Teachers - when do you go on holiday?

[Merryweather17]

After nearly twenty years in schools I can tell you that October half term and Easter are the two holidays that are most likely to vary from LA to LA, it all depends on how they like to stack their terms and where Easter falls. We used to go the last 2 weeks in August as this is much quieter as US schools are mostly back and you have had plenty of time to decompress from the school year while also doing all the jobs round the house/life admin you have been putting off until term ended. This time of year is very hot but with early starts, afternoon naps/pool time and evenings out again it was always a fantastic time. We stayed onsite at WDW and mostly did those park, we moved onsite to Universal for the few times we were doing both lots of parks.

[Elodie]

Originally Posted by hols2florida

It won’t make much difference but inset days are worked pro rata. Full time staff will work all 5 & part time staff will work less (I do 24.5 hours & have to do 3 inset days).

See more...

It depends on your contract. I’m part time, but my contract says I am paid to work all inset days.

[Elodie]

Originally Posted by sophiepop

My Daughter is due to graduate in a couple of years and I am looking to book a holiday in the October half term. Is there any lea way with holidays at all or are we back to being stuck to school holidays again?

If so, we have had 3 years free from this expensive time and her jobs puts us back to being tied again. One of these 3 years ie 2020 we have lost our holiday, so really 2 years where we could take advantage of cheaper prices.

See more...

There can be some leeway as others have said, but it’s rare. Some job share roles can allow for some flexibility, although it’s not the norm.
Some schools will also allow time in lieu - eg if a staff member has voluntarily given up a weekend to go on a school residential trip, they can have those days back as time off during term time. Again, this doesn’t apply to most schools, and there might be restrictions, eg the days have to be taken as non-consecutive days off / a limit to how many days can be taken in lieu over the year.

In our authority, there’s a secondary school who have two weeks off in October and only five over summer. Most schools have the usual one week in October and six over the summer - it’s a pain for parents with children having different term dates, but handy for cheaper holidays if you only have children at the secondary.

If you’re planning a holiday without knowing when your daughter will be available, I’d play it safe and go for dates well within the local summer holidays. Once she’s in a school and knows what the dates and rules are, you might have a little more leeway for future trips, fingers crossed!

[headpin]

Originally Posted by tinytots

If you know the county/local authority she will be in, they usually publish term dates well in advance, maybe a few years ahead. Give or take a few Inset days where each School can decide they are usually accurate. If she is in the Independent Sector, we have two weeks at October half term, 3-4 weeks at Easter and break up anywhere between 10 days to 2 weeks before state Schools in July, so these are the windows of opportunity I always use.

See more...

Not strictly true. The Governors set the individual school holiday dates not the local authority (LA). However, the LA will publish the dates that they recommend and generally the governors will confirm these dates. This assists if you have children in different schools, maybe one in Primary and another in Secondary.

There are what are termed occasional days, usually around 5 per year that individual schools can allocate at their own discretion. Often these will be around religious festivals, i.e. Eid or Diwali, especially in areas where there are a significant number of followers of that religion. Or otherwise often tagged on around the other normal holiday dates.

Then as stated there are the Inset, or Baker days as they used to be called. These are taken as decided by each individual school, often tagged on to the front or end of another holiday period. But, some schools now take these as twilight sessions, or similar. This means they do the equivalent hours after school in term time which then gives the school 5 additional days that they can effectively use as additional staff holidays.

The bottom line is that it is not as straightforward as it may seem. But, with such long holidays there should be something that suits, although agree the buggers do put the prices up.

[Kidd McFluff]

Originally Posted by Moorlandman

13 weeks off - I’m sure you can find a time to go to Florida😀😀

See more...

Thirteen weeks off isn't the point though is it? All 13 weeks are in school holidays and therefore at the most expensive/busy times. I could also explain how 13 weeks away from school doesn't equate to 13 weeks sat on ones bum doing nothing. About half of those 13 weeks are spent planning lessons, preparing materials and resources, researching new teaching methods etc.

My advice would be go towards the end of the summer holidays. The last couple of weeks of August are not a holiday in the US and lots of European countries are also back at school too. Late August does increase the chance of Hurricanes but in all honesty, this could happen at pretty much anytime over the summer.

Parks are likely to be quieter, weather will be hot (thunder storms most days for an hour or so) and the off park attractions and eateries will be quieter and so might have better deals available. (Happy hours seem to get longer towards the end of August).

Sadly it's unlikely you'll be able to take advantage of any 'amazing' prices but if you keep your eyes open you might just snag a bargain. We stayed at Endless Summer Resort last summer for a cheeky week in Universal. Direct flight out/Return via Chicago 7 nights in a 1 bedroom family suite, park tickets for 4 and a Standard SUV hire car came in at £3600.

Good Luck.

[Lola]

We found prices lower at the end of August but when I was teaching we had to be back in the week GCSE grades came out, mid August.

[sophiepop]

Thank you for all of your replies

[Kraken]

I remember from my school days the teachers saying there was zero leeway with time off in term-time. To quote one teacher "you can probably have a half day off for a funeral, but it has to be for a very close relative". To the same teacher, one of the big draws to teaching for him (apart from helping young people) was the holidays.

I fully appreciate that 13 weeks holiday does not equal 13 weeks off, as there is lesson preparation. If you're involved in teaching years 11 and 13 there may well be some attendance required around A Level / GCSE results days (which puts a nice spanner in the works for the end of August in Florida!)

As an aside, many people complain about the cost of flights / hotels shooting up in school holidays. Virgin & BA are far from alone there - if you're in any doubt as to when the school holidays normally fall, just take a look at the Center Parcs pricing matrix!

[Wazowskiscar]

@sophiepop I would also be cautious of one other thing - if she’s graduating in a couple of years and then will be a teacher am I right in assuming she’s doing a teacher training degree? I would just be careful if you are planning on doing the trip for cheaper while she is at uni, make sure it doesn’t collide with placements at all! Missing placement for holiday will not be deemed acceptable at all (my friend tried this and the school said they wouldn’t pass her, they couldn’t extend her time as they had other students coming in and Ofsted was imminent) Uni also said it was unacceptable. Also placements are incredibly busy so I would be cautious about using half terms for holiday in the midst of one, she’ll be up to her eyes on work. Not sure if that was in the plan time wise but just so you’re aware!

When she’s got her first job, your safest bet is to use the school website, not the general LA one, because as people have said it can vary slightly.

I work in an independent school now which has given me that bit extra on top of the general holidays - so I have 2 weeks in October, 3 weeks Christmas, 1 week February, 3 weeks Easter, 1 week May, 7 and a half weeks summer.

May half term is always report writing for me. Never managed a holiday in there.

I wouldn’t pull the trick of booking the holiday and telling the job she’s already got a holiday booked - schools will know you’ve been doing a teacher training course and looking for a teaching job and it just doesn’t look good. Now if she was getting a job late in the academic year, that may be plausible.

You might strike lucky with a two week October half term! It’s becoming more popular around here as lots of schools are increasing their day length to allow the extra week. If not I second what others say, Late August is good and not as busy.

Beat of luck from a teacher pining to be back at Disney 😢😢

[VeryexcitedH]

It also varies depending what school she becomes employed in. For example, I work in a Catholic school and my children attended a community primary school. Easter since they started there has varied greatly and I would say that no two weeks have aligned with each other. They often had two weeks off whilst I worked holy week (4 days) and then they go back to school and I have one week off alone. So Catholic schools are different to LA guidance)community primary schools...