Leave and Absence

Reporting Absences

 

Sick Leave

You can inform the teacher directly about absences due to illness. If you prefer to notify us by phone, you may do so as well. It's important for us to know promptly if your child is sick. Therefore, we ask parents to notify us by 8:15 AM at the latest.

Leave of Absence

Sometimes, your child may need to miss school due to circumstances. The government has established rules regarding student absence. Any unauthorized absence must and will be reported to the municipal education officer. Violation of the compulsory education law can result in penalties, applicable to both parents/guardians who keep their child home without authorization and to the principal who fails to report it. For any request for leave, you must submit a leave form to the principal.

Vacation

The Compulsory Education Act clearly states that vacations during school time are almost impossible. Your child may not be absent from school outside of school vacations. There is one exception to this rule: if as a parent, due to seasonal work, you cannot take vacation during school holidays and your family cannot go on a vacation for two consecutive weeks within one school year in any school vacation period. Only then can your child (up to ten days per school year) be granted additional leave. These days may not fall within the first two weeks after the summer vacation. For this extra leave, you must request written permission from the school principal at least eight weeks in advance.

Special Leave

For significant family events (such as weddings or funerals), your child may be granted leave. You need to request permission from the school principal for up to ten school days. For more than ten days, you must seek permission from the education officer. Children may also be granted up to one day off for certain religious festivals, with prior notification to the school principal. For example, your child will not be granted leave to visit an amusement park with grandparents because vacation is cheaper, or to leave early for vacation to avoid traffic jams. Dental and orthodontist appointments should be scheduled outside of school hours whenever possible.

For any leave requests, please submit an application to the school principal. You can find a leave form below and also obtain it from the reception.

 

 

You can read more information about Compulsory Education in the municipality of Utrecht via the following link:

https://www.utrecht.nl/zorg-en-onderwijs/onderwijs/leerplicht/