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Thursday 14 June 2012 CHANGES TO ATTENDANCE POLICY Dear Parents/Carers, We have been informed by the Government that the recommendations in the report ‘Improving Attendance in Schools’ will now be fully implemented. This means that holidays in term time can only be granted in exceptional circumstances. It is a legal requirement for children to attend school. Attendance has a direct impact on learning and there is a strong correlation between high attendance and high achievement. There has never been any ‘entitlement’ to leave of absence for a holiday during term time. Schools are in session for 38 weeks per year, so there are opportunities to take children on holiday during the remaining 14 weeks. At the same time we, as a school, recognise that there may be exceptional circumstances when parents have a legitimate reason for taking a holiday during term time as this is genuinely their only opportunity to enjoy an annual holiday as a family. For this reason our policy for the academic year 2012/2013 will be as follows:
Parents/carers can apply for leave of absence of up to 10 days to take an annual holiday if there are genuine reasons why such holiday cannot be taken during school holiday periods. The reasons why the holiday must be taken during term time should be clearly stated on the holiday form in order for the application to be considered. Where it is the only time a parent can take a holiday due to their place of work, a signed statement from the employer confirming this should be attached to the leave of absence form In order for the application for an annual holiday to be granted your child’s attendance must be at least 95% or above When the application is made, your child’s attendance certificate for the current year will be looked at to ensure there haven’t been any unauthorised absences or late marks and there are no concerns about the current level of attendance Without exception, no holidays will be granted during the month of September or for year 6 the eight weeks leading up to and during SATs week in May All holidays taken without authorisation will result in a Fixed Penalty Notice. This is collected and kept by the local authority, not the school. Any future applications for holidays will be declined automatically in subsequent years If an unauthorised holiday is taken, the school will thereafter require medical evidence to be provided for any absence in order for it to be given as authorised. If this is not provided, an unauthorised absence will be given. This immediately triggers local authority and education welfare involvement. Consideration for the authorisation will be undertaken during the five weeks before the holiday is due to begin.
I hope that parents will appreciate and respect our policy and where there are genuine reasons for the need of a holiday during term time we will look at each case on an individual basis. If your child has good attendance at school the likelihood of the holiday being authorised is much improved. Thank you for your co-operation. Yours sincerely, Mr J Harris Headteacher