Family holidays and your child's education

You are strongly urged to avoid booking a family holiday during term time.

You do not have the right to take your child out of school for a holiday, but schools may choose to grant leave of absence of up to two weeks in any school year to enable a child to go on a family holiday.

In deciding whether to authorise leave for a family holiday, schools will consider each case individually and will look at the child's overall record of attendance. In most situations, schools will not authorise holidays if they fall around exam or test times or if they coincide with the start of the school year.

Occasionally, holidays of more than two weeks to visit family living overseas may be unavoidable. Parents should discuss with the school the most appropriate time of the year and point in the child's education for this visit to take place. This will help minimise disruption to the child's progress at school.

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