Holidays and School Trips Outside the UK

Arrangements for notifying and consulting the Social Worker about holiday plans should be agreed in the Placement Plan.

The consent of the parent(s) or person with Parental Responsibility must be obtained, and the consent form must be signed. This should be used to provide the following information:

• Address where holiday is taken, if appropriate to disclose address;
• Responsible adult(s) accompanying the child, including adult/child ratio if group holiday;
• If the child is going with a family or person who is not known to Children's Services, whether the appropriate checks have been made;
• Dates of holiday;
• Views of the child;
• If any cost to the Authority, including insurance;
• Any additional information.

If it is a group day trip or holiday, the social worker must be satisfied that the organiser takes adequate health and safety precautions.

In the section Granting Leaves of Absence in Working Together to Improve School Attendance, statutory guidance states that, generally, the Department for Education does not consider a need or desire for a holiday or other absence for the purpose of leisure and recreation to be an exceptional circumstance.

The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024, regulation 11 Leave of Absence sets out the circumstances under which an authorised person may grant a pupil leave of absence. Schools maintained by a local authority and special schools not maintained by a local authority can only grant leave of absence in the circumstances laid out in regulation 11.

In the exceptional circumstance that a holiday has been agreed by the authorised person at a school not maintained by a local authority and which is not a special school, the Social Worker's Manager must also give their approval.

 See Types of School (GOV.UK).

The procedure is the same as for those for Accommodated Children (see Section 1, Holidays for Accommodated Children) except that the consent of the parents or person having Parental Responsibility is not required, but should be obtained wherever practicable or possible. Any objections by the parent(s) should be recorded on the child's electronic records and discussed at the next LAC Review, if appropriate.

The social worker should ensure that arrangements are in place through the Placement Plan to be notified well in advance of any plans for holidays abroad to obtain required consent.

The procedure is the same as for Accommodated Children (see Section 1, Holidays for Accommodated Children) except that:

• Approval is unlikely if the child / young person wishes to go on their own and/or to a destination which could call into question the integrity of their original claim for asylum;
• The child's social worker would have to endorse the holiday by signing the consent form.

If the child is the subject of a Care Order and the holiday abroad is for more than one month, an application must also be made to the appropriate Court for the Court's permission to allow the child to go abroad if the parent's written agreement is not obtained.

Where a Court Order is required, the social worker should contact Legal Services as soon as possible to make the necessary application and advise the parents of the intended application.

If the Court authorises the holiday, the holiday should be included in the Placement Plan.

The Home Office provides Guidance Notes for Social Services Departments when applying for Passports on Behalf of 'Looked After Children'..

If Children's Social Care Services have previously applied for a passport on the child's behalf and are applying for a renewal or extension, a letter outlining the circumstances mentioned above stating that these have not changed is sufficient. In these circumstances, there is no need to complete the application form. This should be signed by the Designated Manager (Passports).

Where there is a proposal for a child to go on holiday abroad and the child does not currently hold a valid passport, the request to the Designated Manager (Passports) in relation to the holiday should include a written request for the authority to obtain a passport for the child.

If it is an urgent application where an application is made in person, the social worker must provide evidence of their identity and a signed letter of authorisation from the Designated Manager (Passports).

Where the child requires a passport for any other reason, the approval of the Designated Manager (Passports) should be sought. The written request for such approval should include the reason for the request, the wishes of the child, the views of the parent, and the views of the Staff / Carer, where applicable. Where the Designated Manager (Passports) gives authority for a passport to be obtained for a child, this must be confirmed in writing. The social worker must inform the parent of the decision.

The social worker will obtain and complete the necessary application for the child or help the child complete the application form.