Holidays in term time

I wish to inform you of changes to our arrangements for authorising holidays from school during term time.

As part of the fixed penalty notice consultation process, opinions were sought on replicating a zero tolerance approach to holidays in term time, like that in place in Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil and all ERW (South West and Mid Wales) Councils. The outcome of the consultation favoured a consistent approach across all schools, with a majority agreeing with a zero tolerance approach. Following this, a Cabinet decision was taken to approve a zero tolerance approach with effect from the 1st September 2014.  

With Cabinet approval for consistency across all schools, head teachers are being encouraged to adopt a zero tolerance to term time holidays from the 1st September 2014. Whilst the legislation under Section 7 (3 and 4) of The Education (Pupil Registration) (Wales) Regulations 2010 allows head teachers to “grant leave of absence from school for the purposes of a family holiday for no more that 10 days in an academic year”, the local authority stance is one which will discourage holiday absence unless the pupil and family are exempt under one of the three “exceptional” circumstance criteria.   Those exemptions are:

•           Families of serving armed forces personnel;

•           Parent or child experiencing a life limiting illness;

•           Families that have suffered an acute trauma.

In the event of holiday leave for a pupil being requested by a parent/carer, the school is asked to record the sessions as unauthorised absences in line with the Cabinet decision and then make a formal request for a fixed penalty notice to be issued.

Unlike other circumstances for a fixed penalty notice, a holiday absence will not be subject to a monitoring period (15 school days) for improvement to happen but a fixed penalty notice will be automatically issued on receipt of the school’s request. Payment will, as with other circumstances, be £60 if paid within 28 days, £120 if paid within 42 days. 

School attendance data will be monitored for the use of the holiday absence codes, so that the authority is in a position to ensure the consistent application of both the codes and the requests for fixed penalty notices.

To this effect I have devised a new holiday form to reflect these changes. Copies are available via pupil post or from the secretary's office