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?

In my son's school they got the hours back by slightly longer days and shorter lunch and break rather than aggregating the Inset days.

Often there's no child care clubs available for the extra week so one parent might have to take unpaid leave from work.

As I've just said to another poster: In my son's school they got the hours back by slightly longer days and shorter lunch and break rather than aggregating the Inset days.

They had 13 weeks holiday not 12.

I’ve taught at 2 schools that have done this in different ways:

1. cut inset days completely and added them all to directed time after school one day each week. (Actually hated this model! But it did support attendance by only ever having full weeks.)
2. Stopped all the end of term half days (of which there were 6!) and removed two days from the summer holiday. I miss the half day finish at Christmas, but otherwise it’s an improvement as staff used to return after summer on a Thursday and this change has made it a Monday which feel easier (even if it’s earlier!)

They won't have taken any school days away, just redistributed them. If they're using inset days it might be that the training is happening as twilight sessions to allow the staff the time off too. Wellbeing initiative perhaps. Makes sense to me.

They could easily have 5 more separate days with one in Sept, one in Dec then Jan/March and July

Lots are doing 2 week half terms. Time needs to be made up. The more schools do it , holiday companies will twig and prices will go up. 1 week is enough.

My children's schools have this two. One primary one secondary. I don't mind having the two weeks as school normally srts a project so there is at something for the younger one to do and the older one is preparing for a national maths test.

If the school is giving them "something to do" why not just have them at school?
Either it's a break from school or it's not.

We’ve always had 2 weeks October holidays but then our kids go back to school mid August. (Scotland)

This is the first year since pandemic we’ve haven’t gone abroad. Which I now regret watching everyone I know posting their lovely sunny pool and beach pics
on Facebook.

I used to live in an LEA that had a two week autumn half term and then a slightly shorter summer holiday. We're now in a longer summer/1 week autumn half term and I hate it 😑 we used to have a week away in October but it's so rushed with just a week so we don't do it anymore. And longer summer holidays are painful.

Our local school does this. They find it improves attendance as there is a chance for children to properly rest after a long first term with lots of illness and tiredness.
It also allows teachers who generally work a lot of unpaid overtime or do residentials to have time off in lieu of

My children’s school have also done this. An extra weeks holiday. I really struggle with only getting 5 weeks annual leave to take from work and having all these school holidays to manage

My view is that if autumn term is too long the answer is to have a longer summer holiday.
it is so much harder to entertain small children when it is cold and wet with short days. The cheaper holiday argument doesn’t really work after the first year or so when holiday companies catch on. And again - cold wet short days so only benefits families who can afford foreign holidays.

My school does this but we have less in summer.

Have you counted how many days they’re in for? Doesn’t sound right

They're still going to have 190 days teaching though.

Either they'll have taken a week from thebhlsummer holidaus or arranged fro all the inset days to be in one week.

They haven't just given them an extra week of holiday. They've just organised the year differently.

How do you know?

I hope you come back to clarify once you've checked.

I wish we had 2 weeks half term.

Our children are dead on their feet after such a long stint since September.

If you’re interested in an other perspective: in the country we live in, my DC have a total of three days off between the first week of September and the middle of December. There are also a few bank holidays in that time but sometimes they fall on the weekend so it could be as few as 2 more days off or as many as 5. Then, they only get 2 weeks off for Christmas, and two weeks off in the spring. Then they get a whacking great 13 weeks off over the summer.

It helps a lot in families with two working parents but I can confirm it’s beyond shit for children at all stages. They need rest and sleep.

They won't. Most schools doing this have added 10 mins to the school day (often by shortening breaks) and then take that back as a week's holiday.

The few that use inset days, will have accounted for the time in twilight training sessions. No teachers are going in for a full week of training while he DC are on holiday.

Lots of schools near me to it including high schools.

It's great for a cheap week away.

Some have two weeks at Whit instead.

You'll have a shorter holiday at another time

No secondary will have 2 weeks at whit week due to exams.

2 weeks off in October is normal in Scotland but they do go back to school in mid August.

check the school calendar and add up the inset days through the year to compare? There will be a balancing point somewhere

Our schools do this and it is an extra week off. The academy said they altered the length of the school day to account for it.

I like it, but I wish schools would make other ones longer as soo everywhere will catch on and start putting their prices up making it pointless.