Wherever possible you should take your family holidays during school holidays. Please see Wiltshire Council School Terms and Holidays Table for details.
Avoid taking your child on holiday at critical times during their education e.g.
- at the start of an academic year
- when they move up schools
- when they should be taking exams or tests
Absence during term-time as a result of holidays interrupts the continuity of both teaching and learning, suspends the educational progress of individual children and creates disruption in classes.
Is my child entitled to 10 days holiday in term-time?
You should not expect your child's school to agree to a family holiday during term time. Schools do have the discretion to allow up to 10 days if they believe that circumstances warrant it and will carefully consider all requests individually. They may take your child's attendance record into consideration, together with the negative impact that missing school may have on your child's academic progress.
Schools will not agree to your child missing more than a total of 10 school days for family holidays in any one school year, unless there is a very good reason. This is called 'extended leave of absence' or 'extended holidays'.
How do I request holiday during term-time?
In all circumstances, a written application must be made by the parent with whom the pupil is living. Most schools will have a form for holiday requests. This must be submitted to your school in advance of the holiday. Leave should not be taken until permission is given and a date for your child's return to school has been agreed.
When will my request not be agreed?
Schools are not expected to agree to holiday leave if:
- your child already has poor attendance and the Education Welfare Service is involved;
- your child would miss exams or tests such as Key Stage 2 SATS or GCSE's or similar.
Holidays for the following reasons should not be authorised by schools:
- availability of cheap holidays;
- availability of the desired accommodation;
- poor weather experienced during the previous school holiday;
- an overlap with the beginning or end of term.
These are common but there will be many other circumstances when schools are unable to agree to a request for holiday leave during term-time.
What will happen if I take my child on holiday in term-time without permission from my school?
If permission for holidays in term-time is not gained in advance then your child's absence will counted as unauthorised. If the number of unauthorised sessions of holiday absence totals 10 or more sessions within the previous six months in a current academic year, this may lead to a Penalty Notice being issued and a fine of £50.00/£100.00 being levied against you. Please see Non-Attendance at School for more information.
The law and holidays during term-time
Under current regulations, 'The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006', schools have the discretion to grant leave of absence for purposes of family holidays in term time. They can approve up to to a maximum of 10 days in any one school year and, beyond that, can agree more than 10 days if the circumstances are truly exceptional.
Parents are not entitled to remove children from school for holidays as of right. Leave of absence must be applied for and the decision to authorise absence for holidays rests entirely with the school.
