Holidays

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Click HERE to go to the Derbyshire County Council webpage with recommended school term and holiday dates.  

Advice to parents wanting to take holiday in school term time

We take the view that any time away from school is unsettling for a child and deprives them of valuable learning opportunities.  We therefore request that parents do not take holidays during school time. 

The Government amended the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 on 1 September 2013.  Under this updated version, Headteachers may not grant any leave of absence for holidays during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances; in these cases it is the Headteacher who determines the number of dys a child can be away from the school if leave is granted.

As a consequence of these changes, approval will not be given to requests for leave of absence that are not considered to be special or exceptional, for example:

- availability of cheap holidays and cheap travel arrangements

- days overlapping with beginning or end of term

Parents needing leave of absence for exceptional circumstances should write to the Headteacher at least two weeks before the anticipated start date.  Any requests should be on an official school absence request form and handed into the school office for consideration prior to any holiday/leave arrangements being made.  The reason for the request should be given in detail.  Applications should be made before the leave is arranged as absences will not be granted retrospectively.

The publicity surrounding the Isle of Wight case regarding unauthorised leave during term-time has caused confusion for parents, schools and local authorities in England.  Essentially, the Isle of Wight High Court ruling has changed the way in which Magistrates are required to consider evidence provided by local authorities for term-time holiday prosecutions following non-payment of penalty notices.  However, the pupil registration regulations, amended in 2013, have not changed and Headteachers must only approve leave in “exceptional circumstances”.

Authorisation of Holiday Request

The Headteacher replies to all parents submitting a holiday request.

School considers each individual request carefully.

If a child is taken out of school for any period of time that has not been authorised, the Headteacher is obliged to inform the local authority (Derbyshire County Council).  The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 gives Local Authorities the power to issue Penalty Notices (with potentially very heavy fines) to the parents or carers of children who take unauthorised absence from school.

Penalty Notices

Advice from Derbyshire County Council on penalty notices can be downloaded here.