Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the statutory guidance on school attendance to allow exemptions for term-time holiday fines for families where the parents have to work during school holidays.

The school year is structured so that there are opportunities for holidays outside of term-time. All schools have the discretion to grant leave of absence in exceptional circumstances, judging each application on the specific facts. However, generally a holiday would not constitute an exceptional circumstance. Schools and local authorities also have considerable flexibility to plan term dates themselves and hold inset days and other occasional days at quieter times of the year, helping families to plan breaks at times that suit them.

Where term-time holidays are taken without permission, it is right that the law protects children’s right to a full-time education. The national framework for penalty notices is designed to improve fairness by ensuring they are considered at a consistent point across the country, and on an individual basis, preventing schools from having blanket rules.