Disclosure Log

Question

Copies of Afon Taff

1. The school’s attendance policy in force at the time 2024/2025/2026/ absence

2. Any guidance or criteria used to decide whether circumstances are “exceptional”

3. Any written instructions given to staff about

• Authorizing holidays

• Referring parents for penalty notices

4. Any template letters or standard wording used to refuse holiday requests

5. Who at the school is authorised to decide holiday requests

6. Whether decisions are made by

• Headteacher alone

• A delegated member of staff

• A fixed policy no discretion

7 Whether reason must be recorded when refusing requests

• The criteria the school uses to refer cases for penalty notices

• Whether all unauthorised holidays are referred automatically

• Whether the school ever chooses not to refer

The number of referrals made in

• the last academic year

• Number of holiday requests received

• Number of authorised vs refused

• Number for long term -time holidays

• Number of penalty notices resulting from referral

Answer

1. The school’s attendance policy in force at the time 2024/2025/2026/ absence

Please see the attached Attendance Policy

2. Any guidance or criteria used to decide whether circumstances are “exceptional”

The Headteachers have discretion to authorise up to 10 days per year under the Education (Pupil Registration) (Wales) Regulations 2010. Welsh Government has also produced guidance emphasising families should not expect term time holidays to be approved. Please visit https://www.gov.wales/school-attendance-and-absence

Parents should not expect leave for holidays to be granted, and decisions must be made case by case based on timing, impact on learning, exam periods and family context.

Merthyr Tydfil CBC does not override headteacher decisions, and exceptional circumstances must be unavoidable, e.g. bereavement, housing crisis.

3. Any written instructions given to staff about

• Authorizing holidays

The Welsh Government’s attendance codes guidance tells schools when absences must be authorised and how they should be recorded. Please visit https://www.gov.wales/school-attendance-and-absence.

• Referring parents for penalty notices

The governing guidance comes from Merthyr Tydfil CBC – Local Code of Conduct for Fixed Penalty Notices which states that Penalty Notices are issued by LA EWS in response to requests from headteachers or nominated deputies.

4. Any template letters or standard wording used to refuse holiday requests

The School follows the National Framework Principles when communicating with parents regarding the refusal of holiday requests.

5. Who at the school is authorised to decide holiday requests

Only the headteacher or a designated deputy may authorise absence (per national regulations). This is further supported by the Welsh Government guidance which is available online, https://www.gov.wales/school-attendance-and-absence.

6. Whether decisions are made by

• Headteacher alone

• A delegated member of staff

• A fixed policy no discretion

The decisions are made in accordance with the Welsh Government guidance which states the Headteacher is the decision maker in terms of authorising absence for holidays.

7. Whether reason must be recorded when refusing requests

Schools must apply attendance codes under the national attendance coding framework, so reasons must be documented for auditing and legal enforcement.

• The criteria the school uses to refer cases for penalty notices

The Merthyr Tydfil FPN Code requires schools to document the reason for the unauthorised absence to lawfully request a penalty notice.

The applicable criteria come from the Education (Penalty Notices) (Wales) Regulations 2013

• Whether all unauthorised holidays are referred automatically

Welsh Government states FPNs depend on previous absence record and are not automatic.

• Whether the school ever chooses not to refer

Headteachers may decide not to refer based on individual circumstances.

8. The number of referrals made in

Please see the attached documents.