Consultation results announced on changes to Melton school holiday dates

County Hall consulted residents on whether they wanted to change when terms ended because of disparities between those favoured by academies and traditional state-run schools.

But nearly three-quarters of respondents voted for no change to existing dates for county council-run schools and the findings will help councillors decide on whether to make any change to school holiday dates at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday June 12.

We reported in December that Schools in the Mowbray Academy Trust, which includes Melton’s John Ferneley College and Brownlow Primary School, will switch next year to the week after the traditional October break.

Pupils at other schools funded entirely by Leicestershire County Council, such as Long Field Academy and Swallowdale Primary School, will continue to take their half-term the week before, if county councillors decide now to keep term dates as they.

As a result, some families will have children taking their half-term breaks on different weeks, which parents say will ruin their holiday plans and affect arrangements for childcare.

The results of the consultation, which saw only six per per cent of respondents support a change to term dates more in line with those operated by academy schools compared to 71 per cent preferring no change, are likely to have a big influence on any decision taken by the council’s cabinet.

Ivan Ould, county council cabinet member for children and families, said: “We acknowledge the significant feedback in favour of remaining with the traditional patterns, but it was important to gauge the views and we had more than 6,000 responses.”

The term dates agreed by the cabinet next week will begin from autumn 2019 and run through to the 2021-2022 academic year.

What do you think? How will this affect your family if you have children at different schools with different term dates?