County's traditional 'July Fortnight' set to be retained after pushback from parents and councillors

The county council is ready to launch a new consultation on school summer holidays, but these will see the early summer break – also known as the Leicestershire or July Fortnight – remain unchanged after officials ‘looked again’ at the plans.

Last month, council bosses decided to pull the original consultation, which would have included three proposals, with the council’s preferred model meaning parents and children would lose a week from the Leicestershire Fortnight and have a two-week autumn break instead of the existing one-week off.

New proposals, reduced to two, will see the first option retain the current status quo for term holidays, while the second will see an earlier return to school in August and a two-week autumn half-term in October.

Leicestershire schools usually break up for the summer earlier than the rest of the country to align with the traditional 1960s ‘July Fortnight’, when local factories would shut down.

Councillor Charles Pugsley, cabinet member for children and young people, said: “We recognise that the traditional early start to the summer break is valued by many people here in Leicestershire which is why we have looked again at the proposals before launching our formal consultation.

“It’s important that we respect the county’s traditional term-time patterns while ensuring the best educational outcomes for our children.

“We really want to know what residents, schools, staff, parents and carers think and understand what works best for them before our proposed dates are finalised.”

Labour councillor Jewel Miah told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that he welcomed the ‘change of heart’ by council bosses over the July Fortnight.

It comes after Labour councillors claimed that local parents and teachers ‘overwhelmingly’ wanted to keep the Leicestershire Fortnight and issued a letter to Reform chiefs, urging them to rethink the proposals.

Cllr Miah added: “It was a sensible thing to do. The weight of feeling toward any changes to the July fortnight was evident.”

Reform UK cabinet members at Leicestershire County Council are set to discuss plans to launch the consultation on April 28, with the consultation to launch in May and bosses to consider the feedback in September.