Taking dd Y8 out of school for 3 days now then in early october am I asking for trouble.

[lexcat]

My sister and family will be staying (from Oz) and they have not been in the uk for 4 years now. Dd has a good attendance record and is in top set for everything so don't see their should be a problem. As I was not sure what the plans were till my sister was in the uk was unable to sort time off for dd so was planning to sent a note in to explain that she will be absent and why. Is this the best thing? Or do I just phone and say she sick which I don't really want to do.

You won't be allowed it, & in theory you could be fined.

You could throw a sickie, but for 3 days you might well be asked for a GP's note (leaving aside that it's rather dodgy to get dd to lie).