Time off from school - official laws?

[ChirpyKez]

Is there any official ruling as to how much time kids are allowed off from school {for a holiday, not off sick} before you get into trouble? I'm talking about a year 11 pupil - but from what I have seen it varies from school to school, surely this cannot be right? Same rules for all? I want to take my niece away next October - 1 week over half term, the other week as time off. Please advise, thanks.

[spudqueen]

Technically you can take children out of school for up to two weeks, but with the schools consent. This is NOT A RIGHT. Year 11 is a really important year in a childs school life. You MUST contact the school before booking anything.

[ChirpyKez]

Thanks, I still think there must be something official though otherwise each school can have different rules surely?

[mrs_overall]

The ruling is that you can apply for permission to take your child out of school for up to 10 days in any school year. It is up to the individual school do decide whether or not to grant permission. The school will look at things like the child's attendance, schoolwork, forthcoming exams etc. The secondary school my daughter attends only grant permission in exceptional circumstances in Year 11. If permission is refused and you take the child out of school anyway, the attendance will be recorded as unauthorised. This could be mentioned in a refernce from the school if your child applies for a job and will certainly be mentioned on any college/6th form application. You can also receive a �50 fixed penalty ticket.
I would suggest you have an informal chat with the school beforehand. As spudqueen says, year 11 is THE most important year in a child's education.

[Ice-Maiden]

SQ and Mrs_ O are right - it's usually for no more than 10 school days, but PLEASE make sure you check if there's any homework to be done while you're away. This happened to us recently - I forgot to ask - and my son was threatened with a detention when he didn't produce it, even though the work was set after we'd gone on holiday.

[bubbles4920]

as ive discovered honesty is not always the best policy, sometimes kids can be off sick for a while!! just make sure they dont go back with a tan!

[hippyhoppy]

Ice Maiden - I remember that incident. How did it pan out?