Year 6 SATS and unauthorised absence

[Figgywoo]

Hi

Can anyone give any advise or hard facts to a worried mum. Just had our 2 day application for holiday (a family gathering) in March refused due to SATS, stating it will go down as unauthorised absence. I asked them to consider my boys excellent attendence this year and the previous 5 years, he's rarely off sick and has only had 1/2 a morning out since September and that was to visit his secondary school - but no joy - they say that cannot authorise it. I'm worried what consequences this will have. Have read about prosecution / fines etc for unauthorised absence and am worried I will face this

Can anybody put my mind at rest

You will not get prosecuted for a 2 day absence, or the courts wouldn't be dealing with anything else.
It will appear on his report, but tbh the only person it will ultimately be bad for is the head - the level of unauthorised abscences is one of the things Ofsted looks at. If the head is refusing it, it's because they think term-time holidays are bad for both the child and the school.

Year 6 sats are in may. Why have you been refused holiday in March? It's a special circumstance not a holiday to disneyland! I think they are being very pedantic. They cannot authorise it? Will not authorise it more like.
I would phone him in sick. They would not have any proof that he wasn't ill. A court would not prosecute for a few days especially as it is a family gathering! Would they also refuse for a family wedding or a funeral?

The guidlines are really strict.

No, they wouldn't refuse fro a funeral - and possibly not for a wedding. There are very tightly defined categories of reasons for absence that a head can authorise.

But there won't be any consequences.

Figgy - My DS1 is in Yr6 and we have been categorically told that they can have no absence whatsoever.

As long as your son is doing his revision etc (mine has to do a page of science and maths sats revision every night) then I would pull a sickie.

You are allowed 10 days out of school though in any one year. I think they just don't want their ofsted figures to go down.

I had half a day refused recently. A Friday afternoon as well. 18 months ago I was refused two days for a family wedding (several hundred miles away). On both occasions there were no consequences - I just took them anyway. Later this year we will need one day for another wedding where they are bridesmaids. I am all for just taking them and not bothering to ask - dh says we must do it properly. But I am sick to death of being made to feel bad over a tiny number of days - we nver take the kids out of school for holidays and they are fotunately very healthy so miss very little time for sickness either. There is a boy in my daughter's class whose spending 6 weeks in South America atm - and it was authorised!!! Not saying it's not educational and wonderful - it is - but how did his parents swing that and I don't get 1/2 a day. Grrrrh!

It's a common misconception that you are 'allowed' 10 days out. The government guidance for teachers says:
"Under education law parents may request absence for pupils from school due to a family holiday. It is for schools to determine whether or not they agree to a family holiday during term time. Schools may authorise absence for this purpose for up to 10 school days in any school year. In exceptional cases schools may agree to a lengthier period."

Some local authorities have a blanket policies which the school has to follow, so it may not actually be the head who's being awkward.