Summer holidays should be longer

For 6th form that makes a lot of sense, at 17/18 children are getting ready to start work. And having 5th day allows for part time jobs, study etc.
But I think primary age may struggle to focus until 5pm, especially under 7's

Never going to happen unless parents annual leave is increased also

There don't have to be government funded. Our village has a variety of options free or low cost through a combination of village fundraising, getting grants, volunteers giving up time.
If I help for 2 days my children get a whole weeks plsyscheme for free. A drama related playscheme my oldest auditioned for and got a free week, a local church run free playscheme for my youngest, and older children 12+ can volunteer with this and get to do lots of fun activities for free plus goes towards things like DoE. We share childcare with neighbours/friends - I have their for a day whilst they work and vice versa.

There are HAF funded playschemes for those on low incomes. There are lots of options which are free or inexpensive, but it takes being proactive, doing research and planning ahead.

Saying all that, I wouldn't want to have to figure it out for more than 7 weeks!

I agree with the suggestion someone made about 4 day school/work weeks instead

Yes to longer holidays

As long as there are camps for kids to go to

And none of this flimsy 9-2pm shit - proper day camps like in the States and Canada

How can it be on me ?! I actually work from home and my kids are older so it wouldn’t be a big deal really personally , but I can at least see that this would be the stark choice many families would be faced with and what we don’t need as a country is more people in need of help from the state because decisions have been made that make it even harder for working parents. I’ve always worked full time since my babies were born but it was not easy, at all, when they were smaller ( and I was in the office 5 days pre covid) it shouldn’t have to be so hard to invest in your future and have a career.

@waterrat totally agree - there will be children who spend most of the holidays stuck indoors on screens, not frolicking around outside, unfortunately.

Yes attends Saturday mornings also
Our local state finishes at 2.30pm

@noblegiraffe we have some great Gaelic football camps

So for example three weeks and it is 10 pound per day per child

I have to also pay for extra child care as I am working all summer
Off for a week in sept

I can't believe the summer holidays in England and wales are so short
Way too short I think

No it wouldn't as teachers & other education staff don't get paid for holidays

I bloody wish - and I’m sure teaching would be a highly competitive career to enter into if we were on holiday more than working!

But you said that was because they have clubs til 5 but finish lessons at 4. The state school I teach in, and the school my children attend, finish at 3.45 so not that much earlier that your child’s independent.

There is a state school near me that finishes at 3 but they start at 8.20.

Does your DD attend school on a Saturday?

I accept the 2nd part of your comment. But education needs a massive shake up, whether it be school holidays or some other aspect. As it is at the moment, it fails too many children.

But as for the first part, that's on you.

My state sixth form college finished at 5. We also only attended four days.

All adults. There are lots of experiments atm over the four day week not being less productive. Thats 80%. I know
someone who has worked 80% since her child started school but done it by working f/t in term time and working far less in holidays.

businesses need to be thinking more outside the box since they no longer pay enough to allow for only one adult in a household working.

Growing up in another country, we had whole 3 months. Though i hated my school, i think what we had there was pretty much heaven.

Would it benefit my children if I was unable to work due to increased school holidays and therefore had to sell my house and live off benefits? Don’t think so.

the trouble with changing NOW would be that people have based their lives around what is currently in place, so to change that would cause absolute chaos and disadvantage many , many families AND their children.

I disagree. It is childcare as well. Before the Second World War children went home for lunch but schools had to take on lunch time cover during the war and afterwards because often both parents were working.

Yabu.

They should lose a week or two and add them to Xmas and Feb half term. Those months are miserable and everyone gets ill. I'd rather slow down in the dark winter and rush around in summer. Kids can play out after school in summer, they can't do that from Nov - Feb.

I went to School in the late 60s /70s .There has been a dispute about the 6 week break for years!As far as I know there are discussions about kids getting behind ,and having to catch up /No idea if true or not.I feel 6 weeks is just right really .They start to get bored before School begins ,Working parents have abig enough headache as it is . Extra weeks would be a problem

All adults or just parents?

Because thr school days are longer at independent schools! DD finishes at 5pm hence longer holidays

Definitely.
Around here at least independent schools are 32 weeks long, yet state educated children have an additional 4 weeks. I’m sure this is detrimental to their wellbeing / mental health.
I think 3 weeks off for Christmas and Easter, and 8 for summer would be the most sensible , keeping the half terms.

School isn't to facilitate childcare though. It's for the benefit of the children.

@noblegiraffe
I think we know that you are a teacher. I suspect you just want a longer summer holiday. It is a funny way to look at it to say we are bottom of the league table for holidays. Some people might think we are top. A long break in the summer can disrupt learning.
It is really difficult for parents to find childcare in the summer and as a grandparent I certainly know that as I have the grandchildren for a few weeks. Some kids will be left on their own and spend all their time on their phones or gaming. This is not good for mental health. Yes it would be lovely if there were free holiday clubs for everyone but there are so many others things in this country to fix. It is not going to happen anytime soon.