Holiday During Term Time

What if I want to go on holiday during term time?

This is absolutely not acceptable. Sir Martin Frobisher Academy will not authorise any absence due to a family going on holiday. We feel there is nothing more important than your child’s education and with 170 days of holiday and weekends, this is plenty of time to go on holiday without missing school.

Here are some of the reasons parents/carers have given recently for their child’s absence, all of which were unauthorised (code G). Code G will go towards a fixed penalty notice of £120 per child.

This is the only time I/my partner/my family can take leave for a holiday together

It is too expensive to go on holiday during school holidays

(Relative/friend) has booked a trip for us and didn’t realise what the term dates were

We’ve booked a flight/ferry/house from Friday afternoon because we want to avoid the traffic

I want to take my child to see (XXXXXXX), it is an important educational/cultural experience

I have to go away/into hospital/visit ill family member and there is no-one else to look after my child

I have an appointment and there is no one else to pick up the children until 5:30pm

Christmas

We have had a number of families who have gone away at Christmas saying their relatives are ill and on the due date for return have either not come back or have called to say something else has happened and they don’t know when they will be returning. If we do not hear from you and you do not return on time, we will report your child to the local authority as a child missing education. If it has not been possible to return on time you will need evidence to prove why, but you are risking a fixed penalty notice of £120 per child.

Absences around a holiday period

We monitor very closely and it is always noted when a child is ill just before or just after a holiday period. If we suspect that you have gone on holiday you risk being issued with a penalty notice (£120 per child). We are very thorough in our checking, we will phone parents and carers and will expect to be able to get hold of you. We may also come to visit your home address.