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What are the school term and holiday dates in Somerset?
You can download Somerset’s confirmed dates for academic years 2010/2011 and 2011/2012:-
The dates will download in PDF format.
Summary
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2010-2011 academic year
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2011-2012 academic year
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Term 1
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1 September - 22 October 2010
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1 September - 21 October 2011
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Term 2
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1 November - 17 December 2010
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31 October - 16 December 2011
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Term 3
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4 January - 18 February 2011
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4 January - 10 February 2012
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Term 4
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28 February - 8 April 2011
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20 February - 30 March 2012
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Term 5
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26 April - 27 May 2011
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16 April - 1 June 2012
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Term 6
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6 June - 22 July 2011
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11 June - 20 July 2012
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How are the school term and holiday dates determined?
Each January, draft school term and holiday dates for the next but one academic year appear on this part of the website.
Teachers, governors and members of the public are very welcome to provide their comments on the draft dates.
A group then meets in the Spring to consider the feedback and determine the finalised dates, which are published on this page in April.
How do the group make their decisions?
The group consists of headteacher, local authority and union representatives, and where possible, attempts to:
- set term dates in good time to provide teachers adequate time to plan the curriculum delivery and parents their childcare;
- set term dates of similar length avoiding part weeks;
- ensure the secondary and upper school examination period, which takes place in May and June, is within term time;
- respect the wishes of the Church Authorities by keeping the Spring break in line with the Easter bank holidays;
- fit in as best we can with our neighbouring local authorities in order to support those families who have children at schools in more than one LA area;
- avoid long breaks mid term which some teaching and union representatives feel can lead to a loss of momentum among pupils;
- publicise the term dates on SiX, www.somerset.gov.uk, and in ‘Your Somerset’.
Which dates are used for In-Service Education and Training (INSET)?
Each year a total of 195 school days are identified and all schools are able to choose 5 INSET days which best suit them. In other words, pupils attend school for 190 days each year. It is the responsibility of each school to notify its parents and staff which dates have been identified for INSET.
2010-2011 Academic Year
Although the new DFE has abandoned plans for the development and implementation of the new Primary Curriculum (QCDA - Rose Review), we have received information from the DFE, Public Communications Unit about the additional INSET day as follows:
"The Statutory Instrument required to give primary schools an extra non-contact day went through Parliament before the election was called. While the purpose of the additional non-contact day was tied into plans to introduce a new primary curriculum, the legislation specifies only that the extra non-contact day is to be used for teacher training. The current legislative position therefore is that the extra non-contact day is available to primary schools in 2010/2011."
2011-2012 Academic Year
For the academic year 2011-2012, 194 days have been identified rather than the usual 195. This is due to the additional bank holiday on Tuesday 5 June 2012 which has been arranged to provide a focal point for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
Special notes for school staff:
- If you are a member of staff at a school and wish to download a Word version in order to customise the calendar, please click on the following links.
- Please could we take this opportunity to respectfully remind schools that if they are aware of any necessary closures in advance (local events and festivities, for example), they must arrange to take these days as INSET. Non-INSET closures are strictly for emergencies only.
Who can I contact for further information?
If you have a question or concern about any aspect of the school term and holiday dates in Somerset, or wish to provide feedback during the consultation period, please contact Lewis Andrews in the School Organisation and Review Team on (01823) 356127 or email: lpandrews@somerset.gov.uk.
If you are experiencing problems opening any of the above links or downloading the School Terms and Holidays documents - please contact S iX Help, with a description of the problem, by email sixhelp@somerset.gov.uk or by telephone 01823 355090. | 
