Decision details

To approve the school term and holiday dates for community, voluntary controlled, community special schools and maintained nursery schools for 2021/2, as set out in the calendar identified at Appendix 1 to the report.

*PLEASE NOTE This decision was originally published on or near the date of the decision and so call in no longer applies. It has been re-published as part of the change in committee management system that we use.*

School employers are required to set the term dates of their school year. Employers are: the local authority in community, voluntary controlled and community special schools and maintained nursery schools; the governing body in foundation and voluntary aided schools; the academy trust in academies and Free Schools. The Education (School Day and School Year) (England) regulations 1991 require all maintained school to educate their pupils for at least 380 sessions (190) days in each school year. These regulations do not apply to academies and Free Schools; the academy trust is responsible for deciding the length of the school year but it is hoped that for consistency across North Yorkshire all schools will adopt the recommended term dates. In addition to these teaching days each school has five professional development (PD) days for teaching staff. As in previous years the Authority has proposed three of these days. The remaining two days will be identified by each school from the calendar.

The consultation to determine a school calendar for 2021/22 was launched on 10 February 2020 and closed on 13 March 2020. All maintained schools and academies, teachers’ associations, trade unions and other local authorities across Yorkshire and the North East were consulted. Two calendar options were consulted upon: the first a traditional calendar (Option 1) with a movable Easter and the second a calendar with a “Fixed Easter (Option 2).
92 online responses were submitted. 61 of the online respondents expressed their agreement with the proposed Calendar (Option 1 – traditional Attached at Appendix 1). 14 respondents made no comment. A number of respondents, made comment about Professional Development (PD) Days.

The draft calendar is broadly in line with proposals from our neighbouring LAs in which
the majority of cross border pupils reside.