Issue - meetings

This report seeks approval for proposed term dates for City of York’s local authority run schools, and a strategy for setting future term dates along with neighbouring local authorities.

Resolved:  (i)      That the draft term dates set out in Annex A to the report be approved.

Reason:     To meet the statutory requirements of the Education Act 2012 (Section 32) and other related legislation.

                   (ii)      That the principles of setting future term dates that were previously agreed between 25 local authorities, as set out in Annex B, be approved.

Reason:     To mitigate the impact of varying term dates on those families who live, go to school, or are employed by schools, in more that one local authority area.

The Executive Member considered a report which presented draft term dates for local authority schools in York for the 2019/20 school year, and proposed a strategy for setting future term dates alongside neighbouring local authorities (LAs).

A co-ordinated approach towards setting school term dates had been in place since 2012 across 25 LAs in the North East, Yorkshire and Humber regions.  The principles of this approach were set out in Annex B to the report.

Throughout 2017, Officers had worked with neighbouring LAs to further the regional use of these principles for future school years.  The draft dates for 2019/20, attached at Annex A, had been produced in accordance with the principles.  Following a sub-regional meeting in November 2017, officers from North Yorkshire County Council and East Riding of Yorkshire Council had drafted identical dates and had agreed to recommend to their LAs that in future years they co-ordinate the release of these dates collectively and look at setting several years of draft dates in advance.

Resolved:  (i)      That the draft term dates set out in Annex A to the report be approved.

Reason:     To meet the statutory requirements of the Education Act 2012 (Section 32) and other related legislation.

                   (ii)      That the principles of setting future term dates that were previously agreed between 25 local authorities, as set out in Annex B, be approved.

Reason:     To mitigate the impact of varying term dates on those families who live, go to school, or are employed by schools, in more that one local authority area.