Attendance is important to us at Our Lady of the Angels because it has a huge impact on learning. We know that good attendance has a positive impact on children's progress.
The law does not grant parents/carers an automatic right to take their children out of school during term time. If a request is for an absence in term time, you must have Parental Responsibility and be the parent/carer with whom the child normally lives. Permission must be sought in advance. Please note that we are only able to authorise absence where there is an exceptional and avoidable circumstance.
If the school is unable to grant your request and the children are still taken out of school, this will be recorded as an unauthorised absence. This may result in legal action which could be a Penalty Notice or summons to court proceedings which could result in a fine of up to £2500 per child and/or a term of imprisonment of up to three months. This is not a school decision, but taken from the guidelines of the Local Authority.
Parents/Carers should note that in normal circumstances, current practice is that only one Penalty Notice will be issued to a parent/carer relating to the absence of a particular child within a two year period. Should a further period of unauthorised absence be recorded, then the parents /carers will normally be summonsed to appear at a Magistrates court for prosecution.