2-week half-term

[IsThePopeCatholic]

My DD’s primary school have introduced a 2-week autumn half term holiday. The justification is that the autumn term is long and also this will allow families to benefit from cheaper holiday prices. This lost week has not been added to any other term.

I feel that my DD has only just got back into the swing of things at school. AIBU that this extra week is unnecessary?

None of the schools local to us are having 5 days of INSETs - that would be a crap use of time. They’ve all made their INSETs into twilight sessions so the teachers get 2 weeks break too.

I thought they weren’t

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2024-12-17/HL3569/

LA schools can do it. In fact some LAs have adopted it across their boroughs.

Well if that's true, my school is breaking the law - we have 185! Since teachers directed time (the time they must be in school doing things such as teaching, parents evenings and meetings) is measured in hours, not days, we work extra in every day (30 minutes extra per day) to "pay" for the extra week. It's much nicer having 2 weeks, it's a hard slog this term!

I couldnt be happier! Currently sitting in Gatwick Airport with a cocktail taking the children on a holiday there is no way we could have afforded otherwise.
6 weeks is way too long for a summer holiday for us personally. By that final week everyone is desperate to get back to routine/normality (especially me!)

Are they extending the other days? A lot of schools have been doing this and then extending the regular days. I think the whole thing about cheaper holidays is nonsense.

The problem is that an extra week in October is very rarely worthwhile for a holiday, unless you go abroad. And here I speak as someone who went away in October half term with family including DGC and we spent it in the UK.
Technically the weather was fine and sunny, but cold and of course, dark in the evening. The DGC could only play on the beach on one day, and then wore wetsuits!!
In my local education authority, they always gave an extra week at Easter, (and one less week in the summer). This also did not really work, though Easter weather was better (though in the UK, many rainy showers), and the day I took them to a local visitor atrraction, thinking the place would be relatively empty, it was, instead, full of actual school parties!!!

I’d love this.

This has been the norm in our area for all of the 12 years my kids have been at school. The summer term is slightly longer to make up for it. It used to annoy me, but now I think it’s great. This term is so hard

I’m quite glad my DS has a two week half week half term - I’ve take the time off too and happy to have the break.

So many schools are doing it now, though, and have been for a few years, that holiday companies have got completely wise to it, so cheap holidays are unlikely to pan out.

I thought it was partly as a “fire breaks” for colds and flu and the like.

The teachers have got the 2 weeks off too. I’m going to look into this.

Presumably holidays are not going to much cheaper that week if so many schools are having it off anyway

Our school does this - compressing the years' INSET days into one week, before the 'normal'half term. Same teaching time.

Holiday companies have caught on and prices are higher than the previous week (although maybe not quite as much as normal half term(.

I love this. Just finishing up packing before we head to the airport tomorrow morning.
As it's two weeks it's perfect for a 12 night long haul break and getting some sun (hopefully) before the cold and dark of winter months.

I appreciate though, I have a teen who can manage and doesn't need childcare. I'm fortunate that we can afford a nice long haul break every year in October.

I love it, we get a much cheaper holiday - 50% cheaper than the week before.

The kids love it too (see holiday)

My only issue is the more schools that do it, the cheaper prices won’t last much longer 🤣

This!

Then almost certainly the insets will be twilights as PP has said so the teachers give up (even more of) their evenings. As many PPs have suggested have you added up the term days (or is that what you mean by look into?)

It’s not some big conspiracy by those evil teachers as some people seem to think! There will always be someone whinging. I agree it makes sense given it’s the longest term, everyone’s exhausted by Christmas and illness is rife. Nationally attendance figures dip loads from October ish.

It’s the first year for us with a 2 week October half term and we’re so pleased, everyone’s shattered and the 2 weeks will be really restorative

We have this, though lost a week in summer. Its so much better for long haul holidays, if you can afford them.

Schools don’t just get to decide how many days teaching they will have! They are however allowed to reorganise those days.

For many (lower income families) it’s not so amazing.

If they are tied in with the secondary school, May half term has to stay as a week because of GCSE exams.

I agree that weather wise it makes more sense. October can be tricky trying to entertain children on a budget.

Why? If you're referring to the cost of childcare then isn't that offset by the shorter holidays at some other point in the year? The total number of school days stays the same.

The teachers will have done the INSET days as hours in twilight.

The kids will be getting the same amount of time in school.

Can I ask how it affects people differently financially by doing it like this? Does the fact that it’s a whole week in one go make a difference? Or is it the time of year? The children are not off school for more days than they were before over the year, it’s just been distributed differently.
I promise I’m not trying to be arsey or offensive. I am curious as to how it changes the financial aspects. I have been lucky that we’ve never had to pay for holiday childcare so It’s not something I know a lot about.