Working parents face a childcare 'postcode lottery' as one in seven schools now shut for TWO WEEKS in October

A Teacher Tapp survey of 8,112 state school teachers in England found that 15% say their school is closing for a full two weeks this October, up from 12% last year and 7% in 2023. Many academies leave the summer holidays unchanged, which means parents must arrange an extra week of childcare shortly after the six-week break. Most local councils still observe only a single week off.

The spread of the longer autumn half-term is being driven by academies, which set their own term dates.

Nottinghamshire and Bromley cut their summer holidays short to make room for the two-week break.

Lee Elliot Major, a professor at Exeter, is calling for 'nationally co-ordinated' Government trials of the change.