When is October half term in 2020?

Due to lockdown in the UK, some children have not been in school since March. (Picture: Getty Images)

It is only a matter of weeks before children across England will return to school, some for the first time since March, for the start of a new academic year.

Despite concerns about safety amid rising cases of Covid-19 across the country, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has insisted that schools must reopen their doors to students and start teaching again in September, describing the situation as ‘ciritcal’.

‘Education recovery is critical for this generation,’ he said, adding, ‘Returning to normal educational routines as quickly as possible is critical to our national recovery too.’

With school term starting in September, when will October half term fall this year?

When is October half term in 2020?

Schools in England are set to go back at the beginning of September, with many institutions planning to re-open their doors to pupils on Thursday 3 September.

During the autumn term, most schools in the nation are set to have their October half-term break between Monday 26 October and Friday 30 October 2020.

Schools will then break up for the winter holidays on Monday 21 December and are due to go back after their winter breaks on Monday 4 January 2021.

While both the October half term break and the Christmas break in December have previously been a popular time for families to go away for a bit of winter sun, Covid-19 worldwide travel restrictions may pose a threat to these plans.

The need to quarantine for 14 days after returning from some countries will also stop many parents from being able to go away with their children.

Mr Williamson has said that parents who do not send their children back to school when classrooms reopen could face a fine: ‘Unless there was a good reason for the absence then we would be looking at the fact that we would be imposing fines on families if they were not sending children back.’

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