Dear Parent/Carer

 

I write to inform you of the outcome of the consultation process in relation to changing the academy day and calendar from September 2025 at Co-op Academy Priesthorpe.

 

Following consultation with students, parents, staff, the Trust and our wider partners, we have agreed to the following changes,

 

• The school day will end at 3:20pm each day, with optional enrichment activities ending at 4:15pm. Further details about the enrichment offer will be communicated in September.

• The start of the school day will not change. On a Monday, Wednesday and Friday students will still need to arrive at school by 8:25am, ready for a prompt 8:30am start to lessons. On a Tuesday and Thursday students must arrive at 8.55am for a prompt 9.00am start to lessons.  

• The day will include 6 lessons and coaching three times a week. Lessons will be slightly shorter at 55 minutes long.

• The change will add extra time to the curriculum hours, which, as an academy, allows us to  add an additional week of holiday to the October half term, making it a two week half term. The October holiday will start on Monday 20th October until Friday 31st October.

 

From 1st September 2025 our academy day will be,

 

 

Thank you to everyone who rrsponded to the consultation. We have read and considered the points raised very carefully. In total 26 parents responded to the consultation. The majority of parents and carers who responded were in favour of the changes. However, there were some concerns raised about the changes and I thought it would be useful to share our responses to them.

 

Two parents raised concerns about a six lesson day and the additional strain this may put on students. One parent went on to add that this may impact on attendance at extra curricular clubs.

In response, it is important to note that whilst the number of lessons is increasing, the academy day is only being extended by 5 minutes. The amount of additional time students will be in lessons each day is therefore minimal compared to our current model. We acknowledge that clubs and after school activities will be starting 5 minutes later but do not expect this to prevent students from attending. 

Two parents/carers raised concerns about additional holidays. 

We understand that this change will lead to an additional week holiday and that this may affect family plans, which is why we are giving advance notice. We have also received positive feedback, with four parents/carers noting the significant price difference in a family holiday the week before the October half term, compared to school holidays. 

One parent/carer questioned the amount of time available in a shorter lesson for practical subjects, such as science experiments and PE. We agree and intend to include some double periods in the timetable to support the delivery of the curriculum in practical subjects. 

 

We remain committed to the educational benefits of this change and are certain that these outweigh any initial concerns. By working together and monitoring these changes carefully and sensitively we are confident that this will lead to further improvements in attainment and wider educational experiences for our students.

 

Yours faithfully,

L.Pratt

Louise Pratt

Principal

Co-op Academy Priesthorpe