Allow families with SEN children 10 days term-time holiday without being fined

We believe SEN children are already excluded from society and education. Many children with disabilities or SEN can find it hard to deal with crowds, noise and the general hustle and bustle of travelling in peak times. Yet, these families are penalised for removing children from school for holidays.

It's not the case that these families fancy being awkward, simply that their children cannot cope. We feel this leaves those families with two choices, go in school holidays and spend most of the time stressed, or ask for flexibility. We believe this would give these families the same chance to a break as families without SEN.

We understand that there can be considerable additional pressures on families of children with SEND, but we do not believe that the solution is to endorse additional time away from school.

We sympathise with parents who, for a variety of reasons, face barriers to securing their children’s school attendance. This is why the government is taking a new approach to tackling absence based on responsibility, partnership and belonging. This involves working with schools and local authorities to tackle barriers to school attendance and ensuring schools are able to deliver an excellent education, meeting children’s needs and creating a welcoming, engaging and inclusive environment for children. The government takes seriously its responsibility to ensure that schools are equipped to meet children’s needs and help them succeed, but that is matched by parents’ legal responsibility to send their children to school every day that they can.

Strong attendance is vitally important for all children’s attainment, mental wellbeing and long-term development. Attendance is just as important for children with SEND. They have the same need and legal right to a full-time education as other children.

We are currently facing an absence epidemic in this country, with 1 in 5 children persistently absent, missing a day each fortnight. For children with SEND, this increases to 1 in 3 children missing a day each fortnight. If children are not in school, it does not matter how effective or well-supported teaching and learning is, as they will not benefit. If children are taken out of school for a two week holiday every year and have an average number of days off for sickness and medical appointments, then by the time they finish year 11 at age 16 they will have missed the equivalent of an entire year of school.

A steady churn of absences also disrupts the learning of every child in a class, disrupting teachers’ ability to plan and sequence learning. It also has a significant detrimental impact on the hard work of school staff to cultivate a sense of community and belonging.

Whilst family holidays can be enriching and important activities, the school year is structured in such a way as to provide plenty of time for holidays outside of term time. and schools also have considerable flexibility to plan term dates themselves, and hold inset days and other occasional days at less busy times of the year. We understand that holiday activities may be busier in school holiday time, but we do not believe this justifies absence from school.

In addition, there is some room for flexibility within the attendance rules and regulations.  All schools have the discretion to grant leave of absence in exceptional circumstances, but because holidays can be taken outside of term time, it is unlikely that such a request will be exceptional. However, schools are expected to consider each application individually taking into account the specific facts and circumstances and relevant background context behind the request.

On the attendance of children with SEND specifically, we know that pupils with SEND can face more complex barriers to attendance than their peers. Schools and wider partners are expected to work with families to consider adjustments to help your child attend, as well as a duty to make formal reasonable adjustments where your child has a disability. These could include adjustments to uniform, transport, routines, access to support or lunchtime arrangements. They should also ensure your child receives the right pastoral care. For pupils with Education, Health and Care plans, schools must help ensure that the support set out in the plan is delivered.

Department for Education