Guidance

This guidance highlights the need for all children who are enrolled and normally attending school to attend, unless exceptional circumstances apply.

It has been noted in research that across the entire educational spectrum, there has been an increasing tendency for carers and parents to take children and young people out of school during term time to go on holiday. The reasons for this are normally those of cost and availability of holidays.

Looked after children will by definition have had a fragmented emotional experience prior to entering the care system. Sometimes school will have been the only constant in their lives, and a place where they have been able to form consistent and trusting relationships, and develop resilience.

It is also well documented that the average educational achievements of looked after children fall way behind those of other children who are not in the care system. They therefore need the best possible and fullest experience at school to reduce the disadvantage they have already experienced in their lives.

It is for these reasons that Children and Families takes a robust line to avoid looked after children missing days or weeks of term to go on holiday. There are legitimate reasons why a child may need to be out of school on occasion, these include medical appointments, assessments by different professionals, organised school trips, contact if it is unavoidable, family crises necessitating the foster child travelling away from the foster home with the foster carers, the child being fixed-term or permanently excluded from school, and so on.

Although the days at the end of term may seem less important to parents and carers, they are often a time when children and young people can have a more informal experience of school, which is often very positive. Equally, the beginning of the school year is an important time for children. There are also some key times for children such as years 10 and 11when they are preparing for public examinations, when attendance at school is highly important.

 Looked after children and young people should not be taken out of school for the purpose of holidays unless an exceptional reason has been given, and a request made, and permission given, in writing, for this. The cost of holidays is not considered an exceptional reason.

All carers will in future be requested not to make any travel plans during school term time until they and their supervising social worker have discussed the reasonableness of the request, made the case in writing, and have gained the written permission from the child’s social worker’s team manager, who has the ultimate responsibility for the decision, as well as from the Head Teacher of the school, that it is permissible for the child to be out of school. It is anticipated that permission will be granted only in very exceptional circumstances.

Download Permission Request Form (Word document)

Any queries about this guidance can be directed to the Fostering Team Manager 0n 01273 29 (5547), or to the Agency Adviser Fostering on 01273 29 (5381)