The October school holiday in West Dunbartonshire will be extended from one week to two weeks in 2027, according to term dates published by the council.
The break is set to run from October 4 to October 15 in 2027, an extra five days compared with the current arrangement, which sees the 2026/27 term date pencilling in a break from October 12 to October 16 this year.
Parent raises concerns over childcare and work
The move has been met with anger from one local parent, who contacted the Lennox over the implications for securing childcare and arranging holidays from work at a busy time of year. The parent, who didn't wish to be named, said: "This will have a massive impact."
"As a working parent we don't have the luxury of extra holidays to take when the children are off," they added. "Two weeks off in October when they are off the full summer puts additional strain on families."
The parent also questioned the lack of consultation, saying: "Other authorities have consulted with their parents and carers, so why does West Dunbartonshire Council think they are exempt? This is a regular failure of the council who regularly push through decisions without consultation."
Council defends consultation process
On its website, West Dunbartonshire Council says decisions regarding term schedules are made following consultation with trade unions, with proposed dates then passed on to the Local Negotiating Committee for Teachers (LNCT) for approval before dates finally appear on the website for the public to see.
A West Dunbartonshire Council spokesperson said: "We recognise that changes to the school calendar are important to parents and carers."
"In order to provide them with sufficient time to make necessary arrangements for revised holiday periods, full details will be shared directly with families when schools return later this month, a year before any changes come into effect," the spokesperson added.
