Request for absence during term time

A student who misses two weeks of school a year during his or her compulsory schooling loses roughly two terms of education. For this reason, Cambridgeshire County Council and the DFE, stress that Headteachers should use their discretion to grant school term time leave, very sparingly. Leave will, therefore, only be authorised in the most exceptional circumstances.
Please be aware that it is highly unlikely that you will be granted authorisation, therefore, you need to be aware of the new legislation.
Under new legislation, fixed penalty warnings may be issued if a child is absent without authorisation. Permission to attend medical/dental appointments during the school day should be requested in advance and evidence in the form of appointment cards/hospital letters should be provided. NB: Out of the 365/366 days in any year, 190 are in term time, therefore leaving 175 days as potential holiday days.
Many thanks for your support with this matter.

Chloe Thompson

Assistant Headteacher in charge of Attendance

1. Parents are required to put any request for pre-planned absence in writing to the Assistant Headteacher in charge of Attendance on the Leave of absence request form . All requests should be made at least three weeks before the period of absence.
2. The school will not authorise absences for holidays during the school term.
3. The school will not authorise absence, however the Headteacher may, in exceptional circumstances, agree to authorise pre-planned absence or holiday in term time. A decision to authorise will be made taking account of the following:

• where there has been a bereavement or significant trauma within the family and a period of absence will be appropriate to support the student
• specific reasons for the timing of the activity

4. The school will respond to any such request in writing giving reasons for the decision and may include:

• the expected date of return
• that parents are expected to advise of any delay in return
• notification that a fixed penalty notice may be issued if a parent removes a student from school without the authorisation of the school

5. Where exceptional circumstances may apply, the Assistant Headteacher may seek authorisation for the absence from the Headteacher.