School Attendance and Exclusions

It's important for your child to have a good education behind them if they want opportunities in adult life. Your child's chances of a successful future may be affected by not attending regularly.
 

If your child is not attending school regularly

If your child is not attending school regularly, an Education Attendance Officer may visit or write to you.

Education Attendance Officers work with parents to address their child's attendance difficulties.

If you'd like to discuss your child's attendance, please contact our Education Welfare Service.

Holidays in term time (authorised absences)

You have to get permission from the headteacher if you want to take your child out of school during term time.

Headteachers will only grant a leave of absence during term time in exceptional circumstances. It's up to the headteacher how many days your child can be away from school if leave is granted.

You can be subject to legal action, including fines for taking your child on holiday during term time without the school's permission.

2013 changes to authorised absences

Amendments to the Education (Pupil Registration) Regulations 2006 removed references to time away from school being allowed for family holidays and extended leave. Previously, schools could grant up to ten school days' leave on a discretionary basis, but with effect from 1 September 2013 this is no longer allowed.

Exclusions

Pupil exclusions can be permanent, for a fixed period of days or during a lunch time period. 

You can find guidance for headteachers on excluding pupils from school and pupil referral units on the GOV.UK website.

You can find more information on exclusions on the Children's Law Centre website.

If you'd like to discuss an issue related to exclusions, please contact our School Exclusions Team.