Leave of Absence / Holidays in Term Time
Leave of absence during term time is not encouraged as this time out of education does affect learning and understanding of content that students will miss. Authorised leave of absence is only offered in exceptional circumstances, and the reasons are discussed before the decision is made. If you are letting us know of your child(ren)’s leave of absence during term time, please complete this form (Request for leave of absence form)
Once completed, please send to attendanceteam@gordanoschool.org.uk
We follow the government guidance in terms of leave of absence during term time. Please read carefully the following information before you make plans to have term time leave.
Per parent, per child Penalty Notice Fines will be issued to each parent for each child that was absent from school without prior approval by the school. For example: 3 siblings absent for term time leave, would result in each parent receiving 3 separate fines.
Penalty Notice Fines will be issued for Term Time Leave of 5 or more days which have not been authorised by the school.
Penalty Notice Fines will be considered when there have been 10 sessions of unauthorised absence in a 10-week period.
| First Offence |
The first time a Penalty Notice is issued for Term Time Leave or Irregular Attendance the amount will be: £160 per parent, per child paid within 28 days. Reduced to £80 per parent, per child if paid within 21 days. |
|
Second Offence (within 3 years) |
The second time a Penalty Notice is issued for Term Time Leave or Irregular Attendance the amount will be: £160 per parent, per child paid within 28 days. |
| Third Offence and any further offences (within 3 years) |
The third time an offence is committed for Term Time Leave or Irregular Attendance a Penalty Notice will not be issued, and the case will be presented straight to the Magistrates’ Court. Magistrates’ fines can be up to £2500 per parent, per child. Cases found guilty in Magistrates’ Court can show on the parent’s future DBS certificate, due to ‘failure to safeguard a child’s education’. |
Attendance Percentages
90% in a test is a good score; 90% attendance is not – it’s the same as having nearly 4 weeks off school in a year! The grid below shows the approximate figures for weeks, days, hours and lessons of learning time missed in an academic year:
|
Attendance percentage |
Approximate DAYS of learning missed |
Approximate WEEKS of learning missed |
Equivalent number of LESSONS missed in an academic year. |
Approximate HOURS of learning missed |
|
100% |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
99% |
1.9 |
0.4 |
11 |
9 |
|
98% |
3.8 |
0.75 |
22 |
18 |
|
97% |
5.7 |
1 |
33 |
28 |
|
96% |
7.6 |
1.5 |
44 |
37 |
|
95% |
9.5 |
2 |
55 |
46 |
|
94% |
11.4 |
2.3 |
66 |
55 |
|
93% |
13.3 |
2.5 |
77 |
64 |
|
92% |
15.2 |
3 |
88 |
73 |
|
91% |
17.1 |
3.5 |
99 |
83 |
|
90% |
19 |
4 |
110 |
92 |
|
85% |
28.5 |
6 |
165 |
138 |
|
80% |
38 |
7.5 |
220 |
183 |
- 19 school days missed = 90% is classed as a persistent absentee which approximately translates to dropping one grade in each GCSE `https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-profile-of-pupil-absence-in-england
- 34 school days missed = 82.1% attendance for the year
- 90% attendance over 5 years equates to 95 days away from school which is half a school year missed
