Holidays in Term Time

Families who would like to take their child on holiday during term time should be aware that the law does not grant parents an automatic right to take their child out of school during term time.

Any absence from school will disrupt your child’s learning. You may consider that a holiday will be educational but your child will still miss out on the teaching that their classmates will receive during your holiday. Children returning from a term-time holiday are also unprepared for the lessons which build on the teaching they have missed. Teachers then have to give more time to help individual children catch up on missed work. This poses a potential risk of the underachievement of other students in the class. This is something we all have a responsibility to avoid.

The Department for Education allows a Head Teacher the discretion to consider authorising a holiday in term time only in “exceptional circumstances”. If you consider that your request for a holiday is exceptional you will need to complete the form on the reverse of this notification. A response will be sent to you as soon as possible. If the holiday is not considered to be an exceptional circumstance, and you nevertheless take your child out of school for the holiday, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised.

In the case of an unauthorised holiday, the Local Authority will be notified of the holiday taken and a Penalty Notice may be issued. Please note that such a Penalty is issued to each parent for each child taken out of school.  

A Penalty Notice is a fine of £60 per parent per child which increases to £120 if not paid within the first 21 days. Thereafter if the Penalty remains unpaid this may result in legal action.