Children should attend for 190 days (or 380 sessions) each academic year. Teachers should be available to work for 195 days each academic year.
Term dates published on this website apply to all Lewisham’s community primary, secondary and special schools. The governing body of each school will set 5 days to be used as INSET or teacher training days.
Voluntary Aided and Foundation schools and Academies will set their own holiday dates and these may differ from the dates for community schools.
Schools used as polling stations
Some schools will be used as polling stations during term time.
In many cases, normal schooling and polling will be able to take place simultaneously, although it is a requirement that the part of the school used as a polling station should have its own entrance and should be isolated from the rest of the school.
If this can not be achieved, the school would normally close for the day. In such cases, the Governing Body must take reasonable steps to make up the lost day, in order to fulfil its duty for the school to meet for 380 half-day sessions in a school year.
They might be able for example to extend the end of the school term by one day (or move affected pupils to alternative premises, although that could be logistically impractical).
Governors must strike a balance based on their knowledge of the school premises and what physical arrangements could reasonably be made to accommodate both schooling and elections at the same time.