Student Holidays
In the most part, the school will endeavour to adhere to the Trondheim Kommune school holiday calendar. However, under certain circumstances the school can adjust the holidays periods according to the needs of the international community at This. Any changes to the holiday period must ensure that the number of instructional hours per year as required by the Education Act is retained and that parents are given six months notice. The school is committed to only making minor changes to the holiday calendar.
Procedures
The school, during its end of year review, evaluates the holiday calendar for the following two years.
The school notifies the parents of any proposed changes.
Student Leave
Student leave beyond the designated school and public holidays is strictly regulated by the Education Act and Private School Act. Given Trondheim International School caters for the international community the student leave policy is flexible and designed to meet the needs of both local and international families within the legislative framework. Furthermore, This believes that international travel and living in other countries benefits the student’s education and is aligned with a key IB curriculum concept of developing student international mindedness.
In addition, pupils who belong to a religious community outside the Church of Norway have the right to be absent from school on the days that their religious community celebrates as holy.
It is important to note that no travel arrangements should be made before permission is given unless there are circumstances beyond their control (e.g. sudden leave for a funeral).
In general, we do not recommend families to take leave during the school term, as this can have an impact on your child’s education.
Student leave, outside the regulated holiday periods, is regulated within 3 categories.
- 1 – 2 Days leave
- 3 – 10 days leave
- Longer than 10 days
Below are the relevant laws pertaining to the student leave.
§2-11 of The Education Act (Opplæringsloven) states:
“Leave of absence from compulsory education”
When defensible, the municipality (the Principal) may upon receipt of an application grant individual pupils leave of absence for up to two weeks.
Pupils who belong to a religious community outside the Church of Norway have, upon application, the right to be absent from school on those days their religious community celebrates as holy. This right is conditional upon the parents ensuring necessary tuition (in other words education) during the period of leave, so that the pupil is able to keep pace with the ordinary teaching when the period of leave is at an end.
§ 3-13 of The Private School Act (Privatskoleloven) states:
“When appropriate, the school can grant the student a leave of absence for up to two weeks. Decisions are made based on “Forvaltningsloven” and are given as Single Rights Decisions (enkeltvedtak) according § 2. Complaints must be forwarded to the Department of Education.”
§ 2-1 of the Education Act: Rights and obligations for primary school education states in the fifth paragraphs:
“If a pupil is absent without permission from compulsory tuition, his or her parents or those who have the care responsibility for the child may be liable to fines if the absence is a result of deliberate or negligent actions by them. Public prosecution is not instituted unless so decided by the municipality.”
Decision making
The decision-making authority in cases concerning leave of absence is the Principal. The Education Act does not state any criteria for assessing applications for leave of absence. Nor does it govern a number of leaves a pupil may be granted during the school year. The condition laid down by the Education Act is that a leave of absence may be granted “when it is deemed appropriate”.
However, each application must be dealt with according to best judgement; the assessment should be based on educational considerations and to which degree the pupil has been granted leave previously, if any.
Neither the Principal, the Education Administration nor the County Governor may grant a pupil a leave of absence for more than two weeks (10 school days), as no exemptions from this rule have been authorized in the Education Act.
Duration of the leave
The Education Act § 2-11 states that a leave of absence can be granted for up to two weeks (ten school days.) The Principal must reject all applications for a leave of absence for more than two weeks. The Principal may grant a leave of absence for two weeks of the period of time applied for only. In such cases the parents/guardians must then confirm whether or not they want to sustain their application for leave and which two-week period of the time applied for they would prefer. The Principal may also grant leave in connection to a school holiday given that the student’s absence does not exceed ten school days.
If a family wants to take students out for a period longer than 2 weeks a letter is to be sent to the Principal informing that the parents are taking the student out of school. Trondheim International School will then have no responsibility for the student’s education.
In this case the student is no longer enrolled in the school and must, if wanting to return, reapply according the school’s admission policy. The student will be put on the waiting list and will be given the same rights as other applicants. The student may regain his/ her place in school if we have a vacancy in the class, but we cannot give any guarantees. Parents can choose to give their child (children) private/alternative tuition (Education Act/ Opplæringsloven §1-1, §1-3, §2-3 and §2-4). The Principal has the responsibility to inform the Municipality of Trondheim (Trondheim Kommune). The Municipality is then responsible for supervision of private tuition (Education act § 14-2).
Invalid absence
§ 2-1 of the Education Act: Rights and obligations for primary school education states in the fifth section:
“If a pupil is absent without permission from compulsory tuition, his or her parents or those who have the care responsibility for the child may be liable to fines if the absence is a result of deliberate or negligent actions by them. Public prosecution is not instituted unless so decided by the municipality.”
If the parents /guardians take a leave that has not been applied for or approved by the Principal, the student’s absence will be regarded as invalid. The same rules apply if the leave exceeds the period of leave granted by the Principal. In this case the student is no longer enrolled in the school and if wishing to return must reapply according the school’s admission policy.
In accordance with the intent of the legislation the school has adopted the criteria below when assessing applications for leave of absence.
Leave Assessment Criteria
Each application is to be assessed according to
- the school’s best judgement related to student needs e.g. continuity of learning both during leave and upon returning to Trondheim
- IB educational considerations in particular developing international mindedness
- which degree the pupil has been granted leave previously
- financial impact (must be cost neutral)
- class sizes
- operational convenience
Procedures
- 1 – 2 Days leave
In general a written request (email) should be sent to the class teacher, at least two weeks in advance. The Principal either approves or declines the request in consultation with the teacher. The class teacher decides on any school work that needs to be completed during the time of absence. It is up to the teacher and Principal to decide if a leave is appropriate for the student, based on e.g.:
- The amount of absence prior to the leave
- The student’s educational situation / achievements
- 3 – 10 days leave
In general, a written request (email) should be sent to the Principal, class teacher and the school office, at least two weeks in advance. The Principal and teacher assess the request for leave. The Principal approves or declines the request. The office is informed of the decision regarding the request (approval or declined).
Parents can appeal if they feel that the request is turned down without valid reason.
- Longer than 10 days
If a request for leave is longer than 2 weeks the following rules apply. A letter (email) is to be sent to the Principal informing that the parents/guardians are taking the student out of school for more than two weeks.
Parents have to be specific about the education the student will be receiving while absent. According to (opplæringslov / education act §1-1) parents/guardians can choose to give their child(ren) private tuition. This will then have no responsibility for the student’s education as the student is deemed not to be enrolled in the school after the first 10 days of abscence.
The Principal will inform the office. They also send a letter to the parents that This stating it no longer has responsibility for the student’s education. The office informs the municipality/kommune if a student is taken out of school for more than two weeks and that alternative tuition is provided for. The letter must contain dates, location, nature of tuition, acceptance note and address of tuition provider and signature of parents.
The municipality/kommune is responsible for supervision of private tuition (opplæringslov/education act § 14-2).
The Principal will report on extended leave taken by students to the board in the Principal management report. If the numbers exceed acceptable numbers corrective actions will be taken to reduce the amount of extra leave taken by students.
Procedures for long term absences in accordance with This and leave assessment criteria
- Longer than two weeks but no more 6 months.
The school will not replace any outgoing student in their respective class during the school year and will readmit the student according to the admission criteria and providing they:
- have been enrolled at the time of the student census date in October of the school calendar year.
- are returning within the school calendar year
Longer than 6 months and but more than 12 months
The school will not replace any outgoing student in their respective class during the school year and will readmit the student according to the admission criteria and providing they:
- have been enrolled at the time of the student census date in October of the school calendar year.
- are returning within the same school calendar year
- are from a class of 20 student or less (Note: No student will be automatically admitted in a class larger than 20 if they are absent for longer than 6 months)
12 months or more
A student absent for 12 months or more (from the first day of absence) will be readmitted according to the admission criteria and providing the school:
- has available places in the year level
- has received notification from the parents that the student will be present at the time of the student census date for the forthcoming school year
All students returning from on long term absence will be put on the waiting list and will be given the same rights as other applicants.
Trondheim International School is open to all applicants and admission gives preference to students according to the criteria set out below.
We prioritise the applications according to the set criteria in this strict order:
- students who have been previously enrolled in the school for 12 months or more
- students with English as a native, spoken language
- students moving up from THIS Barnehage to 1st grade who have been enrolled and attended for 12 months or more
- children of international families
- siblings of students at THIS or THIS Barnehage
- children of staff
- by date of receipt of application
