This form is for future and / or planned leave of absence requests for Years 7 - 11 only. Post16 Absence requests are required to phone the Post16 Office or email post16@wbs.school.

If you wish to report absence (ie. illness/medical appointments) for your child, please report it via the ‘contact us’ tab > ‘report an absence’, which is found on the top right of the home page.

Please complete the online form below for you to request permission for your child to be absent from School. Before completing the form please read the following notes carefully:

- If you wish your child to have leave of absence during term time, you must apply for permission in advance in writing using this form.

- The law states that you do not have the right to take your child out of school for holidays during term time.

- Permission for authorised leave of absence may be granted for holidays in exceptional circumstances only. “The application must be made in advance and the head teacher must be satisfied that there are exceptional circumstances which warrant the leave. Where a leave of absence is granted, the head teacher will determine the number of days a pupil can be away from school. A leave of absence is granted entirely at the head teacher’s discretion”. (DFE School Attendance).

- There are certain times of the year when a child may experience extra problems because of missing school. These include examination periods, at the time of starting a new school and at the start of a new school term. In deciding whether to authorise your child’s absence and give permission for leave of absence in term time, the school will take these and other factors into account.

- “If a school does not authorise a leave of absence for the purpose of a holiday but the parents still take the child out of school, or the parents keep the child out of school longer than is agreed, the absence is unauthorised. The regulations do not allow schools to give retrospective approval. If the parents did not apply for leave of absence in advance, the absence must be recorded as unauthorised.” (DFE School Attendance).

- If the school refused your application and you still take your child out of school the absences will be treated as unauthorised. Unauthorised absences may lead to a Penalty Notice being issued against you for irregular school attendance.

Having read these notes, if you still wish to apply for a leave of absence for your child during term time then please complete the application attached. This form should be returned to school as far in advance of the proposed absence as possible. Staff in Student Services will be able to assist you if you have any queries about a request for leave of absence.

Application by parent/carer for a child’s future and / or planned leave of absence from school during term time.

I wish to apply for my child to be absent from school during the following dates:

I make application for my child named above to have authorised absence from school for the reasons stated. I understand that if this is not agreed then any absence will be treated as unauthorised and may lead to the issue of a Penalty Notice for irregular school attendance.

Please submit your completed application form to Student Services, giving at least 4 weeks notice of intended absence