To think we should do away entirely with school holidays?

[SkaPunkPrincess]

Just musing and wondering why we don't just do away with them entirely?

Run schools like a regular workplace in that they operate 52 weeks of the year, Teachers and students to get 4 weeks allocated holiday allowance per year and parents can use this at their discretion. Staff would be able to be more flexible and they would have more time in the year to teach children at a more realistic pace?

Am I missing why this isn't a genius idea?

[metalmum15]

Yeah you're right, 5 year olds have more energy than me, why do they need all these breaks? How will they ever learn to be an adult if we keep treating them like children?

Tink that was my first thought 😆

[bringincrazyback]

The daily grind starts soon enough, and once it starts it never lets up. Let children be children.

[YearOfYouRemember]

It's not a genius idea because it is ridiculous.

Think about the angst about kids missing a week and the teachers having to teach the catch up stuff and marry that with thirty kids potentially taking off four weeks all at different times.

[MaisyPops]

And now everyone has given perfectly polite and reasonable replies, shall we see if the OP returns

[Witchend]

I used to, almost without fail, be ill at the start of every holiday, so being tired by school is not a new thing.

Two years ago dc's school only had 10 days Christmas holiday. The school found the sickness rate the next term was really bad and looked into it and found there was a correlation over the years between a shorter Christmas holiday and increase in illness.
They've lengthened Te school day by a short time and added a week to Christmas and it is so much better.

[DameSquashalot]

I thought this was going to be a joke, or one of those threads where the title doesn't mean what you think it does...

[Jellycatspyjamas]

My two really get tired by the end of the week - never mind the end of term, there are reasons for them finding school and formal learning particularly difficult. They need half term breaks, summer etc to really recharge their batteries and consolidate their learning out of school.

Regular breaks throughout the year also encourages (forces) me to stop fur a while too and spend some time with my kids when Work isn’t on the agenda.

[BlueSapp]

well i mean, if they are in child care anyway during the summer months how would it be any different to keeping in the routine of going to school.

The school time would be less tiring surely because there is less pressure to cram the curriculum into a shorter period of time. The kids would get plenty of time to play and experience life and you can take them during the summer months on your two weeks holiday whenever its ready. People would pay less for childcare too.

If you work full time you won't see less of your kids, I can't take the summer off because the kids are off.

[NaughtToThreeSadOnions]

So what about exams OP, say parents decide to take that once in a life time cruise in may and june, what the schools should keep an exam paper back risk all the rest of year 11 telling the child the answers?

Or oh the criuse is march but iy means missing three weeks of the curriclum do you demand that the teacher reteaches the previous 3 weeks when your child is back, if you do what is stopping the pther 30 parents in the class doing the same? Do you realise how much time would be wasted reteaching stuff the children have missed because they could pick and choose holiday.

Yep its the run up to the exam season and the teacher chooses to go on holiday?

Thats apart from the added cost of utility bills, staff wages, childcare for teachers, ect ect

And the emotional and devolpmental impact that not having the holidas would have on the children.

Why isnt it a genuine idea you ask because its an illthought out one at best

[yippeekiyay2]

I’m wondering how the children would get taught anything of any substance/build on prior knowledge as everyone (staff and students) would be in and out at different times? Plus all the other reasons already mentioned. Children and young people are not merchandise/product; they don’t fit into a business model, no matter how much schools are forced to try and do this already. Although as someone who works in education it would be ace to have a cheaper holiday at slightly cooler times of year abroad . Tbh I’m assuming this a goady post rather than a real opinion...

[YourDaughter]

Haha, I’m just thinking of trying to organise the Christmas week. There would be minimal children, three quarters of teachers would want that week off 😂.
Plus the fun of trying to teach them on Christmas Eve 😱

[BonsaiBear]

Yea, let's squash them into shape from the age of four. After all, they will have to do 'work hours' till they're in their late 60's or beyond, so why not extend that to almost their entire childhood as well?

Great idea.

[LighthouseSouth]

OP is this about childcare?
You want an extra set of teachers for holiday times?

Sprinkles, It's not recent that kids are shattered at the end of term, it's been the case for years and years and years.

[RexManning]

There would inevitably be weeks in the year, typically around major religious festivals and public holidays, when you would either have too few children in to justify the cost of opening the school and / or too few teachers to guarantee pupil safety. Head teachers would therefore have to close the schools for these weeks.

Y’know, like the current system of ... school holidays.

[NaughtToThreeSadOnions]

People would pay less for childcare too.

Well the teachers woukdnt woukd they? They'd some how have to cover the childcare of their non school age children. So actally their would be more people paying for childcare, so more demand for nursary places more presure on child minders, nursaries ajd minders wouldnt have places for the non teacher working parents because they would have the teachers kids.

Also heres a thing School is not child care

[Jessikita]

I don’t think they should be open all year, but I think the way the holidays are arranged needs a bloody good shake up.

It’s ridiculous that most of the kids are off at the same time, meaning attractions etc are flooded with people at the same time, it’s difficult to book annual leave at work, arrange childcare etc.

I also feel that as they get older the school day isn’t quite long long enough. Instead of homework they should stay at school for maybe an hour longer.

[LighthouseSouth]

Also there's quite a lot of repetition in learning, pointless for some kids but really, you want to add in more?

You haven't thought of this from a child or teacher viewpoint.

Also imagine the lurgy rate being in with 30 children for 48 weeks of the year....

[formerbabe]

I don't agree with your idea but I do think the summer holidays are way too long. I also think having the bulk of the summer holiday in August is wrong. August rarely seems to be sunny or hot. Summer seems to have shifted to may/June time. Last year my children were at school in the hottest weather and when they were on their school holiday, the weather was rubbish so we could barely enjoy picnics in the park and beach trips like I'd imagined. I'd like a four week break round may/June time.

[LoniceraJaponica]

"The kids would burn out, never mind the teachers."

This ^^ with bells on.

[FuckPants]

What an utter shite idea.

[Jaxhog]

YES. But we've have to fundamentally change how schools work.

It would make more sense to have schools run more like real life. Having short terms and long hols made sense in the past, when mums generally didn't work and kids often worked during the hols. But society has moved on.

[BlueSapp]

Also heres a thing School is not child care why not, combine the two, I'm sure there would be cost savings!

[LokiBear]

BlueSapp - do you work in a school?

[NaughtToThreeSadOnions]

I find it really hard to understand why children are so utterly exhausted from school that they need holidays. It seems to be a very recent thing

Well how resent, im in my late 30s and definately remember getting "end of term itis" as my mum woukd call it ie i was grumpy fed up over stimlated exhausted and quite frankly needed to not be at school.

As did my friends my siblings and every other child