Leicestershire schools have traditionally broken up for the summer early in July – at least two weeks before the rest of the country.
The pattern reflected the Leicestershire Workers’ July Fortnight, a county-wide holiday period introduced in 1965, where factories and businesses closed for the first two weeks of July to enable workers to avoid peak holiday periods.
The idea was that each area of the Midlands would head to popular local seaside resorts – such as Skegness in Lincolnshire – at different times, preventing overcrowding.
However, the councils said the July Fortnight was no longer widely observed.
In the report, the county council said: “Many families like Leicestershire’s traditional approach, which includes a very early summer break.
“This can mean cheaper family holidays, but some families face difficulties when children attending different schools in the same family, particularly around the county borders, follow different term time patterns.”
The council also said the existing six-week summer holiday results in “a loss of learning, and some families also struggle with the cost of childcare”.
It added: “The existing pattern includes terms of significantly different lengths, with a longer autumn term which children can struggle to manage, impacting their attendance, and shorter spring and summer terms.”