Schools in England can finish early for Christmas to ‘give teachers a proper break’ 

Schools Standards Minister Nick Gibb has confirmed schools can take an inset day next Friday.

Schools in England can finish early to allow staff to have a ‘proper break’ without having to ‘engage in the track and trace issues’ on Christmas Eve.

This means schools can take an inset day on December 18th, according to Nick Gibb the Schools Standards Minister.

It comes as teachers are required to be available for the first six days of the Christmas holidays to help with contact tracing or telling families they need to isolate. In giving them the Friday prior off, they can now have Christmas Eve off.

Mr Gibb told MPs: “We are about to announce that inset days can be used on Friday, December 18th, even if an inset day had not been originally scheduled for that day.

“We want there to be a clear six days so that by the time we reach Christmas Eve staff can have a proper break without having to engage in the track and trace issues.”

However, the day must be taken from 2021’s allocated days, according to Schools Week.

General secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), Geoff Barton, said the extra day is a ‘small concession’ and that he hoped for ‘more flexibility’. 

He said: “We recognise the Government has made a small concession, but we had hoped it would allow more flexibility than has been granted.

“A single day is better than nothing, but it still means that school and college leaders will have to continue contact tracing in the event of positive cases through to Wednesday December 23rd.

“It also leaves them responsible, at very short notice, for informing families that they will need to self-isolate over the Christmas period.

“It is frustrating also that the Government has taken so long to agree this decision as there is so little time left for schools to make the necessary arrangements.”