Dear Mums, Dads and Carers,

I would like to clarify the school’s position regarding holiday or leave of absence in term time.

Authorising absence is a policy decision. As a school, we work within the policy adopted by the Local authority and our Academy Trust. All school absence is a serious matter monitored by the LA, Department of Education and Ofsted and all school procedures are checked regularly.

Holidays are NOT permitted in term time. Requesting holidays because it is cheaper to go in term time is not a valid reason, neither are celebrations abroad considered a necessity. Holidays should be taken during the school holidays, of which there are plenty of weeks available.

Taking holidays in term time means children quickly fall behind with their work and may find it hard to catch up.

Parents taking holidays without discussing it first or informing the school in advance can result in fixed penalty fines being issued. This is £60 per child and per parent, rising to £120 per child and per parent if not paid in 28 days. If we are not informed where a child is in school time the child is classed as missing.

Parents may request leave of absence for exceptional circumstances. A letter must be written or emailed to the school office, for the attention of the Headteacher, with as much notice as possible. A response will be given.

Permission for a request of leave of absence will only be considered where the child:

a) Has attendance of 96% or above at that time.

b) Has not requested any other leave of absence that year.

c) There is an acceptable exceptional reason for this request.

d) Does not have any statutory tests at that time.

Our attendance policy can be found on our website.

Yours Sincerely,

Mr C Laker

Headteacher