In Nottingham the process was fraught, in part because proposals would have led to different holidays in academies, voluntary aided and community schools – and different holidays in schools in the city and in the surrounding areas.
Under the current structure, academies, foundation, voluntary aided and foundation special schools have the power to set their own term dates, while local authorities are responsible for setting term dates for community and voluntary controlled schools.
The regulations will be voluntary for schools that became academies between 2010 and 2014.
"What tends to happen is that brokers turn up and the governing body caves in straight away – then it's not a forced academy, it's a voluntary one," adds Smith.
Now 35, Jeffers was last seen working on a voluntary basis for Everton's youth academy having failed to earn a move to Brunei DPMM in Singapore's top flight.
This exquisite black-and-white print depicts a group of muscular youths at a wrestling academy that is part of a voluntary after-school sports training program in Santiago de Cuba.
As Carol Geary Schneider, president of AAC&U, so provocatively said a while back, the academy has fostered a "conspiracy of voluntary silence" when it comes to the liberal arts.
Currently local authorities set the dates for community and voluntary-controlled schools but academies, free schools and voluntary-aided schools - church schools - set their own dates.
But she said she was convinced that academy status – Watford Grammar converted from being a voluntary-aided school three years ago – was a good thing.
GO Wales is a project that helps students and graduates in Wales through a range of services including paid 10 week work placements, voluntary work experience tasters, funding for graduate training and two training academies.
Academies, which receive state funding, are run by private companies, voluntary groups, or parent groups, but are not currently allowed to make a profit.
