Proposed decision
The Cabinet Member for Education and Skills is asked to determine the School Year dates for community and voluntary controlled schools, by the local authority (LA).
Further information
Schools are required by statute to provide schooling for 190 days. Teaching staff are required by their terms and conditions to complete 195 days including 5 development days.
Term dates and holidays, in England, are set:
• for community and voluntary controlled schools, by the local authority (LA)
• for foundation, voluntary aided schools, academies and free schools by the governing body.
The government’s policies to promote academies and free schools will mean that increasingly school governing bodies will be determining the school term dates for their schools.
The proposed calendar will be considered by Children’s, Young People and Education Cabinet Committee and following this the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills will take the final decision. Following the consultation and approval, the agreed school term dates calendar for 2024-5 will be published.
Setting school term dates has a relationship to one of the priorities in Delivering Vision and Priorities for Improvement 2018 – 2021. The priority states KCC will ‘ensure that the maximum number of children and young people of statutory school age are enabled to attend education provision on a full-time basis.’
Decision type: Key
Reason Key: Affects more than two Electoral Divisions;
Decision status: Recommendations Approved
Division affected: (All Division);
Notice of proposed decision first published: 25/04/2023
Decision due: Not before 24th May 2023 by Cabinet Member for Education and Skills
Lead member: Cabinet Member for Education and Skills
Lead director: Christine McInnes
Department: Education & Young People's Services
Contact: Ian Watts, Assistant Director Education, North Tel: 03000 414302 Email: ian.watts@kent.gov.uk Tel: 03000 414302.
Financial implications: There are no direct cost implications arising from the decision on the school calendar. However, if individual foundation, voluntary aided schools, academies or free schools determine a different pattern of term dates, they may incur additional costs in relation to home to school transport, as the authority passes any additional costs on to the schools concerned.
Legal implications: The Education (School Day and School Year) (England) Regulations 1999 (SI 1999 No. 3181) require schools to hold at least 380 half-day sessions (190 days) in each school year, beginning with the first term to start after July. This is consistent with the 195 days a year required by a teacher's statutory conditions of service: the additional five days are for in-service training. As KCC has responsible for community and voluntary controlled schools it is part of our duty to set the dates.
Equalities implications: A full EqIA has been completed this will be updated once the consultation has finished and the full results will be presented to CYPE Cabinet Committee.