AIBU to say that summer hols are a driver of inequality

[Teaandcrisps]

Myself and OH have had mixed personal fortune over the last 10 years - so from personal experience know the difference.

Summer holidays with no money is shit - especially when the weather is crap. If you can afford it however, it's great fun.

It's not just the obvious things - summer hols, trips, activities, camps, increase in food costs; it's also if you have the kind of job that can give you time off.

Given that food bank have launched the holiday hunger campaign, AIBU to say that summer holidays is an unequal construct and the 6-weeks off needs to go.

My niece is at school in Monaco (loves on France). They finished in the middle of June and go back 10 Sept. Their school day is 8am-6pm though.

fedup21 we had long holidays that coincided with horrific weather - 13 weeks off over the summer, where the minimium night time temp was 30C, and it often got close to 50C in the day.
The long summer holidays ment very little time off over the rest of the year, which was pretty tough.

I'd say the UK has it about right. Yes, maybe a week off the summer onto the Oct half term, but doing that just shifts the problem- money, lunches, activities, childcare will still need to be found.
What needs sorting is the crazy low wages in some jobs, and the distinct lack of activities /camps that cater for working parents - 9-3 is useless, and seems to be what most activities near me are. I cant get them there or collect them, and breakfast club /afterschool doesnt happen (understandably) in the school holidays.

YABU. I think it's a disgrace that the UK has such SHORT summer holidays. We need to to make provision for children who are at risk during the holidays (hunger, grooming) or simply subsidised fun activities for children who qualify for FSM etc. but apart from that I think parents just need to suck it up and pay for summer camps etc, swap days with other parents, family etc.

Reading back to posters who have criticised me I honestly believe the issue is people’s mentality.

It's not mentality that means people don't have free activities in their area.

Op yanbu. I love in (what is considered) a deprived area. There is very little in terms of summer activities available. The schools (Catholic) have recently extended summer holidays with very little notice to parents and to be honest the whole break has been a long slog.

We've managed a couple of days out but they've not been cheap (even taking picnics) and we've had to travel a fair distance.

Personally I'd rather another week at Christmas and Easter

changing school holidays, really screws other things up - 6 weeks for holidays -
keeps the UK tourism industry alive,
gives time for foreign trips where there are enough flights available for everyone who wants them.
allows Annual leave "time-sharing" - one person allowed off at a time out of 3 of us - WE ALL HAVE KIDS....6 weeks gives us 2 weeks each...
weather in the summer is reasonably warm - who wants more time in the UK in damp/dark October -
Easter/May is bad choice for extra time off due to exams,
Dec/Xmas is a bad choice due to retail workers (big sector for us poor parents!) having an annual leave moratorium for December

Imagine the queue for Clarks!! And the uniform shop - we have 6 weeks, imagine the queues with only 4

as a working parent in a job that fits nicely with child-care term time - min wage with bog-all money I very much prefer the way things are. (you find ways to cope in the holidays and it is not for too many years)

It seems to be the squeezed middle that want change. The ones where both parents have to work to pay the mortgage.

YABU
Summer holidays do not drive inequality, you just notice the endemic inequality more during any holiday.
Kids need the mental break from school. Even if it just means a budget of zero so whatever you can get with a library card and kicking a ball around a park.
So no, we should not get rid of summer holidays.

Yes @noroof school hols have been like this for decades but the construct doesn't work so it has to change.

Interested to hear what teachers think from the pov of what is best for children, particularly those children from less privileged backgrounds?

Yes the thing is its not surprise is it.
You knew before deciding to have a child that the school day and holidays does not coincide with working full time.
I know that sounds harsh but I can't believe that in this day and age children are bored in school holidays.
There is far , far more to do than when I was a child.
I was left with my grandma who didn't drive and could barely walk. Everyone on her street was old, everyone, yet all this moaning about being bored is ridiculous.

Children need to learn to entertain themselves and as a parent that is your job.

The issue with extending Oct/Feb/Christmas breaks will be the weather. Not only does it restrict activities (usually removing the cheaper options like playing in the garden, walks etc), but if kids are at home, the home needs heating which is a further cost.

Extending the Easter/may breaks would not work for exams, so the older children would need different holidays giving complications for families with a spread of ages and teacher's families.

The schools (Catholic) have recently extended summer holidays with very little notice to parents

Extended the holidays? Do you mean adding insets at the end / beginning of the school years?

We’ve had almost 8 weeks holiday 😱

I think the answer is free/subsidised summer play schemes, not shorter summer holidays.

This is the answer but where will the money come from

My relatives live in the US and their city has subsidised summer camp programs as they have long holidays like 12 weeks. But spaces are limited. You have to log onto the site as soon as it opens and spaces go within days. Ends up being the most switched on parents who get their DCs in not the most needy.

I'll say it again.
Who do you think is going to pay for the increased hours?
I can tell you now that reducing school holidays will result in a dramatic loss of teachers.
It will also result in a loss of support staff who might as well resign and get a much bettered paid job, if their hours do not coincide with their children's school hours.

@isabellerossignol free activities do not have to be organised by your local council....regardless of where you live there will be things you can do for free (walks, library, parks, football.....)

@watersheep nope as in adding an extra week on and reducing holidays at different points in the year. So with the extra week and pd days the kids are off 7.5 weeks

Yes let's just rush to the bottom. But let's do it fairly. No one should be allowed to spend the hours bw 8am and 6pm with their children because working parents can't. And every parent must be a shit parent, because some kids have them.

@theduchessstill
Inequality needs to be dealt with and ending the six week holiday would be nothing more than a flimsy sticking plaster.

Well said! That’s exactly what it would be.

I think summers can be hard. especially of you are on a low wage and have to spend a fortune for childcare which doesn't leave enough money for days out (not even talking holidays). It leaves some families destitute. There is a reason why foodbanks are extra busy during the summer and are running out of stock.

The MN consensus seems to be that this is unreasonable - after all you knew all these before conceiving a child and one should just get prepared. But life doesn't always work out as planned - family breakdown, unemployment, illness... etc

so it has to change.

It doesn’t ‘have’ to do anything. Many people are quite happy with it the way they are.

The government will not fund more teaching days, the government will not suddenly fund free holiday care.

It won’t change.

OP
school hols have been like this for decades but the construct doesn't work so it has to change.

It works for me and many others on this thread, so perhaps it’s more that the construct doesn’t work for YOU and so perhaps YOU need to change, not the construct.

Firstly those who are cash poor are also not necessarily time rich. Planning a day out- organising and making packed lunch, making sure everyone has the materials the needs for all weathers, transport etc takes time. Finding the places and working out how to get to them takes time. But it also detracts from the cultural capital that is needed to even consider such things

There is a widely shared times article at the moment about exactly this in north London. Unfortunately I’ve already read it for free so link might be behind a paywall

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-children-dreading-their-summer-holiday-shutaway-inside-broadwater-farm-estate-8g0ql9dfm#

A local forum I’m on is completely unable to understand this as there is a large well equipped park nearby that is little used. They don’t seem to appreciate that a middle class white boy going to the park to play football has a very different experience to a poor black boy from broadwater farm

@isabellerossignol free activities do not have to be organised by your local council....regardless of where you live there will be things you can do for free (walks, library, parks, football.....)

But that's what I said in my original post. Not everywhere has those things! If you live in a rural village for example you won't have a park, you won't have safe places to walk, you won't have a football pitch, you won't have a library. You have to factor in transport to get to those free activities at which stage they are no longer free.

the government will not suddenly fund free holiday care.

people don't want free childcare - but affordable one. the childcare I pay for my 2 DC exceeds my earnings. School holidays childcare should not drive people into poverty. In most other European countries, it is far cheaper and much more affordable.

You are of course correct. Holidays are a time for the wealthy to flaunt their greed. Corbyn would put this right. Transfer the money from the entitled rich to the struggling poor. Put us all on an equal footing. Nationalise all housing and land. Remove the monarchy. Ban capitalism from the country. Take charge of all the countries privately held gold. Make a reserve of all of the private pension wealth for bumps along the way. Standardise clothing. Ban cars and make public transport free. Abolish the army, navy and Air Force. Let anybody who wants to come her be able to.

In case anything goes wrong and to be reasonably sure I would set up a commission of all social groups to check on a country where this approach has been tried to examine any pitfalls or setbacks.

We cannot go on as we are. That’s for sure.