School Holiday Dates 2026-2029
Argyll and Bute Council · 12 December 2024
Back to Community Services Committee — 12 December 2024 and its agenda
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ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE EDUCATION 12 DECEMBER 2024 SCHOOL HOLIDAY DATES 2026-2029 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1 School holiday dates are required to be set every three years, and in August 2022 Community Services Committee agreed the school holiday dates for sessions 2023 – 2026. 1.2 The school holiday dates for pupils and in-service days for teachers across the Authority require to be set for the next three years – 2026/27, 2027/28 and 2028/29 1.3 To this end, a consultation on school holiday dates was carried out August 12th- October 4th 2024 with an aim to set the in-service days for teachers and the holiday dates for pupils across the Authority for 2026-2029. The consultation included parents/carers, pupils, staff and trade unions. The proposed dates are contained within Appendix 1. 1.4 It is recommended that the Community Services Committee agrees: • The school holiday dates for 2026-2029 contained within Appendix 1
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ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE EDUCATION 12 DECEMBER 2024 SCHOOL HOLIDAY DATES 2026-2029 2.0 INTRODUCTION 2.1 A consultation on school holiday dates was carried out from 12th August – 4th October 2024 with an aim to set the in-service days for teachers and the holiday dates for pupils across the Authority for 2026-2029. The consultation included parents/carers, pupils, school staff and trade unions. The proposed dates are contained with Appendix 1. 3.0 RECOMMENDATIONS 3.1 It is recommended that the Community Services Committee agrees the school holiday dates for 2026-2029 contained within Appendix 1. 4.0 DETAIL 4.1 Under the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, local authorities have a general duty to provide education and are responsible for setting the dates for the school terms and holidays. Local authorities have the flexibility to determine school holidays and staff in-service days to take account for local circumstances. 4.2 Although the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 does not mandate consultation when setting school holiday dates, in practice many local authorities engage in consultation with school staff, pupils, parents/carers and trade unions. 4.3 School holiday dates are required to be agreed every three years. In August 2022 Community Services Committee agreed the school holiday dates for sessions 2023-2026 after a consultation with school staff, parents/carers and pupils. SCHOOL HOLIDAY DATES 2023-2026 v3.pdf (argyll-bute.gov.uk) 4.4 When consulting on the school holiday dates for 2026-2029 and in considering any changes to the previous pattern of school holidays the following points are to be taken into account: • 365 days from the start of one session to the start of the next session
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• 190 attendance days for pupils • 195 attendance days for staff • October break in the 42nd week • Spring break the first 2 weeks of April • The same school holidays for all schools across Argyll and Bute 4.5 A consultation on the school holiday dates for 2026-2029 was carried out with school staff, Parent Councils, Pupil Councils and Trade Unions from 12th August – 4th October 2024. 56.3% of responses agreed that the pattern of school holidays and teacher in-service days that have been in place for the previous three years should continue. 4.6 The majority of responses indicated a satisfaction with the current school holiday pattern and as such there are no major changes recommended to the holiday dates as consulted on. 4.7 43.8% of responses indicated that changes should be considered in relation to the pattern of school holidays and teacher in-service days. Feedback around session start/end dates, dates of December break and alternative holiday options was collated from responses provided. This information is contained in Appendix 2. 4.8 Having particular consideration for the complexities of rural locations, as also noted in the consultation feedback, the closure/opening dates for the December break in 2026 and 2027, as consulted on, have been moved by one day to allow for a slightly earlier close. The EIS agreed to these proposed changes. Dates identified in the school holiday date consultation Alternative dates December break 2026 Close Wed 23rd December Open Wed 6th January Close Tues 22nd December open Tues 5th January December break 2027 Close Thursday 23rd December Open Thursday 6th January close Wednesday 22nd December open Wednesday 5th January 4.8 After robust discussion at Joint Service Committee (JSC) on 31st October 2024 on the proposed school holiday dates, further collaboration with the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) trade union, representing over 800 Argyll and Bute teachers, was held. This positive and balanced discussion lead to a request by EIS to a change to the start of the 2026 school year. 4.9 This request is reflected in the proposed school holiday dates in Appendix 1 and was based on a requested change that pupils did not begin the 2026 school year on a Friday. It was noted by the EIS that a Friday return could cause challenges for pupils from islands to be able to attend school in person. The request by the EIS was to move the start of term by one day, this applied to staff in-service days and the school opening date. In order to maintain the required 190 days
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attendance for pupils and 195 days of staff attendance, one day needed to be added to the end of the session as reflected in the proposed dates below. Teacher in-service dates and school opening/closing 2026/2027 Dates identified in the school holiday date consultation Proposed dates Teacher In-service days Wednesday 12th and Thursday 13th August 2026 Teacher In-service days Thursday 13th August and Friday 14th August 2026 Schools Open Friday 14th August Schools Open Monday 17th August Schools close Thursday 1st July Schools close Friday 2nd July 4.9 More substantial changes to holiday dates, as captured within the consultation feedback, would require changing other periods of holidays. Therefore, being cognisant that the majority of consultation responses indicated a satisfaction with the pattern of school holiday dates from the previous three years, the recommendation is to keep the school holiday dates as consulted on with these minor changes to the start/end of session 2026/2027 and December break in 2026 and 2027. These proposed dates can be viewed in Appendix 1. 4.10 The outcome of the consultation was presented to representative Head Teachers and JSC for agreement prior to the submission to the Community Services Committee. The proposed school holiday dates for 2026-2029 are contained in Appendix 1. 4.11 JSC members and representative Head Teachers agreed that the proposed dates, as amended, and that they should be brought forward to Community Services Committee for approval. 4.12 A summary of the responses from the consultation are contained within Appendix 2. 5.0 CONCLUSION 5.1 In order for three years of school holiday dates to be published, school holiday dates for session 2026-2029 require to be agreed. 5.2 It is recommended that the Community Services Committee agrees: • The school holiday dates for 2026-2029 contained within Appendix 1 6.0 IMPLICATIONS 6.1 Policy - The Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000 places a duty on Education Authorities to provide children and young people with school
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education 3 and (in terms of raising standards) requires Authorities to endeavor to secure improvement in the quality of that school education. 6.2 Financial - none 6.3 Legal - none 6.4 HR - none 6.5 Fairer Scotland Duty: 6.5.1 Equalities - protected characteristics - none 6.5.2 Socio-economic Duty - none 6.5.3 Islands – particular issues around travel were taken into consideration in regards to our island schools within the scope of the majority response of the consultation. 6.6 Climate Change 6.7 Risk - Reputational risk to the Education Service if we do not set holiday dates for 2026-2029 6.8 Customer Service - School holiday arrangements for 2023/2026 will be made available to the public via the Council Website 6.9 The Rights of the Child (UNCRC) – The views of pupils were gathered and taken into consideration in line with Article 12 – I have the right to be listened to and taken seriously. Douglas Hendry - Executive Director with responsibility for Education Councillor Audrey Forrest - Policy Lead for Education November 2024 For further information contact: Wendy Brownlie, Head of Education – Performance and Improvement Wendy.Brownlie@argyll-bute.gov.uk Jennifer Crocket, Chief Education Officer/ Head of Education – Wellbeing, Inclusion and Achievement Jennifer.Crocket@agyll-bute.gov.uk Simone McAdam, Education Manager Simone.McAdam@argyll-bute.gov.uk APPENDICES Appendix 1 – School Holiday Dates 2026-2029 Appendix 2 – School Holiday Dates – Consultation Responses