More consultation should be held with parents on school term dates for the 2022/23 school year, according to the Isle of Wight Council’s scrutiny body.
The plan is to scrap the two-week October half term and instead use the spare time at Christmas, giving staff and pupils time to recharge their batteries.
Scrutiny: Further consultation with parents and carers needed
The decision to approve the 2022/23 school term dates will be made at the Isle of Wight Council’s cabinet on Thursday (15th July), after two rounds of consultation with headteachers and school executives, but the corporate scrutiny committee voted five to two to recommend further consultation – this time with parents and carers.
Speaking at the meeting yesterday, Cllr Matthew Price said previous consultations with parents had shown interest in an alternative week at some point in the school calendar when mainland schools are not on holiday.
Price: Only week some parents can have off in the whole year
Cllr Price said some parents were unable to take time off in the school holidays or could not afford to do activities, so a week out of kilter would benefit many people.
He said,
“I do respect the view of the leadership of the school, but some parents rely on that week as the only week they can have off in the whole year to spend time with their children and I think it would be totally unfair not to go out and consult on it.”
“Headteachers know their parents best”
Cllrs Geoff Brodie and Michael Lilley voted against the proposal, saying headteachers know their parents best.
Cllr Lilley said even though he has empathy for what Cllr Price was suggesting he could not vote for it and they have to respect the decision headteachers have asked for, especially after they have led schools through Covid.
Andre: Decision based on the majority from the responses
Cllr Debbie Andre, cabinet member for children’s education, said the strong message coming through to her from speaking with headteachers was the length of the Christmas holiday.
She said,
“I have made my decision on what was the majority from the responses, but let’s not forget our Island children are the priority so I also made my decision on what I would thought would be best for educational outcomes.”
Support for longer Xmas break
Feedback from schools across the Island found 23 of 31 responses supported have a longer Christmas break and of those 23, 14 wanted to return to the same pattern used in most other local authorities with a one-week October half term.
A response from one school who wanted to have the same holiday pattern as other areas said there has been no evidence to show the changes made to the Island’s holiday times had made any sort of benefit to children and adults.
They said,
“The traditional pattern puts us in line with other local authorities and further lessens the difference between us and the rest of humanity.”
The proposed dates
If cabinet approve the term dates on Thursday, here are dates for your diary from September 2022:
Autumn term: starts on Thursday, 1st September and ends on Friday, 16th December (Half term from Monday, 24th October to Friday, 28th October)
Spring term: starts on Tuesday, 3rd January 2023 and ends on Friday, 31st March (Half term from Monday, 13th February to Friday, 17th February)
Summer term: starts on Monday, 17th April and ends on Friday, 21st July (Half term from Monday, 29th May to Friday, 2nd June )
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is part of. Read here to find about more about how that scheme works on the Island. Some alterations and additions may have been made by News OnTheWight. Ed
