Pupils Leave of Absence -Time off for exceptional reasons in Term Time 
Are you thinking about taking your child out of school for a holiday in term time?

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Parents do not have a right to take their children out of school during term time and may be fined for taking holidays without the school's consent.

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Requests for leave can only be granted by schools if there are exceptional circumstances, and holidays are not considered exceptional. 

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A penalty notice is a fine to parents or carers if they fail to ensure regular school attendance.  Penalty notices will be issued where there are 5 or more consecutive days of unauthorised leave of absence.

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Parents/Carers must make sure their child attends school regularly. Parents/Carers can be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice (fine).

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In February 2024, the Department of Education published Working together to improve school attendance.  Within this document, in Chapter 6, it lays out the changes to issuing penalty notices.  The changes to the law are introduced through the Educations Regulations 2024 and will come into effect from 19th August 2024. The changes to the regulations are significant so it is important to ensure all parents/carers understand them, so you can consider the consequences for yourselves before taking leave for students in term time. 

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It is the law that all holidays in term time (now called leave of absence) must be agreed to by the Headteacher/ Principal before the holiday is taken. For further details see Holiday in term time - penalty notices

 

 

Please follow the link for the publication that will start from 19th August 2024.  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance

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External Advice for Parents & Exclusion Advice

For external non-biased advice you can contact the Wolverhampton Information Advice & Support Service. You can access their website here: Home | Wolverhampton Information, Advice & Support Service (wolvesiass.org)

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Foe specific advice about School Exclusions use this link: Exclusion | Wolverhampton Information, Advice & Support Service (wolvesiass.org)

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