Request for Authorised Absence During Term Time
Before applying to take a term time absence please consider the following:
- Ongoing low attendance is a factor often linked to low levels of academic success and can have a serious impact on opportunities later in life.
- Children who are absent from school in term time will miss out on important learning opportunities – educational experiences missed cannot be re-captured later. Your child’s teacher will not be able to go back over everything your child has missed.
- Due to the need for teacher/pupil input into many of our learning experiences, it is not always feasible to provide you with work to complete during the absence.
- As a parent/carer you can demonstrate your commitment to your child’s education by, whenever possible, avoiding term time absences.
- It is important that term time absences do not contribute to developing poor habits of attendance which are hard to undo later on.
Holiday Requests
Please note that there is not an automatic right to withdraw pupils from school for a holiday and this form, if it is a request for that purpose, is merely a request for permission. There is a margin of discretion for head teachers to agree to your request and in line with national guidance, your Child(ren)’s absence will be judged on merit and may not be authorized. Please see our North Gower Partnership policy on attendance which states "Requests for term time holidays will be considered individually and schools can invite parents to discuss any such proposals. Requests for term time holidays must be submitted at least two weeks before the holiday commences. Schools will only agree to absence for a family holiday or trip if the pupil’s attendance for the previous term is at or above 95% or they believe there are special circumstances that warrant it." You will be notified of the decision.
Welsh Government guidance states that schools cannot authorize holidays retrospectively.
Should your child accumulate a level of unauthorized absence which brings their attendance below 90% during the year, the Local Authority may (depending on the circumstances) issue a fixed penalty notice or commence formal prosecution for failing to secure regular attendance at school. The full details of the fixed penalty scheme can be found on the City and County of Swansea website.