About Our School

Application for Leave of Absence

Application for leave of absence during term time

The guidelines regarding holidays in term time, as set by the Department for Education, state that we shall be able to authorise holidays in term time only if there are exceptional circumstances.  All other holidays will have to be marked as unauthorised holidays.

The Department for Education states that absence for holidays in term time due to the following reasons will not be authorised:

  • availability of cheap holidays
  • availability of desired accommodation
  • poor weather experienced in the school holiday period
  • overlap with beginning or end of term
  • holidays booked before checking with the school
  • day trips

Parents/carers will still be required to complete a Leave of Absence Form, which can also be obtained from our school office four weeks in advance of the holiday and if there are exceptional reasons why the holiday needs to be taken during term time we may be able to authorise the leave.  If we are unable to authorise the holiday you may choose to continue with your plans but this absence will be marked as unauthorised and there is a possibility that if your child’s attendance is unsatisfactory the Local Authority may take action against you for failure to ensure regular attendance.

We understand that this may cause difficulties for some families, but the link between good attendance rates and high achievement levels is clear and the Department for Education is keen to ensure that all young people maximise their chances of success by attending school whenever possible.

We work closely with primary schools in the Garibaldi Family to ensure that we all apply the guidelines consistently.

Thank you for your cooperation, we will try to work with you but we are restricted by these guidelines.

Holly Primary School