More and more schools in England are giving pupils two weeks off in October instead of one. According to a Teacher Tapp survey of more than 8,000 state school teachers, 15% of them have a two-week break in 2026. A year earlier it was 12%, and in 2023 – 7%.
The change is driven mainly by academies, which set their own school calendars. Anthem Schools Trust, which runs 15 schools in the East Midlands, London and the Thames Valley, introduced a longer break this year. Unity Schools Partnership, which has 40 schools in the east of England, did so in 2023 and reports fewer sick days among teachers.
According to Anthem, about 60% of families support the longer break. Some parents, however, worry about childcare and about siblings at different schools having time off on different dates. Coram Family and Childcare estimates that holiday childcare in the UK costs an average of £191 a week. The Department for Education points out that schools must provide a minimum number of teaching days a year, but they set the dates of breaks themselves.
What it means for you
If your child attends an academy, check the school calendar for the whole year – the break may last two weeks, and a sibling at another school may be off at a different time. For working parents, that is an extra week of childcare to arrange and pay for. For employers, it is a signal that more people will ask for leave in October.
Our assessment
The trend will grow, because the number of academies is rising and schools see benefits for staff. Without common rules, however – as Prof. Lee Elliot Major of the University of Exeter warns – a “postcode lottery” emerges. Families with several children and no grandparents nearby, often Polish families, will feel it most.
What to do
- Check break dates on the school website for 2026/27 and put them in your calendar now.
- Ask your council about Holiday Activities and Food sessions – they are free for children eligible for free school meals.
- If you pay for childcare, check whether you are entitled to Tax-Free Childcare on GOV.UK.
- Talk to your employer about flexible hours in advance.
Source: This is Local London / Yahoo News UK (20.10.2026).
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