St Mary's C of E (Aided) Primary School, Pulborough

Request for Absence from Learning / Holiday form

The form below needs to be completed when requesting any type of time away from school, eg. holidays, doctor's or dental appointments, etc.  

Holiday requests –  Our attendance is still below national levels,  so we are focussing on attendance.

No holidays will be authorised and for absences over five days we will be following the guidance from West Sussex County Council about fining:

  • Headteachers may not grant absence for holidays during term time – ‘any application for leave must be in exceptional circumstances and the Headteacher must be satisfied that the circumstances warrant the granting of leave’.
  • If a family choose to take their child/children out of school for a holiday, they may be subject to a Fixed Penalty Notice if unauthorised absences reach 10 sessions (a session is half a day, so 10 sessions is equal to 5 days) Holidays of any length will not be authorised except in exceptional circumstances, such as Armed Forces commitments or bereavement.
  • You may receive a Fixed Penalty Notice of £120 (£60 if paid promptly) per parent with Parental Responsibility per child if you take your child out for an unauthorised holiday. Referrals for a FPN are made to West Sussex County Council for all holidays of 5 days or more.