City set to revert to one-week October half term in 2019

A recommendation to revert to a one-week October half term for community and special schools in Brighton & Hove starting in 2019 will be considered by councillors at a meeting on Monday 5 March.
 
The recommendation follows a recent public consultation that showed a majority of respondents to be against making a two-week half term a permanent fixture on the calendar.
 
Two-week October half terms in 2017 and 2018 were agreed on a trial basis by the council’s children, young people and skills committee in 2016 following public consultation. 
 
However, an analysis of the recent consultation carried out following the first of the two-week breaks in October 2017 half term showed that nearly two thirds of respondents did not wish to see the trial continue beyond 2018.
 
The chair of the council’s children, young people and skills committee, Councillor Dan Chapman, said: “It’s clear that most of the people who responded to our survey do not wish to see the continuation of the extended half term break.
 
“We are also aware that a number of our voluntary aided schools have already decided to revert back to a one-week October break this year.
 
“I think it’s important for us to have a consistent model of holidays across our city-wide family of schools.  
 
“The decision back in 2016 to trial the two-week break was informed by nearly 60% of people responding to our consultation at the time saying they would like to see a new week’s holiday created outside the traditional pattern of school holidays.

“We listened then, and I think we need to listen again and revert back to a one-week October half term as of 2019.”