The government should trial two-week half terms to avoid a “piecemeal revolution” in the school calendar, an education academic has said.
Lee Elliot Major, professor of social mobility at the University of Exeter, has called on the government to launch a “nationally co-ordinated programme of trials” to evaluate the extended break.
State schools are increasingly switching to an extended autumn break to give teachers and pupils more time to “rest and reset” during a long and demanding term, leaders have said.
Some say they have seen reductions in pupil absence and staff illness since making the move.
In a recent survey by Teacher Tapp of 8,112 state school teachers in England, 15 per cent said their school had opted for a two-week October half term this year.
This is up from 12 per cent last year and 7 per cent in 2023, according to figures shared with the Press Association (PA).
Warnings of ‘postcode lottery’ for half term length
Professor Elliot Major told the PA: “My concern is that we’re seeing a piecemeal revolution in the school calendar, with individual schools and trusts making changes without a wider strategy.
“That risks creating a postcode lottery for families, particularly parents juggling childcare and work when neighbouring schools operate different holiday dates.”
Most councils in England still run a one-week half term in their schools, but the growth in academies, and state schools independent of councils that set their own term dates, has meant schools and trusts are increasingly exploring a two-week half term.
In England, council-run schools must open for at least 190 days during a year, and teachers may be required to work an additional five days for training, usually on Inset days.
Some local authorities, like Nottinghamshire and Bromley in London, have shorter summer holidays to accommodate the two-week school break.
But many academies have opted to keep the other school holidays the same - and instead they lengthen the school day slightly, or reallocate staff training into “twilight” sessions.
‘Logistic concerns’ for two-week term
Anthem Schools Trust, which runs 15 schools in the East Midlands, London and the Thames Valley, has introduced a two-week October half term across all of its schools for the first time this year.
CEO David Hatchett said some “logistical concerns” were raised by parents who had other children in nearby schools with different holidays.
But he said about 60 per cent of families were in favour of the extended half term, with some saying they were happy about the prospect of booking more affordable holidays earlier in the month.
The initiative is being rolled out across the trust as leaders believe the extended break has boosted pupil attainment and staff wellbeing in one of its schools in south London.
Mr Hatchett said feedback and analysis of absence data from St Mark’s Academy found that staff attendance was better after introducing the two-week break, and the extended holiday was “critical to keeping concentration and energy levels up” among staff and pupils.
He told PA: “When you have had such a long holiday over the summer, and then you return to a long and intensive first half term, it is quite a big adjustment for a teacher and school leader; a one-week break at the end of October is arguably too late and short for a proper rest and reset.”
Longer break ‘not universally popular’
The NAHT school leaders’ union is hearing of more state schools that have recently adopted a two-week October half term, or are considering it.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT, said: “The autumn term can be particularly demanding for both pupils and staff, and an extended break may help support wellbeing, motivation and readiness for the remainder of the term.”
Unity Schools Partnership, which runs 40 schools in the east of England, has seen a fall in the number of days lost to sickness absence for staff since introducing a two-week break in 2023.
Chief executive Dominic Norrish said the move to a longer half term appears to be “increasingly popular” and he has heard of more trusts introducing it in Norfolk and Suffolk.
He told PA: “I think as soon as one trust locally moves, it seems to be that other trusts follow because it does make sense for lots of reasons if you can prove the impact.”
But Mr Norrish acknowledged that the change is “not universally popular” with families.
“It creates a longer time when children are not in school, which is particularly challenging for working parents, and we have received that feedback as well,” he added.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Every child deserves a high-quality education, and that begins with being in school.
“While we stipulate the minimum number of days a school must be open for per year, local leaders and schools themselves are given the flexibility to set school term and holiday dates in the interests of pupils and their parents.”
