A Mid Wales Assembly Member has called on Powys County Council to review its approach to term time absences after it emerged that the local authority may not be acting in the spirit of the law.
The Assembly Member for Montgomeryshire, Russell George, has said that there is a great deal of confusion within different local authorities across Wales as to what the legal position is, with many authorities including Powys advising schools and parents that “exceptional” or “special” circumstances must apply before a request for absence during term time can be considered.
Mr George said:
“The Welsh Government has published guidance for local authorities on absence during term time, but I believe this is not being followed by Powys County Council.
“The relevant legislation gives head teachers the discretion to grant up to 10 days leave per school year for the purposes of a family holiday during term time. Any leave over 10 days can only be authorised in exceptional circumstances.
“There are local schools who are misquoting the guidance and sending letters to parents that are threatening them with fines for taking time off for a family holiday and are incorrectly citing guidance that any time off at all can only be allowed in exceptional circumstances.
The Welsh Government has published guidance to local authorities on how they ought to interpret the All Wales Attendance Framework (2011). This sets out the number of factors which head teachers need to consider when dealing with requests for holiday during term time.
Out of the 22 local authorities in Wales, only Bridgend, Merthyr and Wrexham correctly reflect the legal position.
Mr George added:
“The variation across Wales in how local authorities interpret the regulations is concerning. I am pleased that the Welsh Government Minister for Education has written to Powys County Council’s Education Welfare Service to clearly confirm that “exceptional circumstances” are reserved for requests beyond ten days.
“I believe that individual head teachers should be allowed to use their discretion in authorising family holidays during term time. I have asked the Welsh Government minister responsible to issue clarification to ensure that the spirit of the regulations and guidance is being accurately reflected.
“Dedicated family time can be just as important to a young person’s growing up as their formal education and family breaks should not be automatically written off as a lack of learning time.”