Term Time Holidays
- Information from Bedfordshire LEA
Family holidays during term time
The Law
The law says that parents/carers do not have a legal
right to take their child out of school for holidays in
term time.
However, schools can allow parents/carers to take their
child out of school providing there are special
circumstances for the request and an application is made
in advance by the parent/carer with whom the child
normally resides. Only in exeptional
circumstances will more than 10 school days absence be
granted in any school year.
If you take a holiday without the school’s permission
or if your child fails to return by the agreed date,
this will be recorded as unauthorised absence and noted
on your child’s records. If your child has not returned
within 10 days of the expected date of return, then the
school may take your child off roll, after consultation
with the Local Authority.
The school may also ask the Education Welfare Service
to consider a Penalty Notice. The Penalty Notice is £50
if paid within 28 days or £100 if paid after 28 days but
within 42 days. If you do not pay a Penalty Notice, you
will be prosecuted in Court.
What schools can do
Each school has a policy on granting term-time
holiday. When deciding whether to allow time off, the
school will consider;
- If there are special
circumstances for the request
- The time of year you want the holiday
- How long the holiday will be and how much it
will disrupt your child’s education
- Previous similar requests
- Your child’s attendance record
Schools will take take into account government
guidance when considering what are special
circumstances. Holiday requests for the following
reasons are not considered to be special
circumstances;
- Availability of cheap holidays
- Availability of desired accommodation
- Poor weather experienced in school holiday
periods
- Overlapping with beginning or end of term
What parents/carers can do
You should request time off for your child as soon as
possible and always before the holiday. However please
do not expect the school to grant your request unless
there are special circumstances. It is
important to carefully consider the implications of
taking your child out of school during term time. There
are 190 statutory school days a year; so there are 175
other days (weekends and school holidays) available for
holidays which would not have a negative effect on your
child’s education. By taking your child on holiday in
term time you may be giving them an unspoken message
that school doesn’t matter. Some children find it
difficult to renew friendships with other pupils when
they return to school.
If the school grants a holiday in term time due to
special circumstances, please discuss
with the Headteacher how you will help your child to
catch up with the missing hours of education lost (50
hours for a full 10 days holiday)
Especially avoid taking your child out of school;
- Close to or during examinations
- When valuable group work with other pupils is
taking place that cannot be repeated
- If your child needs help in certain subjects to
access all the education support that is offered
- During the induction week when your child
transfers from one school to another and needs to
familiarise themselves with the new school layout
- During the first year in a new school when
pupils may experience problems settling in
Where Can you contact Us?
Please contact your schools for the telephone number
of your Education Welfare Officer or alternatively you
can contact the Education Welfare Office at County Hall
(01234) 228304.
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