To ask for UNauthorised absence for my DD (also please help me with what to say in letter)

[boringnickname]

My DD is in year two and had 1.5 days off school since she started reception (apart from snow days and a teachers strike). I know its not the done thing and im not asking if i should take the absence, i know IABU. We haven't had a family holiday for three years due to finances and not being able to afford it. We have saved enough clubcard vouchers for a weeks holiday and i have booked it, knowing that the school wont authorise. (School under pressure from ofsted i think).

I mentioned i was going to a friend and she said to just write and ask for UNauthorised absence. But i wonder if this sounds a bit like "well, i know you wont authorise it but im taking her anyway" type thing?

Please don't flame me or get into a whoo haa about whether i should take DD out of school, i just want to know how to approach it. Our relationship with the school is good.

soverylucky - was told by the secretary that it would absolutely not be authorised, it is not up to the head it is up to the governers at our school, they published a letter last year saying that they would not be granting any authorised abscences. I then said to the secretary should i request or just inform that would be taking unauthorised absence - for the sake of politeness really, she said no, make the request as it looks better for the school.

Thing what grates me, she is MY child, im an intelligent person and quite able to guage if 5 days off school is going to damage her education (we are talking five days at the end of term about two weeks before they break up). I also have a very healthy child (lucky for me) who has ony had 1.5 days abscence in two years - so no, i don't think i will be apologetic for taking my daughter out of school for some valuabe family time. Quite frankly it should be the other way around for making me feel guilty for wanting to do something beneficial with my child, just because it doesn't fit in with the schools attendance drive.

To be fair OP you don't know if your child isn't going to get sick and have a long term absence, so how much time she's had off already is neither here nor there really.

Schools have to be seen to use a blanket policy otherwise parents complain that "Johnny" is allowed on holiday because he was healthier than "Billy"....therefore they're 'penalising sick children.'

Other parents seem to think that because their child has 100% attendance, they deserve a holiday but school days aren't something you can 'bank'...and store up in the future.

My dd school has a supposedly zero tolerance policy but evidently there are exceptions which they don't publicise

That's not a zero tolerance policy towards term time holidays then.

Our school (and many others) really does have a zero tolerance.

Funerals are different because they're not considered holidays...even if a child has to go abroad.

Any ordinary teacher (not part of school management)will tell you this is less about the child's education than about the school's attendance performance and its place in the dreaded league tables. I find it hard to believe that a child will suffer any great harm in the long run over missing the odd week of school unless it's in a GCSE year or similar. The fines should be and generally are reserved for serious cases (even if they are ineffective; as a previous poster said, some families need help, not fines.) And these days, when everyone has to work so hard, a family holiday is incredibly valuable both for the child and for the family as a whole. (Am not a teacher but DH was)

That is a good point Worraliberty - a friend of mine got loads of hassle because her son was sick alot, then he broke his wrist and had even more time off, they had to justify this in a meeting to the schoolboard . The little lad is doing great at school now, so no harm done.

When I think of all the time I wangled off school (parents lived abroad, I used to tell the school I couldn't get a flight back in time for the beginning of term almost EVERY holiday -- and I'd also told my parents the school wasn't that bothered about it ) I'm amazed I mananged to get 10 'O' levels, 3 'A' levels and a decent degree from a good university. The whole educational establishment has got its collective knickers in a complete twist about this simply because it cannot deal with persistant truanting, so everyone has to suffer.

A fine? Why would you even pay it? I certainly wouldn't!

When are her SATS?

Everybody on these threads always quotes the fact that their dc has had very little absence so "should be authorised" to take a term-time holiday. That makes me . My dd's attendance this year dropped to 76% at one point BECAUSE SHE HAD THE MISFORTUNE TO BE REALLY UNWELL!!!! Are any of you saying that she therefore shouldn't be authorised, but you, with your fortunately healthy children, can have a holiday instead of going to school?

For the record, I don't particularly have an issue with term-time holidays, but I DO have a problem with people who insult the hard work teachers put in every week of the school year by dismissing the proposed week's absence with "they won't be doing anything much then anyway."

There was a plan to remove the discretion from Heads of secondary schools to allow up to ten days authorised absence for holidays but I saw an article in the paper today about this plan being withdrawn due to a backlash from parents.

Many parents can't afford holidays in the school holidays due to cost, even is saving for a long time.

Equally there are parents like us where one of us works for an employer that restricts when holidays can be taken. EG one restriction on DP is that his firm don't allow holidays to be taken during weeks with a bank holiday. That rules out a great deal of the school holidays at a stroke, ad as we don't have passports we can't go abroad so we have managed to get one week during the summer hols (in competition with the other parents at this place) and will have to take the kids out of school for one week during June.

And they won't miss much school considering their attendance records are extremely good in any case. 1 day of sickness between two kids so far this school year, which is typical as they so rarely get sick, especially as many other kids have had at least 5 days off due to sickness already this year.

clam, I don't think it's about deserving. A week out of school after 100% attendance will likely have a less adverse effect on educational prospects than a week out after 76% attendance. That isn't to say an unwell child doesn't deserve a holiday as much as the well child, but they also deserve a good education. That balance between the positive benefits of school and the positive benefits of holiday will be different because of the already missed schooling.

Personally I don't think it should be the school's decision, it should be up to the parents. But I'm old fashioned like that.

our Local Education AUthority has decreed that there will be no unauthorised absenses, and all local schools are required to accept that.

However, I understand that the school must allow exceptions for children of forces personnel, and also I believe, for people who are allocated holiday dates - usually those that work shift patterns, and so have designated holiday times.

So some people are only allowed to take leave at specific times - much like teachers themselves.

In these cases, if you can persuade HR to write you a letter confirming that the dates in question are your allocated holiday dates and you cannot move them, then I believe, from discussions at our governors, that the head teacher may not refuse to authorise the absence.

You may also find that if your child is not regularly ill and has a good track record of attendance, it may go no further.

One issue may be when your child in Y2 is doing SATS - usually in May. They are unlikely to authorise absence at that time.

Can I just add clarification about the whole being fined thing for taking kids of school in term time.......

The fine stands at £50 per parent, per child. Once issued you have 28 days to pay, after this time the penalty notice doubles and you have a further 42 days to pay. If the fine remains unpaid after this, you WILL be summonsed before a magistrates court where you could be fined further up to £1000

If you have been fined for the same offence previously you could also face up to 3 months in prison

It is your local authority and EWO who issue the fines, but schools can request a find be issued should they decide to be arsey enough. Also interesting to note that parents can be legally separated or divorced but if they hold PR they can both be fined even if it is only one patent taking child on holiday

I issued these penalty notices for approx. 10 years through my local authority as an EWO, there isn't a lot I don't know about them, including the loop holes to get round them

PMs welcome

Babylon, my DS's school has a written policy of fines of £50 per parent per child per 1/2 day session. So my three a few years ago, taking a week off would pay £50 x 10 sessions x 2 parents x 3 children = £3,000.

I wouldn't do it at all, in answer to the op. Hate the message this sends to the child i.e. rules can be bent, school doesn't matter and authority can be undermined.

Kitbit, you didnt answer my OP though did you - i specifically said that i didn't want a debate about if you think its OK or not. We will benefit as a family from this holiday. It sends no message other than lets have a lovely time together. My DD isn't aware that it is "against the rules" and quite frankly, its an arse of a rule with one school being completey different to another. I also fail to see how it says school doesn't matter either. And you know, i think it is a GOOD thing to show children that actually, sometimes authority can be undermined, especially if authority is being unreasonable - if that wasnt the case, we would be living in a dictatorship which is far more insidious than a nanny state.

I take on board what people say about children who have been sick although i do agree with "such prospects" its not about deserving, it is about the effect on education. I don't think 5 days will make much difference in the grand scheme of things, but had my DD had lots of time off before through illness i might have thought twice about further time out and probaby sought her teachers advice. We have had a rough few years as a family and this holiday is just what we need. Hopefully things will be better next year and we will be able to buy a tent or small caravan and go camping. We are not going on a foreign holiday, it is not about saving money, it is about saving vouchers for three years and this being the ony time we can use them.

I cannot afford a high horse to canter off on

boringnickname - i love your last post. absolutely parents should be able to fight back against Ant and Dec and demand that we have more say in the experiences our children have and the family time we have with them.

my education authority has a policy that if attendance falls below 85% the EWO gets involved, therefore if your child is not often missing school for numerous other reasons (truancy, repeated sickness, loads and loads of holidays)it is not likely to be a huge issue. if we were to write in and say x is going on holiday it will go down as unauthorised but nothing likely to happen.

I did take the time to go through their website one day to read about just what counted as authorised and what counted as unauthorised. Interestingly religious festivals are authorised...therefore I have considered writing a note to say "Johnny will be absent between x and y due to religious observance" ....now what new religious cult could I invent????

I'm surprised your dd's school says they will not grant any authorised absences! I would have thought that your case was very strong - you've not been able to afford a holiday in 3 years, you still can't, but have saved up vouchers which need to be used up in term time. I would add in the letter something about the stress your family has been under due to financial circumstances, and how much you feel this would benefit your dd. (Has she shown any signs of stress at all out of interest?)

I'd be tempted to add that you've been told that the governors have decided not to issue any unauthorised absences, but that you hope they will consider your letter anyway...

Kind regards..... blah blah

I completely agree that the first family week away in three years will give her lots more than a week in school at the end of the summer term.

You asked how to approach it and I answered and said I wouldn't. I might not have given you the answer you wanted but if you're splitting hairs I did actually answer the op!

I also suggested through the oblique reference of the high horse that I probably overreact to posts about taking kids out in term time because I feel strongly about it.

Ellenjane, that's a unfair contract and could never be legally enforced.

One option people have is leaning on parent governors to devolve decisions on absence to the Head, who knows the kids best.

it's a funny old world when it's considered better to lock parents up and put their children in care for three months than condone absence. Especially when you see the terrible educational outcomes of children in care, demonstrating that Local Authorities are the worst parents of all.