Who can complete a leave of absence / holiday form?

This form should be completed by the parent/carer and returned to the school as far in advance as possible and preferably at least 6 weeks before the first date of the period of leave being requested. Parents/carers must obtain the schools permission before making any arrangements for leave in exceptional circumstances, otherwise the absence will be recorded as unauthorised.

No parent/carer can demand leave of absence as of right. The Education regulations state that applications for leave must be made in advance by a parent with whom the child lives and can only be authorised by the school in exceptional circumstances. Each application is considered individually by the school. The following are examples of the criteria for leave of absence, which may be considered as ‘exceptional’:

  • Service personnel returning from active deployment
  • Where inflexibility of the parents’ leave or working arrangement is part of the organisational or company policy. This would need to be evidenced by the production or confirmation from the organisation/company
  • Where leave is recommended as part of a parents’ or child’s rehabilitation from medical or emotional problems. Evidence must be provided
  • When a family needs to spend time together to support each other during or after a crisis
  • Please note: Head teachers would not be expected to class any term time holiday as exceptional

      This is not an exhaustive list and Head teachers must consider the individual circumstances of each case when making a decision on this matter. Where a Head teacher feels that there may be exceptional circumstances which do not fit the criteria, they may refer to the local authority for advice. The decision of the Head teacher is final. Parents who take a child on leave in term time without the permission of the school risk being issued with a penalty notice fine for unauthorised absences.

      Taking a pupil on leave during term time interrupts teaching and learning and can disrupt educational progress. Before completing this application form parent/carers are asked to consider the effect on their child’s continuity of education.

      UPDATES FROM SEPTEMBER 2024

      As you may be aware penalty notices for unauthorised absences including unauthorised leave of absence during term time (holidays) are changing from September 2024.

      As yet we do not have the official documents to share with you and hope to have these following the consultation next week.  Once we receive these we will share them but listed below are the current expected changed from September 2024.

      We wanted to share these as soon as possible to support with any decisions that families may be making.

      PENALTY NOTICES FOR UNAUTHORISED LEAVE OF ABSENCE TAKEN IN TERM TIME

      From the 19th of August 2024 only 2 Penalty Notices can be issued to the same parent in respect of the same child within a 3 year rolling period and any 2nd Penalty Notice issued within that period is charged at a higher rate:

      • The first Fixed Penalty Notice issued to a parent in respect of a particular child will be charged at £160 if paid within 28 days, this will be reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days.
      • A second Fixed Penalty Notice issued to the same parent in respect of the same child will be charged a flat rate of £160 if paid within 28 days.
      • A third Fixed Penalty Notice cannot be issued to the same parent in respect of the same child within 3 years of the date of issue of the first Penalty Notice.
      • In a case where the national threshold is met for the third time (or subsequent times) alternative action should be taken instead. This will often include considering Prosecution but may include other tools such as one of the other Attendance Legal Interventions.

      Follow this link to submit a leave of absence form: https://forms.office.com/e/j3NfYnVUff