writing of the decision to unauthorise the leave of absence, the absence is taken it will be marked as an unauthorised absence on the register.  If the trigger of 10 unauthorised absences (sessions) is met, then the absences will be referred immediately to the Education Enforcement Team for consideration and could result in the issue of a fixed penalty notice.

 

Leave during term time and the law around school attendance

A holiday or family event is not a good enough reason for your child to miss out on school. You need to seek permission from the school prior to taking any leave of absence. Any absences that are not authorised by the school may be referred to the Attendance Enforcement Team for a fine or prosecution. The trigger for a fine is 10 sessions of unauthorised absence within a 10 week rolling period. This could be a mixture of unauthorised holiday as well as other unauthorised absences. Late arrival to school in certain circumstances may also be included. 

A fine is £160. The first fine is reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days. A second fine within 3 years will be charged at £160 with no reduced rate.  A 3rd fine will not be issued within 3 years and further unauthorised absences may result in prosecution. They are issued to both parents/carers for each child and must be paid in full, we will not accept part payment of the amount. Not paying the fine could lead to prosecution. 

The Attendance Enforcement Team may decide to go straight to prosecution if they do not feel a fine is appropriate.

Prosecution can lead to:

• Up to £1000 fine and a criminal record

In certain circumstances the Attendance Enforcement Team may decide to prosecute you for a more serious offence. This can be:

• A fine of up to £2,500 per parent per child
• A Community Order or custodial sentence
• A criminal record

 

Further information from Solihull Council can be read by clicking here.