Schools set to dictate terms

The Government has announced that all state schools in England will be able to decide their own term dates as part of a plan for more school autonomy. The move, which is contained in the newly published Deregulation Bill, will signal the end of local authority control over term times. It also paves the way for individual schools to introduce longer terms and cut the length of holidays.

A spokesman for the Department for Education said terms should be decided by "heads and teachers who know their parents and pupils best". Headteachers warned, however, that a deregulation of the academic year risked creating a "free for all", with schools in the same area setting different term dates, subsequently causing chaos for local parents.

Rosemary Plummer, Islington UNISON Schools Convenor said:

"I think that this is going to cause huge issues where families have different children in different boroughs and different term times. Holiday companies are the only beneficiaries from this as they will be coining it in.
We have to stop Gove in his tracks."