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Original poster

Unauthorised absence

52 replies

Mummalunalucas · 25/03/2023 16:04

I wondered if any of you lovely people could help me. I booked a sun holiday for a Monday to Friday. The week before May half term. We don't have a massive budget for things like this hence booking the sun holiday. I work on a holiday park, so booking during school holidays makes it very difficult for me to get time off especially as I'm an assistant manager. I wrote a letter to the school requesting the time off which has been denied. We have been looking at moving the holiday to the school holidays and my work has begrudgingly said if I had to they could allow it possibly, but the prices so way out of our price range. Going from paying £170 for a holiday to at least £1070 is a huge jump. My question is does anyone know what the fines are? Information on the Internet is very ambiguous. Should I just accept that we won't be able to afford holidays while the kids are at school?
Many thanks

OP posts:
RubertRoo · 25/03/2023 16:07

Schools will always deny a holiday request. The fine is £60 per parent for the time you have off so £120 in total. If you get a fine. It's not always guaranteed you'll get one. DDs school tends to not fine time off in Sept-Dec but fines all holidays from April-July

Mumof1andacat · 25/03/2023 16:16

It will go down as an authorised absence. Fines are generally given out it more than 5 days are missed in a school year

Ratatouille1 · 25/03/2023 16:18

How old are your children, unless they are in exam years I would just go for the holiday and risk the fine.

anunlikelyseahorse · 25/03/2023 16:49

£60 per parent. Put the money a side, and go on your holiday. Smile

mamnotmum · 25/03/2023 17:12

I always take mine out. Have for years. Only once been fined.

90yomakeuproom · 25/03/2023 18:04

Just go and pay the fine, still cheaper than during the holidays

Nimbostratus100 · 25/03/2023 18:07

£60 per parent per child

so two parents and two children, £240

Muchtoomuchtodo · 25/03/2023 18:09

I think the policy on fining varies by education authority

if your dc’s attendance is otherwise good, I would be surprised if 2 days triggers a fine

CurlyhairedAssassin · 25/03/2023 22:39

When you say "it has been denied" by the school, I take it you mean they will not authorise it? This is normal. They won't actually be allowed to authorise term-time holidays unless it's for a very good reason eg family wedding or funeral etc. However I'm sure they will be sympathetic with your case re your job, if it comes to assessing cases of absence and reasons for them, IF your kids levels of absence are good.

I shouldn't say this as I work in attendance at a primary school, but in your case, my letter would have said "I will be taking X out of school on these dates for a holiday. I am restricted with dates to due to the nature of my employment. I realise that this will have to be an unauthorised absence, and will endeavour to keep any further absences to a minimum."

Do not ask if the teacher will provide your child with work to do while they are off even ifyou think this makes you seem like a more involved parent. No parent realises how busy teachers are and this will just piss off the teachers, having to do an extra task to accommodate something which is not allowed and will just create extra work for them. Just say that you will take extra reading and

CurlyhairedAssassin · 25/03/2023 22:39

teach your child about the local culture, language, history and geography etc.

anunlikelyseahorse · 26/03/2023 00:04

Nimbostratus100 · 25/03/2023 18:07

£60 per parent per child

so two parents and two children, £240

Maybe it depend on the LEA then? Because in our area it's £60 per parent, not per child. We took ours out and got £120 fine.

Clymene · 26/03/2023 00:07

Muchtoomuchtodo · 25/03/2023 18:09

I think the policy on fining varies by education authority

if your dc’s attendance is otherwise good, I would be surprised if 2 days triggers a fine

They're going for a week. 10 sessions (2 a day) triggers a fine in most LAs. Schools won't authorise holiday.

RocketIceLollie · 26/03/2023 00:15

Yep kids get ten session points of unauthorised absence per year. 2 sessions per day it works out. £70 fine if you go over. Otherwise you'll just get a letter.

Mañanarama · 26/03/2023 00:35

We used to pick ours up on Monday pm after registration to go away Mon-Fri, so they only officially missed 4 days. Did it every year of primary and never got fined.

Is it an option for you to send them to school on Monday morning? Even 4.5 days holiday wouldn’t trigger a fine in my LEA.

alienslove · 26/03/2023 02:03

As others have said, the school has to say no. But I'd definitely go. You have to have more than 5 unauthorised days for there to be a fine.

anunlikelyseahorse · 26/03/2023 12:15

alienslove · 26/03/2023 02:03

As others have said, the school has to say no. But I'd definitely go. You have to have more than 5 unauthorised days for there to be a fine.

Again I think it must vary from LEA, ours fine for 10 missed sessions or five days. My dc had good attendance, we took them out a week before half-term, and got fined. No biggy, a letter reminding us of our parental responsibility to ensure school attendance, fine fee as part of letter, and contact details if we wanted to appeal. It was all very straightforward. We paid the fine and no more was said.
It might have changed now as this was several years ago, but apart from pay the fine when it arrived on our doorstep, we didn't have to do anything.

RebeccaCloud9 · 26/03/2023 12:20

The school where I work and the school my children go to don't fine. You get an unauthorised mark in register, that's it. As both a teacher and a parent, I am happy to take my kids out for holidays.

anunlikelyseahorse · 26/03/2023 12:20

Oops sorry alienslove, I've just read my post back and it sounds a bit scratchy, definitely didn't mean it that way, sorry I worded it badly, I think LEAs are all a bit different and that's why the OP is finding it hard to get the info for her school, I'm guessing if a school is on a boundary line, it makes it even tougher.
I doesn't seem to be a uniform policy.

MaireadMcSweeney · 26/03/2023 12:22

I'm taking DS out for 3 days for an overseas trip to see family and I won't be asking permission because I don't want to pay a fine. I'll call him in sick. Not sure why anyone asks permission when it's always going to be a no.

TeenLifeMum · 26/03/2023 12:24

@MaireadMcSweeney because school will almost certainly find out you lied. 3 days won’t give to a fine so why not just be honest?

our area fines for 10 sessions in a row so can you send him in the Monday morning and go from lunch time to avoid the fine? Or just pay it.

tsmainsqueeze · 26/03/2023 12:59

'why not just be honest?'
because term time holidays are the only way some families can afford to do it , and the way fines are dished out are so ambiguous ,does anyone really know how much the fine will be and how its worked out or what are the chances you'll even get a fine ?
Life is not fair and if it means missing a few school days in a year or no holiday at all from year's 1 - 12 because school holiday charges are unaffordable then you can understand why people have to lie.

MaireadMcSweeney · 26/03/2023 13:12

TeenLifeMum · 26/03/2023 12:24

@MaireadMcSweeney because school will almost certainly find out you lied. 3 days won’t give to a fine so why not just be honest?

our area fines for 10 sessions in a row so can you send him in the Monday morning and go from lunch time to avoid the fine? Or just pay it.

Not worth taking the risk. A fine of £120 won't stop me doing it so why would I volunteer to pay a fine I don't agree with when I can avoid it?

anunlikelyseahorse · 26/03/2023 13:29

I wouldn't lie, because it's easy to find out, and every subsequent absence will be treated with suspicion.
It's easy to find out the policy for our area, but maybe other areas are more complicated/ less easy to find.
For us you go to the council website, then education, then absent policy. It clearly states the penalty. In our case it's a fine per parent.

rwalker · 26/03/2023 13:32

Our kids school disagreed with fine but had to be seen to support the process

everyone got refused unauthorised attendance
all got letters

no one got fined

cheesepotpie · 26/03/2023 13:38

I took my dc out of school for a holiday Monday to Friday I didn't ask for permission as it's never granted the schools aren't allowed just said we were going on holiday from this date to this date
My school said have fun
We didn't get fine

Our school is very fair though
We were called in for an attendance meeting which they had to do for a lot of children as illness have be rife since September with contagious things
And they didn't even mention the holiday just apologised for the meeting said they have to be done and they know kids get ill and not to worry about it
You may get fined you may not but the fine is still cheaper than going in the half terms