In exceptional circumstances, families may need to request permission for their child not to be in school during term time. These requests will be made directly to the Headteacher and permission will be given at their discretion following careful consideration of the child's age, the time of year, overall attendance pattern and the circumstances given.
As per current regulations and Department for Education advice on school attendance, we would like to advise you that the Headteacher may not grant any leave of absence in term time unless exceptional circumstances exist. By exceptional we mean rare, significant, unavoidable and short. By unavoidable we mean an event that could not reasonably be arranged at another time.
Term times are for education, and children and families have 175 days off school to spend time together, including weekends and school holidays.
The school will assess each request on an individual basis, considering the impact that missing school will have on the child's education, their previous record of attendance and any special circumstances of which we are made aware, e.g. the bereavement of a close family member, the needs of the families of service personnel or the need for time together to recover from trauma or crisis. The school will determine the number of school days a child can be away from school if the request is granted.
If an absence request is granted, it will be recorded as 'authorised absence'. If a family takes their child out of school without permission this will count as an 'unauthorised absence'. Penalty noticies can be issued to parents of children with unauthorised absence. The application must be made in advance using this form or a paper copy of this form available from reception. Retrospective requests will not be considered. Please allow at least 10 days before the absence is due to start.
