Leave and Absence
"It may happen that due to circumstances, your child cannot attend classes at school. The government has established rules regarding student absenteeism. Any unauthorized absence must and will be reported to the municipality's truancy officer. Violation of the Compulsory Education Act can lead to penalties, applicable to both parents/guardians who keep their child at home without justification and to the school principal who fails to report it. For every leave request, you are required to submit a leave request form to the school principal.
Sick Notifications
We request that you notify us of your child's sickness by phone using the school number 030-6703168, directly to the teacher. Sick notifications via email might not always be read before the start of school, and notifications sent through Social Schools in the morning might not be read in time. Therefore, please provide the notification over the phone using the school number.
Leave and Absence
Vacation
The Compulsory Education Act clearly states that taking vacations during school hours is nearly impossible. Your child cannot be absent from school outside of school vacation periods. There is one exception to this rule: if, as a parent, you are unable to take time off during school vacation due to work commitments (seasonal employment) and your family cannot take a continuous two-week vacation within a single school year during any school vacation period. Only then can your child receive extra leave (up to a maximum of ten days per school year). These days cannot fall within the first two weeks after the summer vacation. To request this additional leave, you must submit a written request to the school's administration at least eight weeks in advance.
Additional Leave
For significant family events (such as a wedding or a death), your child may be granted leave. Up to ten school days of leave require permission from the school's administration. For more than ten days of leave, you must request permission from the truancy officer. Additionally, for some religious holidays, children can be absent for a maximum of one day. You must inform the school's administration about this. For instance, your child will not be granted leave to go to an amusement park with grandparents for a day, as vacations are less expensive, or to go on vacation earlier to avoid traffic. Please schedule dentist and orthodontist visits outside of school hours.
For every leave request, you are required to submit a leave request form to the school principal.
You can find more information about Compulsory Education within the municipality of Utrecht through the following link:
https://www.utrecht.nl/zorg-en-onderwijs/onderwijs/leerplicht/