Holidays and School Trips Outside the UK
Scope of this chapter
This procedure applies to day trips and holidays outside the UK for all Looked After Children.
Related guidance
Amendment
This chapter was updated in October 2025 to reflect Granting Leaves of Absence in Working Together to Improve School Attendance statutory guidance, which states that generally, the DfE 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 for leave of absence.
Arrangements for notifying and consulting the Social Worker about holiday plans should be agreed in the Placement Plan. 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 in order to obtain the required consent.
Where the holiday will involve additional costs, the social worker should obtain approval for the costs from the relevant manager before the holiday can be agreed.
The consent of the parent(s) or person with Parental Responsibility must be obtained in writing. A Permissions form should be used to provide the following information:
- Address where holiday is taken;
- Responsible adult(s) accompanying the child including adult/child ratio if group holiday;
- The responsible adult and social worker need to confirm they have checked the passport of the child before travelling to ensure there is the correct amount of months left to travel to their destination;
- 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;
- Any risks associated to going abroad and considered in respect of the child
- Views of the child;
- Schools view if the dates cover any school term time;
- If any cost to the Authority, including insurance; thinking about any health needs the child has and also any high risk activities including water sports;
- Any additional information.
If it is a group day trip or holiday, the social worker must be satisfied that adequate health and safety precautions are taken.
If the social worker considers that it would be appropriate for the child to go on the trip, the social worker must seek the consent of his/her group manager.
The written request for such approval should be made on a Permissions form and should explain the purpose and length of the trip; the wishes of the child; the views of the parent; the views of the staff/carer (unless the child is placed at home), the views of the school (if in term time); arrangements for adult supervision on the trip, whether the adults are well known to the child and vice versa and the likely cost and how it is to be funded.
(Note that under the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013, the previous ability of headteachers to grant leave of absence for the purpose of a holiday during term time in 'special circumstances' of up to ten school days leave per year has been removed. The 2013 Regulations make clear that headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are 'exceptional circumstances').
In the section Granting Leaves of Absence in Working Together to Improve School Attendance statutory guidance; it 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 had 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.
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 for periods of less than one month, but should be obtained wherever practicable or possible. Any objections by the parent(s) should be recorded on the child's electronic records and a letter sent out to the parent explaining why it has been agreed that their child goes on holiday.
Holidays abroad for a period of more than one month require the written consent of every person with parental responsibility for the child or the leave of the court (see Section 4, When the Court's Permission is Required).
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 written agreement of all those with parental responsibility is not obtained.
Where a Court Order is required, the social worker should contact Legal Services as soon as possible for the necessary application to be made and advise the parents of the intended application.
If the holiday is authorised by the Court, the holiday should be recorded on the child's LCS file.
Children travelling within EU/EEA countries and Switzerland will be covered for medical treatment through a European Health Insurance Card. An application form can be downloaded from the NHS Website or be collected from the post office. For children under 16 years old, the form needs to be completed by the parent(s) or foster carer(s) and be submitted as a family application. Young people over 16 can apply for a European Health Insurance Card in their own name.
For travel outside EU/EEA countries and in situations where medical cover is required at short notice, private travel insurance cover must be taken out.
The insurance referred to in Section 5.1, Medical Treatment during visits to EEC Countries only covers a child for medical treatment and not for loss of luggage, cover for cancellation of the holiday etc. Therefore a private insurance policy is needed for a child travelling abroad.
The United Kingdom Passport Agency provides Guidance for Social Workers seeking to obtain a passport for a Looked After Child.
All Looked After Children require a passport from their 4 month review. The social worker will obtain and complete the necessary application for the child or assist the child to complete the necessary application form.
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 Team Manager.
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 Team Manager.
Last Updated: October 16, 2025
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