MAJOR changes to school terms in Hampshire could be implemented within two years.
Proposals have been set out by the Local Government Association to reorganise the school year from three to six terms to establish a way forward.
Tomorrow, the county's executive member for education Cllr Don Allen will decide whether to give the go-ahead to the first steps of a consultation programme.
The process would include a wide range of people including teachers and other school staff, governing bodies, parents and children, businesses and other parties affected by any changes.
The LGA proposals include: - introducing two terms before Christmas, with no term more than 38 days - a two-week October break - a two-week Christmas break - four terms after Christmas, all limited to a maximum of six weeks - a summer break, always of five weeks or more - in the very few years when Easter falls early or late, Good Friday and Easter Monday - still taken as holidays - would fall within term time.
One person who is positive about the proposals is Andy Kilpatrick, headteacher of Basingstoke's Brighton Hill Community School.
He said: "It's not an issue we've formally addressed with staff and parents. Personally, I'm totally in favour of it because of the irregular length of current terms which result largely because of the way in which Easter moves.
"You can end up with parts of the spring term that are really so short that students can't develop a regular work pattern."
Michael Whitty, headteacher of Bishop Challoner School, Basingstoke, remains to be convinced.
He said: "I would like to see some evidence from trials and pilots in other areas to see if it really helps pupils' learning and enables them to mature over time."
But Angela Genn, headteacher of Oakridge Infant School, Basingstoke, would be concerned if the children's summer break was reduced.
She said: "The children get very, very tired before the end of the summer term. I don't see the advantage of a six-term year unless each term is the same length."
Term dates and holidays for schools are currently decided by local education authorities and can differ between different areas of the country. The earliest the changes could be implemented would be September 2004 because the term dates for the 2003 academic year have already been set.
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