Family holidays during school time
Children and young people have an entitlement to attend school to receive an education throughout the school year. Parents and carers have a duty of care to ensure that their children benefit fully from this entitlement.
Pupil absences due to a family holiday during school time are generally considered by the school to be Unauthorised. This is because the school cannot condone a pupil being denied access to their education.
If, however, a parent or carer feels that they have specific family / work place circumstances which should be considered and/ or that the requirement and benefit of a family holiday outweigh the child’s entitlement to learning at school, then they should write to the school with the details. The school would then decide whether consideration should be given to authorising the absence or not and depending on its decision, issue the appropriate standard letter.
Parents and carers should please note that the decision to designate a holiday absence as Authorised or Unauthorised rests with the school. Underpinning any decision taken by the school is the principle that Dundee City Council has responsibility to ensure that all young people have access to their entitlement to a formal education throughout the school year and equally, parents and carers have a responsibility to ensure that this happens
The dates of Dundee City Council school holidays can be found here.