School Holiday Consultation
North Lanarkshire Council · 23 May 2023
Back to Education, Children and Families Committee — 23 May 2023 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Education, Children and Families Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref GMcL/GL Date 23/05/23 School Holiday Consultation From Gerard McLaughlin, Chief Officer (Education – North) E-mail McLaughlinG@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 01236 812269 Executive Summary Council has agreed that a consultation be carried out on proposals to reduce the summer break by one week and adjust other term dates to accommodate. A non-statutory online consultative survey has been developed and will run from 28 April 2023 until 12 May 2023. The survey is open, but not limited, to pupils, pupil councils, parents, parent councils, teachers, support staff and trade union partners. A report on final outcomes will be presented to Education, Children and Families Committee in September 2023. Any implementation of these proposals would not take place before session 2025/26. Recommendations It is recommended that Education, Children and Families Committee: i) Note the approach taken to the council decision to consult on proposals to school term dates. ii) Note the final outcomes will be presented at the next Committee in September 2023. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Enhance participation, capacity, and empowerment across our communities Ambition statement (10) Engage with children, young people, parents, carers, and families to help all children and young people reach their full potential
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1. Background 1.1 On 15 December 2022, a notice of motion was submitted to Council to consult on the school holiday calendar. 1.2 It was decided that a full consultation be undertaken seeking views on the “possibility of reducing the summer break and increasing the October break to two weeks, extending the February break to one week and/or an extension to the Christmas break, as well as any other proposals from stakeholders”. 1.3 It was further agreed that outcomes be brought to the Education and Families Committee and that results inform council discussions with The West Partnership on these matters. 2. Report 2.1 The current arrangements for school holidays typically allow for seven weeks during the summer break, one week in October, two weeks at Christmas, two days in February and two weeks at Spring break (Easter). 2.2 The proposals being consulted upon are: • The new school year/term would start earlier in August. To accommodate this: • The October holiday would last for two weeks. Or • The February break would be extended to one full week and the Christmas break increased. 2.3 Consultees have also been asked for any alternative proposals. 2.4 A summary of the online questions is shown at Appendix 1 3. Measures of success 3.1 The consultation will provide valid and reliable data to support elected member decision making. 4. Supporting documentation Minutes of Council Meeting 15 December 2022 Minute North Lanarkshire Council Gerard McLaughlin Chief Officer (Education – North)
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact?
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Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Notifications on the survey will be issued to all stakeholders via group call. If approved, the proposal would require significant and early communication with a large number of stakeholders. 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex- Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services.
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Appendix 1 SURVEY QUESTIONS 1. Are you: A parent or carer A pupil A Teacher A member of school support team Representing a Parent Council Representing a Pupil Council Representing a Trade Union Other 2. Forename 3. Surname 4. Email address 5. School / Organisation Establishments / Trade Unions / Other 6. Do you agree with the proposals to shorten the summer break to 6 weeks? Yes No Don’t know 7. If Yes, would you prefer (select one): Extending the October break to two weeks Increasing the February break to one week and increasing the Christmas break Other: (please provide details): Thank You