Attendance & Holidays

Amendments have been made to the 2007 Regulations in the Education (Penalty Notices) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013. These amendments, which can be seen in our attendance policy below, came into force in August 2024.

Please see our attendance policy here.

You can also visit Derbyshire County Council's School Penalty Notices page, which gives further information about Penalty Notices. 

If you want to find out more about the legal changes please click on the link below to access information from the Department for Education website.  

Click here to access Amendments to School Attendance Regulations. 

What do the August 2024 amendments to the regulations mean?

The amendments make clear that headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. Headteachers should determine the number of school days a child can be away from school if the leave is granted. 

Here are some examples of reasons to help clarify exceptional circumstances for authorised absence. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list: 

Examples of Exceptional Circumstances 

• Significant family bereavement, i.e. Mother (step), Father (step) principal carer or sibling. 
• Significant family illness to Mother (step), Father (step), sibling or principal carer. 
• Disclosure of significant abuse where a short leave of absence may be beneficial to recovery. 
• Involvement in court proceedings, either in the family courts or in criminal proceedings.
• Close relative family weddings (in specific circumstances).

Family requests for holidays to see relatives or the availability of cheap flights or holidays are not deemed to be exceptional circumstances. The onus is always on the parents to provide evidence to support applications for leave of absence.

Families, who take children out of school in term time for holidays, may be subject to a legal process undertaken by the Education Welfare Service of the Local Authority. The 2007 Regulations set out the procedures for issuing penalty notices (fines) to each parent who fails to ensure their children’s regular attendance at school or fails to ensure that their excluded child is not in a public place during the first five days of exclusion.

What do I need to do if I want to take my child out school for a holiday?

Should you decide to take your child out of school for a holiday, we require you to complete an Application for Leave of Absence Form, which is available as a download here. You can then either email the form to info@horsleywoodhouse.derbyshire.sch.uk or drop it in to the school office. 

All holiday requests will be seen by the headteacher and responded to. Please note that any decision made by the headteacher for absence requests or fines are not subject to appeal.