As you may be aware and in line with other local authorities, Hampshire County Council take a tough stance on the parents of children who have unauthorised absence from school during term time. Following a court case in 2017 which was won by the Isle of Wight council we have clarified the position with regard to absence during term time. Please see copy of the current letter here
Hampshire Services have produced an explanatory leaflet which is attached here /files/Information_on_Penalty_Notices.pdf
Attendance is generally good at this school, but we do have some families where children are taken out of school for holiday. We also have some where children are kept away from school because parents report that they are ill, when those children have been seen out and about, or the children tell others in school that they are going or have been away. In these cases absence is recorded as unauthorised and will contribute towards the threshold for the allocation of a Penalty Notice unless there is evidence otherwise, for example a letter from a doctor
As soon as we are notified by the Government of the dates for phonics testing (Y1 and Y2) and other Y2 tests we will let parents know. If children have one or more unauthorised absences during this period this also automatically generates a Penalty Notice.
Just to clarify – authorised absences include cases of genuine illness, medical appointments, religious observance and educational visits. Authorisation for other purposes can only be given in very exceptional circumstances, so most other absences are unauthorised. There is a pale green form available at the school office which parents must complete to ask for authorisation before children are taken out of school. If a child is absent without notification to the school then for safeguarding reasons we always check on where the child is, and notify the relevant authorities where necessary.
