Why do school s insist on having the 6 week break in August...

[EezerGoode]

Why not have a week of every month? Or just allow each area to set its own holidays..we could all then go on holiday in June or may ,when there actually was nice weather..and it would be cheaper..we all seem to accept it often rains in August..meaning we pay top whack for holidays when it pisses down....so what is stopping headteachers spreading the holidays throughout the year so we can take advantage of decent weather and cheaper prices??!!

nina true, but i was talking about what my area do and said that other areas do it differently but broadly similar in tems of the main holidays. I think Perth northwards mostly do 6 weeks -ish in the summer and 2 weeks in October as a standard.

Ours is mostly 7 and occasionally 8.

Ooh does this mean holidaying in Scotland is cheaper in May????

It's the Easter holidays that annoy me more. Just even out the terms and put the spring holidays in the middle. Attaching this holiday to Easter is just daft when it's such a moveable feast and you end up with a really long term.

I was at private school and we didn't have the spring holidays at Easter automatically. It was a part boarding school and you didn't get bank holidays off, and it was a church school, I distinctly remember going to church with school on Good Friday more than once.

It's not cheaper unless you fancy driving down south for a flight. The same way as people drive up here at the end of August for cheaper flights.

We've never had as much as 9 weeks - 8 was the nmaximum and we've had that about 3 times since DC started school, think it applies every 4 or 5 years? Something to do with rounding or something I think.

I am glad I'm not in Scotland then. 8/9 weeks off would be a drag but I guess you can take advantage of cheaper weeks aboard at the start of the summer.

Does the price not go up in Scotland as soon as the schools break up though? I'm in N Ireland and it definitely does here. We don't really get to take advantage of lower prices because the majority of cost for us comes from getting off the island of Ireland in the first place, so flights and ferries rocket at the start of July. I can see if you're in a border area of Scotland you might drive to an airport in the north of England but presumably if you're further north that wouldn't be practical?

Sadly not, just did a quick search and a holiday cottage in Sky goes up £300 during England's May holiday!

Skye!!

Due to the cuts, my local Infant School is having its budget cut by £100,000 next year and the junior school by more. If teachers are able to take annual leave during term time who/how will we pay for the cover.

Yes treacle and obviously the airlines aren't stupid so it may be a few pound cheaper from Newcastle, which is mostly wiped out by petrol and possible overnight stay for an early flight. Then a bit cheaper for Manchester but longer drive, more petrol, more likely to need a hotel at either end.

I think you really only get bargains if you are willing to go further south. But then holidays from the South are generally cheaper anyway as there is more choice, more flights, shorter flights etc.

Surely the prices abroad must be cheaper though, say if you booked with a hotel or villa direct.

Of course, every avenue has already been covered by these companies. It won't change unless the holidays are staggered which, as pp have pointed out, is very tricky indeed.

Agree Draylon My eldest DD broke up after GCSEs on 23rd June but as we have a 13 yd old and I'm a TA we are still tied to the extortionate school holiday prices! The weather is awful now, I've just had to tether my clothes horse as it keeps being blown over. It's July apparently!

I thought it was August!

I see you've got your answer re may. We found that out becasue this year both DC had finished exams a week before they were due back at school and we thought about going away only to realise that it was England half term.

You may be able to get a cheap flight from Scotland then though?

Oh haha hahhahahhaha! It is indeed!

Oops, wrong thread, sorry!

Yes I probably would Wax but as you said, the cost of travel from central England to Scotland would be rule that out.

I agree - 4 weeks in the summer must be enough

Surely the prices abroad must be cheaper though, say if you booked with a hotel or villa direct.

Not really becasue the price of the flight cancels out the gain and the whole of Scotland and Ireland are on holiday too.

My collegue always goes in August from Scotland and I generally go at the beginning of July, her view was that my holiday would be cheaper. For various reasons we had to swap our usual holiday times a couple of years ago and she found that she was effectively paying the same.

Basically, we are all being fleeced no matter what we do. If we take DC out of school early, we get fined in England. Is that the same in Scotland?

Perhaps the government should relax the rule about taking dc out of school, 10 days as it used to be.

I never took mine out btw

MsHarry traditionally most mothers didn't work on Wednesday's through primary. Now most public schools currently have school on Wednesday mornings. This was brought in 3 years ago. Although the current government have plans to go back to the old system of no primary school on Wednesday's.

WEally, I can understand how that works if it has always been the case, but i really can't imagine every mother in the English workforce suddenly going down to a 4 day week, saying 'I don't work on Wednesdays'!!

How do employers - offices, doctors' surgeries, hospitals, universities, shops, councils, factories etc etc etc - balance their workloads so that all mothers get the same 1 day off each week?

MsHarry, no, I've never heard of anyone being fined. A colleague of mine does it every year, effectively though you just leave yourself extra childcare to find and pay for since you've used your annual leave outside the holiday period. It used to cost me a small fortune in child care anyway so any savings in the holiday price would be wiped out.

Plus I am a compliant citizen so I've never taken mine out. If I had my time again I might do though as I think there isn't an awful lot achieved in the last week and I don't think it's my children that would suffer from a weeks less of school.

So, if you had good access to free childcare it would be worth it, if it costs you £300 a week for childcare then probably not.