Term Time Leave

West Somerset Schools are working together to ensure that our children and young people have every opportunity to succeed at school and in later life. Children need to be in school every day, unless they are too unwell to attend and, in line with Government Policy, term time leave will not be authorised unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Term time leave will only be authorised when an application meets the Exceptional Circumstances criteria, outlined in the Attendance Policy and the Guidance Flowchart in the below document. Further information will be taken into account if the Headteacher agrees that an application meets the Exceptional Circumstances criteria.

This will include:

• The date of the request and the amount of notice provided
• The overall attendance of the child(ren) and whether this is at or above expected level
• The time/duration of the request and whether it is within the first term of the academic year or of any new school placement or it affects exams or the period leading up to exams
• Whether the child has had any term time leave within the current or previous academic year

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR PARENT/CARERS

• Parent/carers whose children are on a school register have a duty to ensure that their children attend regularly and if they fail to do so they may be guilty of an offence under the Education Act, 1993.

If the school refuses your request and the child is still taken out of school, this will be recorded as an unauthorised absence. This may result in a Penalty Notice being issued or legal action taken for poor attendance.

Please follow the guidance in the below document if you are considering requesting term time leave. All schools in West Somerset will use this process when term time leave requests are received, to ensure consistency across the area.