Leave of Absence Request

 
Holidays in Term Time

Changes in Government Regulations mean that, as of 1st September 2013, there is no entitlement for parents to withdraw their children for authorised leave of absence in term time. Head teachers can only grant leave of absence during term-time if there are ‘exceptional circumstances’ surrounding the request, and parents have made an application in advance. If a Headteacher is satisfied that there are exceptional circumstances to warrant the granting of leave of absence, the Headteacher will then determine the number of school days a child can be away from school.

The principles for defining exceptional are: ‘rare, significant, unavoidable and short’, with ‘unavoidable’ meaning an event that could not reasonably be scheduled at another time.

Taking leave of absence in term time does affect child’s educational progress, and parents are strongly discouraged from withdrawing their child from school during term time.

All applications for leave of absence must be made in advance to school. Request forms are available at the school office or can be downloaded below.

Any period of leave taken without the agreement of the school, or in excess of the agreed number of days, will be classed as unauthorised absence, and may result in the issue of Education Penalty Notices by the Local Authority