Leeds school holidays 2020: this is when term will start and finish

Leeds kids and teachers are getting a well-earned break next week as schools break up for the autumn half-term.

And Christmas holidays in Leeds are just eight weeks away.

But soon enough thoughts will start turning to the half-terms and summer holidays of 2020.

Leeds City Council set the dates for school terms. If your child goes to an academy, free school, foundation school or voluntary-aided schools, you should contact them directly, as they do not have to follow dates set by the local authority.

2019-2020 academic year:

- Autumn mid-term: Schools close on Friday 25 October 2019 and open on Monday 4 November 2019

- Christmas: Schools close on Friday 20 December 2019 and open on Monday 6 January 2020

- Spring mid-term: Schools close on Friday 14 February 2020 and open on Monday 24 February 2020

- Easter: Schools close on Friday 3 April 2020 and open on Monday 20 April 2020

- May Bank Holiday: Schools close on Thursday 7 May 2020 and open on Monday 11 May 2020

- Summer mid-term: Schools close on Friday 22 May 2020 and open on Monday 1 June 2020

- Summer: Schools close and open on Monday 7 September 2020 for the 2020/2021 academic year

Training days:

For details of individual schools five training days, please contact the school directly as these are not the same for all schools.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

What happens if you take your children out of school during term time?

Government legislation means that schools are not allowed to authorise requests for children to be taken out of school for a holiday during term time.

Requests for leave can only be granted by schools in exceptional circumstances, but holidays are not considered exceptional.

Any requests for leave must be made to the school in advance, as the Department for Education has told schools that they cannot authorise any absences after they have already been taken.

Penalty notice

A penalty notice is a fine to parents or carers if they fail to ensure that their child or children attend school regularly.

Your local council can give you a fine of £60 per child, which rises to £120 if you don’t pay within 21 days. This then has to be paid within seven days.

If you don’t pay the fine after 28 days you may be prosecuted for your child’s absence from school.

However, Leeds City Council has previously told the Yorkshire Evening Post that it does not trigger the fines until a child has had unauthorised absences of 5 days or more within any 12 week period.

A spokesman said: "A penalty notice is a fine issued to parents or carers if they fail to ensure that their child or children attend school regularly.

"This could be due to a holiday in term time or other periods of absence that are not authorised by their child’s school."