Leave of Absence & Penalty Notice
As parents you have a legal duty to ensure that your child attends school on a regular basis. The Education Act 1996 makes it a criminal offence for a parent to “fail to secure their child’s regular attendance at school”. The recent amendments to the 2006 Regulations removes any reference to family holidays, extended leave and the statutory threshold of ten school days. The amendments also make it very clear that Head Teachers may not grant any leave of absence (holidays) during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. The amendments give parents no entitlement to take their child out of school for a holiday in term time and require the Head Teacher and Governing Body to determine what the exceptional circumstances are. The decision will be made by the Deputy Headteacher, the Headteacher, and/or Governor. We will use our discretion to consider each request individually.
Leave of Absence Form
A Leave of Absence Form must be completed in advance and returned to the school. These forms can be collected from the School Office and, on completion, should be handed back to reception, so that a reply can be given.
- It must be made clear what the exceptional circumstance is that requires the leave of absence being taken in term time.
- On receipt of the request, you will be sent a response indicating whether the school is able to authorise the leave of absence or not.
If parents, contrary to what the school has said, still decide to take their child out of school for a leave of absence then the absence will be coded as unauthorised. This will lead to the school referring the matter to the Local Authority requesting a Penalty Notice to be issued.
Penalty Notices PNs
I know that some parents/carers will find these measures severe but we believe that regular and high attendance is in every pupil’s best interests and helps to maximise their achievements and enjoyment of school.
I would like to thank all parents and carers for their continued support in promoting high standards of attendance throughout The Oaks Academy.
Please follow the links below to read information from Cheshire East regarding attendance learn more about Attendance.
Code of Conduct on Penalty Notices
Practical Information
