A FINAL decision is expected to be made on changes to school holidays following claims many headteachers knew nothing of the plan.
The council decided in March to ditch the traditional six week summer holidays in favour of having four weeks and four days in the summer and an extra week in October, with the change coming into place in the September 2017/18 academic year.
If the changes come in - they will affect all council controlled schools in the borough.
But Nick Bowen, principal at Horizon Community College and joint chairman of the Barnsley Schools Alliance, urged a rethink, claiming the majority of headteachers knew nothing of the plan and that it was only briefly mentioned at the end of a meeting when most school heads weren’t there.
Mr Bowen said there had been a ‘real lack of consultation’ and expressed concerns over the new holiday timetable, believing it would have a negative impact on exam results, staff and cause confusion for parents.
Council leader Sir Steve Houghton said the decision had been taken through the proper channels - a consultative committee - but that the council would ‘take another look at it’ after receiving representations from secondary schools.
A final decision is expected shortly.
