School holidays for the 2024/25 academic year
| Holiday | Closing date | Date re-opens |
|---|---|---|
| Summer 2024 | Tuesday 23 July 2024 | Wednesday 4 September 2024 |
| Autumn half-term 2024 | Friday 25 October 2024 | Monday 4 November 2024 |
| Christmas 2024 | Friday 20 December 2024 | Monday 6 January 2025 |
| Spring half-term 2025 | Friday 21 February 2025 | Monday 3 March 2025 |
| Easter 2025 | Friday 11 April 2025 | Monday 28 April 2025 |
| May Day 2025 | Friday 2 May 2025 | Tuesday 6 May 2025 |
| Summer half-term 2025 | Friday 23 May 2025 | Monday 2 June 2025 |
| Summer 2025 | Friday 18 July 2025 | Tuesday 2 September 2025 |
PD dates for this year are Wednesday 4 September 2024 and Wednesday 18 June 2025
Alternatively, please visit the Durham County Council website to view or download the school holidays dates for this academic year and next year for all community schools, special schools and voluntary controlled schools. Please note that voluntary aided (church) schools, foundation schools and academies may have set different dates and you should check with the school or academy to confirm their arrangements or view the PDF for schools not following the standard term and holiday dates.
Holidays in term time
All pupils registered at school are expected to attend every day the school is open. Parents are advised to book leave during school holiday periods.
Requests for leave of absence
Parents must request permission in advance from school for leave of absence for any reason, including holidays.
Headteachers cannot grant leave during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances and cannot grant permission retrospectively.
Generally, a need or desire for a holiday or other absence for the purpose of leisure and recreation would not be an exceptional circumstance.
What happens if you take your child out of school without permission
If you take your child out of school without the school’s permission or without notifying them in advance it will be recorded as unauthorised absence. This may lead to enforcement action (penalty notice or prosecution).
Changes to Fixed Penalty Notices from August 2024
In the majority of cases, schools and councils will try and provide support to help you improve your child’s attendance first, but if this is not working to resolve the issues or if support is not appropriate (unauthorised term time holiday), parents and carers may be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice.
Under the new national framework, Fixed Penalty Notices will be considered when a child has missed ten or more sessions (five days) for unauthorised reasons in a period of ten school weeks. A notice may also be issued where the five day level of absence has not been reached, for example, if there are several periods of leave.
Notices will be issued in line with the Local Code of Conduct – Penalty Notices for Irregular School Attendance – Local Code of Conduct (PDF) [306KB] .
From August 2024:
- The first penalty notice is £160 if paid within 28 days, reduced to or £80 if paid within 21 days.
- If a parent receives a second notice for the same child within any three year period, the amount of the notice will be £160 to be paid within 28 days.
- A third penalty notice cannot be issued. Legal action may result (for example, prosecution).
Fixed Penalty Notice information for parents and carers (PDF) [133KB]
