Every minute of every school day is vital and pupils will only be granted authorised absence by the school in exceptional circumstances. A family holiday is not normally considered by the Government to be exceptional and therefore, no term time holidays will be authorised by the school
Our school will only grant term time holidays or leave of absences in EXCEPTIONAL circumstances, we do not consider a family holiday exceptional
If a parent or carer wishes to request a period of leave of absence for their child, they are required to write to the Executive Headteacher by completing the appropriate leave of absence form, which can be downloaded below or a copy can be obtained from the school office
This should be done before any flights, holiday bookings or other arrangements are made
There is no entitlement to time off in term time
A school can only grant Leave of Absence if
- A request for leave of absence is submitted before leave is taken
- And the Executive Headteacher believes the reason is exceptional
If the request is denied, the school will inform the parent of the reason and the request will be noted
Penalties for unauthorised absence
If your child doesn't attend school regularly, you could face one or more of these penalties:
- A fine (known as a penalty notice)
- A Parenting Order (an order from a court telling you to improve your child's school attendance)
- An Education Supervision Order, where a supervisor is appointed to help get your child back into education
- A School Attendance Order, where you're given 15 days to provide evidence that you've registered your child with a school, or to prove that you're educating them at home
- Prosecution under Section 444(1) or 444(1)(a) Education Act 1996
A new National Framework for Penalty Notices for school absence, including unauthorised holiday absence, came into effect from 19 August 2024. Please see letter below from Herefordshire Council about the new Penalty Notices.
Further information regarding School Absence Penalty Notices can be found on the Herefordshire Council website School attendance and absences – Herefordshire Council