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?

Great idea if then the summer is made 5 weeks. Otherwise I’m surprised they can unless they are lengthening days to make up the time or calling them all inset days

I assume you are in England as in Scotland there is always a 2 week school holiday in October, we call it the Tattie holidays.

Our school have done this for the first time this year and I’m pretty salty about it. Mostly because it was only announced in Feb/March and that’s not enough time to manage the additional leave. We live close to a university and teaching hospital, so plenty of parents couldn’t make it work at 6 months’ notice, including us.

it was also sort of missold as being all of the inset days, but in reality it’s three of them, meaning there are still two inset days left. School aged kids is so tough in families where both parents work FT.

One of our local schools does this by having a slightly longer school day. Schools have to provide a certain about of hours for students, but have some flexibility in how they do this.

I've worked in both one- and two- week October half term schools and am in a two weeker area now. I would hate to go back to a one week October half term. I imagine after a couple of years of trying it most staff and families would agree. We have a five week summer instead of six, but I don't miss that sixth week at all!

You will still have to find holiday childcare for the same amount of days, as a great many posters have already said.

My DD has always had two weeks half term and it’s meant cheaper holidays every year to the canaries.

Unless they’re a private school they have to offer 190 school days a year. 5 days are for staff inset and can be disaggregated into after school training/meetings. Your daughter will still have the same number of days over the year it’s just differently distributed.

As a PP has stated schools have to do 190 days (or equivalent time). So they can swap dates, add the inset days together, add extra time to the children's day ie by cutting lunch times etc.

Teachers can be off but they MUST do so many INSET days or, again, time equivalent.
So occasionally we would do 3 lots of twilight training 3.30pm-6pm and 3 of those equalled 1 INSET day so we could have that time off (not sure on exact timings, or if its still the same).

Ask the school for their workings, they cannot 'just add a week's holiday', its against mandated timings for children and staff and as a state school would NOT be passed by the local authority.

We have this in my DD’s school in France they make up for it by only having 5 days break in May, plus the zillion bank holidays of course we also get two weeks in February and 8 weeks in summer!!!
My children are glad for the break though the last week of this past half term was a drag.

My older DC’s primary school did this but they removed one week from the summer holidays as a result and I thought it was brilliant. They did it so parents could get cheaper holidays during May half term.

They might sell it to you that way, but I'm pretty sure no education policy states that schools should consider the cost of holidays when planning the academic year, it's entirely irrelevant to your child's education.

By the way if you are in England, specifically in London/SE, and you have 2 weeks - are you having this week and next, or next week and the 1st week in Nov?
DH is as I mentioned taking DS to London for a few days, his is the only school we know of that has a 2 week half term but most families on here seem to have mentioned having this week and next, rather than the following two weeks.

In my school, autumn 1 is definitely the half term we notice the most absence due to families waiting to take cheaper term time holidays. Mostly because they consider that the year hasn't really started by then and the work will be easier so it doesn't matter.

If this is a big issue for a particular school, it could be one of the measures introduced to try and tackle this.

Schools generally understand why term time holidays happen (cost) and so would hope to reduce the need for this by rearranging the school year in this way.

High levels of term time absence are absolutely relevant to a child's education so schools will try a number of strategies to reduce it.

If they let you know in advance, no problem.

I like the idea actually. We're going away next week for half term, rather than in the summer, and it'd be good to get off-peak discounts.

Is it an LA maintained school or academy, primary or secondary?

If you link the school, or trust or LA website, I will check it confirms to DfE requirements @IsThePopeCatholic.

The amount of school days is set by county, not by the school.