Time off for exceptional reasons in Term Time 
Are you thinking about taking your child out of school for a holiday in term time?

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Parents do not have a right to take their children out of school during term time and may be fined for taking holidays without the school's consent.

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Requests for leave can only be granted by schools if there are exceptional circumstances, and holidays are not considered exceptional. 

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A penalty notice is a fine to parents or carers if they fail to ensure regular school attendance.  Penalty notices will be issued where there are 5 or more consecutive days of unauthorised leave of absence.

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It is the Headteacher's decision if an absence is authorised or not.

Parents/Carers must make sure their child attends school regularly. Parents/Carers can be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice (fine).

The Council can consider issuing a fine when a child has five days or more in a row.

Fixed Penalty Notices are:

• £60 per child per parent if paid within 21 days of the issue of the notice

• £120 per child per parent if paid between 21 and 28 days of the issue of the notice

If parents/carers don't pay the fine within 28 days, we will send your case to our Legal Services team. This will be for prosecution in the Magistrates' Court.

The prosecution is for failing to make sure your child attends school regularly. It is not for non-payment of the fine.

Parents/carers will receive a letter to confirm this.

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If the penalty notice has not been paid in full within 28 days of issue of notice, a letter will be sent to the parent/s or carer/s advising them that the case will now be reported to Legal Services for prosecution in the Magistrates' Court.

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The prosecution is for the offence of failing to secure attendance at School, not for non-payment of the fine.

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If you require more information, please contact the Behaviour and Attendance Team on 01902 550621.

If the school makes a decision to close, due to poor weather. parents will be informed via text message, the website and our Social Media Page. This will be marked as authorised absence.

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External Advice for Parents & Exclusion Advice

For external non-biased advice you can contact the Wolverhampton Information Advice & Support Service. You can access their website here: Home | Wolverhampton Information, Advice & Support Service (wolvesiass.org)

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Foe specific advice about School Exclusions use this link: Exclusion | Wolverhampton Information, Advice & Support Service (wolvesiass.org)

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