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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

This isn't Aibu. This is just crackers!

23 replies

Dowser · 28/03/2015 22:14

Three kids. Three schools. Same family. Same Lea. Same town.

Two different end of term dates by a week!!

I just don't get it.

The one who is back to school on Monday goes to a catholic primary which is a feeder school for the catholic secondary school that finished yesterday.

So not only do parents have to find child care for three weeks instead of two, if you wanted to take your children abroad for a two week Easter break without keeping anyone off school it wold be impossible.

Schools and lea's want parents to abide by the rules and yet they do this to them.

Very unfair.

OP posts:

larkspurr · 28/03/2015 22:17

Are they local authority run schools, or academies?

Original poster

Dowser · 28/03/2015 22:22

Just common or garden lea schools and the schools that differ by one week are both catholic.

OP posts:

larkspurr · 28/03/2015 22:24

Crazy! I was curious as this has been a problem for a relative where the local schools are academies and have set their own different term dates. I thought schools run by the same local authority usually stuck to the same timetable.

Original poster

Dowser · 28/03/2015 22:49

I don't know, but if this was affecting me I would be hopping mad and wouldn't half let them know about it.

OP posts:

CalleighDoodle · 28/03/2015 22:59

Yes it is ridiculous. Im a teacher and my holiday started last thursday. I work in a different lea to my children. One started his holiday last week too, one starts NEXT thurs!

CalleighDoodle · 28/03/2015 23:00

To add, my children's schools are a two minute walk apart.

Original poster

Dowser · 28/03/2015 23:43

Time something was done about it then.

Actually it does affect us in a roundabout sort of way.

11 of us are setting off on a 6 hour trek, involving an overnight stay to a family funeral in the morning.

There should have been 12 of us but that one has to go to school.

He' ll be fine home alone ( he can mind the dogs). He's almost five and very sensible for his age!

OP posts:

BlinkAndMiss · 29/03/2015 03:21

I agree it's ridiculous but this 'change' was welcomed by most parents before it happened, everyone was complaining about being unable to afford holidays abroad. When schools are allowed their own term dates then they can miss the peak times of the holiday seasons when the prices are expensive.

I'm not saying it's right, it's not, but school holidays have always been an issue and I don't think any authority or school can win in whatever they try to do really.

Szeli · 29/03/2015 06:41

Catholic schools have always done this. Doesn't make it right but it's not new. Leeds have stopped it now and standardised holidays which is great but sucks for me cos they're different to most of the country

Iwantacampervan · 29/03/2015 08:36

We are on the border of two counties and many families have children in both. The Easter holidays are different by a week this year. However, all 3 in the same LEA should not be that different especially if they are not academies (allowing for the INSET days).

Hassled · 29/03/2015 08:46

I agree that it is crackers. And it's something that's certainly worth feeding back on - write to the headteachers and the chair of governors for the schools, giving your views that it is inconvenient and makes family life difficult. Term dates are regularly reviewed, and if they have feedback they will/should consider it.

AuntieStella · 29/03/2015 08:55

VA schools have always been able to set their own term dates, so it does sometimes happen if you choose or end up with one. It's usually only an issue around the moveable feast of Easter, and not every year. Thiught if there's a knock on to the spring half term it all gets dire (I remember that once in about 2008. Yuk)

Labour gave academies the same rights as VA schools to set own holidays. Again, variations are small and usually around Easter.

Variant dates don't generally happen, because it's inconvenient for everyone. But it does crop up as a 'gosh wouldn't it be good?' idea when people are looking at how to reduce the cost of holidays.

seriouslypeedoff · 29/03/2015 09:00

Its because next week is Holy week, one of the most important weeks in the catholic calendar. However, secondary schools changed this, I assume to fall in around exams etc. Its annoying.

flora717 · 29/03/2015 09:08

dowser you are joking? 5, overnight.

PatrickStarxx · 29/03/2015 09:17

I'm hoping you mean 15

GasLIghtShining · 29/03/2015 22:17

My DC went to a catholic primary and on to the secondary school. Don't know about the other catholic schools that fed into the secondary one but our primary was always very mindful of this problem and waited for the secondary school term dates to be decided and went with those (sometimes one day had to be different)

sosix · 29/03/2015 22:19

5? Hoping you meant 15?

Flissypix · 29/03/2015 23:01

This drives me mad as well, my dd are in a catholic primary who fix their dates to the catholic high school in the the next LEA (feeder) who apparently pluck the dates out of the sky. All other catholic schools in both LEA are in this week and off next except ours who are off for 2 weeks now. My Dh is a teacher and thankfully this year his dates are the same, otherwise it would be a nightmare for us childcare wise.

crazykat · 30/03/2015 10:56

It's a complete pita, especially when you have two children in different schools with different holidays.

Last year was bad enough for us as for some reason our primary school had may half term and week before every other school in the county which meant that attractions were quieter but all the half term activities weren't on till the weekend after. It would have been great if we could have afforded a holiday as it would have been cheaper but as it was in was stuck with three bored kids.

askyfullofstars · 30/03/2015 11:27

It is a pain, but please tell me you are not leaving your five year old alone overnight?

Hoppinggreen · 30/03/2015 11:30

Of course she isn't, it's either a typo or a joke!!!

Songofsixpence · 30/03/2015 12:01

It's crazy.

My DD2's primary (newly converted academy) is holding a consultation at the moment regarding changing the holidays.

Next year they want to take a week of the summer holiday and add it to the Feb half term. Utterly pointless (why take a week from the summer, when the weather is usually OK and loads of stuff to do and add it to half term when the weather is grotty and nothing is open?) and it will be a right PITA with an older DD in a different school, and another young person who lives with us in college, with the 4 term year coming the year after.

Ultimately they want to change to a 4 term year, but are the only school in the area who will be changing.

We're quite restricted with holiday dates as it is, but this will just make it a nightmare - looking at their proposals for the year after next, I think there'll be 1 week in the summer and 1 week at Easter where the holiday match up with the other schools. It'll be a total nightmare

lbnblbnb · 30/03/2015 12:26

There was a proposal a few years ago to standardise holidays across the country, go nowhere as the local authorities couldn't agree. It will be even worse now because of Academy chains/Free schools/Local authorities. The whole issue is a nightmare - there is a good argument that we should have shorter Summer holidays and have longer half term breaks - students get ill and lose concentration during the long terms (attendance drops), let alone the teachers, and the long Summer holidays cause a dip in learning. I wouldn't like to be the (national) politician proposing that though - most parents would just see it as taking away their Summer holidays.

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