Neil O’Brien, MP for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston, is backing a petition campaign by local parents to ask Leicester City Council to align its school holidays with the rest of the county.
The petition, started by local parents, notes that:
“Next year Leicester City Council have pushed the October school half term holiday back. This now means that the school holiday date in the city is different to the schools in rest of the county.”
“Aside from meaning that Leicester residents can't enjoy the cheaper holidays that we usually do, it also means that if you work in a city school and have children in a county school, you will be off at different times, causing childcare issues.”
Mr O’Brien said:
“My constituents just outside the city in Oadby and Wigston are particularly affected by this mistaken decision, as they often have children in both City and County schools. Different holidays will cause a lot of inconvenience for parents, making childcare and holidays difficult or impossible.”
“A number of teachers have been in touch with me to express their concerns about the decision of the city to set different school holidays to the rest of the county.”
“With about 15,000 people now backing the campaign, I really hope the City will now listen to parents, and reverse this decision to put the schools they control out of step with the rest of Leicestershire.”
“The City Council knew the county’s dates were already set when they decided to create this problem, and their excuses for inconveniencing people like this are bureaucratic and pathetic.”