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?

They altered the school day to squash extra time in here. It is a week extra holiday.

They will be if theyve lumped the inset days together.

The OP also said that no inset days were marked on the school calendar, which would explain that.

I cant believe that some schools are adding 10 mins to the day (not that I disbelieve it). What an absolutely pointless exercise. Those 10 mins won't equate to meaningful extra learning time.

I imagine it's this!

Tbh, I would take a two-week half-term over what our school currently do with the inset days, which is two at the start of the summer holidays and two at the end! So we end up with nearly seven weeks' holiday in the summer. (Plus another random Friday in June)

In Ireland a load of schools threw in an extra week in may/ June. Next year all of the parents have said that’ll be their going on holiday week. I think it’s a great idea!!

We've had this in Nottinghamshire for quite a few years now. The summer holiday was shortened by a week. I was a bit dubious at first but we love it now. Real break for the kids, opportunity to go away cheaply, and not such a slog in the run up to Xmas. It's really not a big deal.

You are simply not understanding what people are trying to tell you OP. Schools can’t just sneakily take an extra week of holiday for lolz. It’s a legal requirement that a school (bar an emergency like extreme weather, building collapse or a crime) is providing 190 days of schooling and 5 days on top of that for Inset Days. Schools are barely ethically even allowed to fund as much as teabags in the staff room for teachers as it’s tax money. Do you think they are giving all teachers one week extra paid holiday for free courtesy of the taxpayer?! It’s against the law.

Firstly, lots of schools do a two week October half-term now. Weather is much milder in Oct now, those first two terms are the longest and toughest for everyone and it also acts as a firebreak for viruses spreading.

To make up for this extra week, schools either take a week off summer, have a slightly longer school day throughout the year or roll all the Inset Days together and block it out for the last week of the summer term. The staff don’t have to “physically take” the Inset Days on those calendar days in summer which I think is where the confusion is coming from for you.

Teachers will normally take those Inset Day hours as something called twilight which is working late evenings throughout the year until these evening hours are the equivalent of those 5 full working Inset days. It’s the same concept as working through your lunch break so you can leave your office job an hour early. This is usually the preferred option for schools as of course everyone would rather stay a bit later on some days throughout the year in order to have five days off in a row. In your particular example, the teachers have a two week holiday because they are making up those five extra days as extra evening working hours throughout the year.

I'm amazed by the number of people saying you can't have a good holiday in the UK in October - we've always gone away in the October half term somewhere lovely like the Yorkshire Dales. It's the most beautiful time of year when the leaves are turning and the light is gorgeous and mellow. There are always Halloween trails and pumpkin patches to visit. Autumn in the UK is absolutely glorious, better than the summer which this year seemed like heatwave after heatwave which is much more challenging with kids in this country that isn't built for 35+ temps. I'd always go abroad for a pool and aircon in the summer somewhere hot weather is actually enjoyable and do a UK break in October.

Mine have two weeks now and I'm praying it helps their attendance - they always succumb to germs in the autumn term and I'm hoping this one will give them a break so they go back rested and restored.

We have a 2 week October half term but summer holidays are shorter at 5 weeks. Really love it this way as we both work full time, we tend to go away to a hot country in October.

I also agree with this. The October weather is gorgeous for cheap European breaks and there’s so many interesting and cheap Autumn things to do in the UK if you stay. The half-term break is my favourite time of year weather-wise and aesthetic-wise! And people need to understand that not every holiday has to involve a literal “going away holiday”. I expect for most people they don’t do this. It’s just a break for the sake of a break. I’m starting to think that everyone will just moan at everything in this country.

Chances are the summer break is a week shorter or there’ll be twilight insets. You won’t be receiving a week’s less education, it won’t take much ‘looking into’.

A fair few of the schools in our area have moved to 2 weeks for this half term. Our primary school voted not to (academy), so my two older kids are off next week but the youngest isn’t . He finishes a week earlier in the summer though.

It isn't less schooling it's just a different time.

We have it in Surrey. I'm taking the opportunity to take us away for a couple of weeks in the sun.

Every secondary school in the country has to have the exact same five days for May half-term because of the GCSE timetable. It’s the only half-term that schools are not allowed to fiddle with so you cannot extend it, compress it or change it. The dates have to be set in stone and are the same for every single school because of the dates of the GCSE exams either side of that break.

It’s 10 mins extra on the day in addition to shortening lunch or a break in our school.

Secondary schools are constrained by public exam dates, so there is no choice on May half-term. Where I grew up, I seem to remember the primaries did get an extra week in May, but the secondaries didn't - which of course complicates things for some families.

Our school does this (Scotland - go back mid august). Currently half way through a canaries holiday and I like the 2 weeks as we can go midweek and not miss any school. so much cheaper!

We’ve done the same the past few years. We can’t really go away in the summer as we work in seasonal jobs.

I hope the holiday companies don’t start putting the prices up. Although hopefully we are still earlier than England.

My local area started that last year. They take the week from the summer holiday.

Anyway they found it didn't work for lots of reasons and they're not doing it next year.

Personally I don't think 2 weeks is a silly idea in this very long term- but it should be an extra week. They need that long summer break.

As a teacher, this weekend is the start of two weeks. Hopefully when we return, the flu bug that is currently wiping staff and students out, missing from work or school for a week, will have stopped spreading. So no one will miss a day of education.
Staff are ot actually off work one week where I am, we can choose which week, but it's not two weeks off.
The behaviour of the young people is rapidly declining, this next week would have been hellish for behaviour problems, with a one week half term, this week always has been madness.
Out students have been flat out since 1st September (that's when teaching started this term)

If child care is a problem, you should plan for this. school is not child care.

I’m not sure how we’d manage childcare in our house with two weeks half term when they were primary school age.

although the closest secondary to us has 8 weeks holiday in summer, 2 weeks at October half term. Actually our first choice of secondary next year and has its pros

I wish my kids secondary school did this, but still one week here - this article from a couple of years ago shows the significant impact that 2 weeks off had on illness rates in a large trial group of schools

www.theguardian.com/education/2024/feb/26/staff-absences-fell-50-after-schools-introduced-longer-half-term-break#img-1

Where I am (Scotland) we have always had 2 weeks in October, as far back as when my parents were young (in the 60s) and most likely before that. It’s just the norm here, so nice to break up the first term, I couldn’t imagine getting to Christmas with only having had a half term break (is it a week or just a long weekend?). In my local authority we have 6 weeks in summer (or 7 weeks every fourth year), 2 weeks in October, 2 weeks at Christmas, a long weekend in February, 2 weeks in April, 2 May bank holidays and a handful of inservice days. I think it amounts to 195 days of school.

I’d love two weeks in October. It’s a dreary horrible term. A uk break can be marvellous at this time of year. Just get the right clothing and you can do loads.

My children’s primary school have done two week October half term since 2021. They’re usually one of the very last schools to go on summer break - 5 weeks only. We have managed to book cheaper holidays both short and long haul each year in October because of this.

We have 1 weeks and an inset day but I know a lot have started taking 2 weeks. Ours had a lot of inset days at the start of autumn term so yours might just be using these now.

my daughters secondary has this and I like it. I hate hot weather so it opens up holidays and they are also a bit cheaper then - we did Euro Disney a couple of years ago for a night - way cheaper than the week before.

My son's secondary has a 2 week October break and an 8 week summer holiday. It's worked great and we've taken advantage every year for a family holiday. The school benefits from less children being taken out in term time. Ours comes from grouping the inset days and a longer school day.

I get that it would be more tricky for primary age where childcare is a factor though