WWYD Ask the head for permission or call in sick?

[Loki01]

Posting here for traffic.

My child is in secondary school with an attendance record of 97%. He had Covid and had some authorised time off school for music exams.

My husband works for NHS and cannot take any other time off but the last week in July. There are two days when my child should be at school. I spoke to the head of the year yesterday about an unrelated matter and mentioned we are going and how to request permission. She said I need to send an email to the head and that is unlikely to be authorised.

I am not torn as to what to do. Do I send in the request and risk a fine or do I call in sick? I am not sure how it works, does the head of the year get advised of absences every day? I am worried if I call in sick she will remember that I said we are going away.
WWYD?

I think they have to mark it as unauthorised but that doesn’t automatically equal a fine. Don’t lie and call in sick. If they are the only 2 unauthorised days this year then I’m sure it will be fine.

Just tell them you’re taking it, ask for it to be authorised and explain why but if they don’t it won’t matter at all. You only get fined if they miss 5 days (or 10 sessions, based on 2 sessions per day)

Will the school let me know that they have reported me for a fine?

Thank you. I thought that has recently changed.

Can your DH get a letter from work saying he can't have any other time off during the school summer hols and present that along with your request?

The school doesn't " tell" the local authority you are off, the attendance system used in schools does it automatically ( or it does in my area) . But currently you would only be fined if , as people have said, you are off for 10 sessions.

I agree, this would probably tip it in your favour and it will be approved, particularly if its only 2 days and his attendance is otherwise good.

I'm sure one of the reasons that school can authorise term time holiday is because a parent hasn't got control over their leave.

Your DH just needs a letter from work stating that he can only have that week off.

You'll only be fined if you take 5 days off school. It will be recorded as unauthorised on the attendance registration data but apart from that no one will bother about a term time holiday so close to the end of term.

Just go! You won't get fined for missing two days at the end of term.