All absence from school affects your child's education. Taking a child on holiday during term-time could mean:
The Department for Education (DFE) amended legislation surrounding holidays in term-time, which came into effect on 1 September 2013.
Parents have no entitlement to take their child on holiday in term-time. Any application for leave must only be in exceptional circumstances and the head teacher must be satisfied that the circumstances are exceptional and warrant the granting of leave. Head teachers would not be expected to class any term-time holiday as exceptional. Parents can be fined by the local authority for taking their child on holiday during term-time without consent from the school.
As a local authority, we fully appreciate the financial difficulties that some parents face when booking holidays, particularly during school holidays. However, we expect that all Salford schools to have firm policies and stringent checks to significantly reduce the number of authorised absences during term-time.
We will be monitoring all school absences during term-time and challenging schools and parents who don't follow the legislation.
Education Welfare Service Penalty Notice
This page was last updated on 28 February 2022