School term dates

[KnobJockey]

There's debates going on at the moment about whether to extend/ change term dates this summer to aid learning, which obviously a lot of teachers are upset about.

Not getting into the working side of it for teachers (as in, not getting into whether you should be working for extra for no pay this year, not whether the working hours work for you), does the current school holiday setup work, or should it be looked at?
By that I mean- long summer holidays, 2 weeks at Christian holidays, 1 week at others. I DON'T mean do you think teachers should work more, or any kind of teacher bashing, I just wondered if a lot of people think this opportunity to rework the school year should be grasped.

YABU- the current school holiday system works

YANBU- I think the 15 weeks school holidays should be spread out differently through the year

No vested interest in this currently, I have a 6th form teen who sorts herself and a toddler, I just find this an interesting subject and I think the time is perfect to look at the potential issue.

@NailsNeedDoing most academies have already done this.

I’m a teacher. It is 12 weeks at our school and most others; more at private schools.

I think it should be 5 weeks in summer, 2 in October (that term is a real slog) but should continue with the one week in May as it is in the middle of GCSE exam system. I think people would object to two weeks off in February although it would not bother me.

Also, consider that there needs to be time for GCSE and A Level marking before the results are released. That takes several weeks.

I always feel the best weather is while the kids are in school. Don't know the answer to that though

There is no solution to that - whenever you set the term dates, there will be a sunny spell first week back. The weather Just Knows

@Aroundtheworldin80moves

Staggering the school holidays would make a lot of sense. Other countries do it. It would extend the summer season so less pressure on holiday destinations etc.

It would need coordinating however, so different schools near each didn't have completely different holidays to account for cross-county boundary school attendance.

(I once had a very pleasant trip to my parents in London when my kids school holidays didn't line up with London holidays!)

Most countries have much more time off than us!

Where I live, we have 2 weeks at October half term and a shorter summer holiday- between 4-5 weeks. I think this works really well but I think that we somehow don't get the same holiday allocation as a relative who lives in Hull.

Quite simply because of Covid we may need to have them more at home over winter as summer is when the virus drops

Add a week to Christmas and a week to February half term holiday (and we can all go skiing) if we have to do this

Add a week to Christmas and a week to February half term holiday (and we can all go skiing) if we have to do this

Ah yes, because no one has brought Covid back to the U.K. from a ski holiday.

Was it originally to give children a long break, it would be interesting if someone knew the background of why the holidays are spread like they are?

School holidays in Scotland were set around the needs of the rural/farming communities. Summer was a busy time for preparation for the coming year with bailing/silaging. Kids were needed to help with this hence the long holiday.

The 6 week summer break is a nightmare for childcare when you don’t have extended family that live on your doorstep. I am skint in summer because if paying out for holiday clubs that my children don’t even like going to. Last summer was awful because no holiday care available so kids sat on screens whilst I worked. Would prefer 4 weeks in summer, two at may half term and 3 at Easter. If we go on a family holiday we always go at may half term and in the UK. Weather no more unpredictable than in Summer.

I love the long summer holidays
So do my children
I honestly think we all need that length of time to forget about school and the routine
BUT I do think that it is a bugger when you are working (we are lucky, DH is a lecturer and I am freelance) so I would moot instead some kind of brilliant funded playscheme provision like we had in the 80s. That would also support kids in families who are struggling, and could address the holiday hunger issue.

Not just the needs of rural communities - also happy coincidence that it fitted with university and school teachers wanting several weeks tomcub-lead young aristos round their European Grand Tours

The six week break also provides teachers and other staff with the opportunity to prepare for the following year. It's not just about the kids.

Any constructive comments about changing it ought to start from the point of view of educational benefits. Too often the education system gets pulled one way or the other because the most important thing to parents seems to be the cheap childcare it offers. Child care should be separate from education.

Was it originally to give children a long break, it would be interesting if someone knew the background of why the holidays are spread like they are?

It stems from back when children were required to help bring in the harvest before the winter, the 6 weeks were spent at home cropping and helping

Too often the education system gets pulled one way or the other because the most important thing to parents seems to be the cheap childcare it offers. Child care should be separate from education.

Have my first do try not to choke

The educational benefit would be from the reducing the current levels of regression over the long summer holidays. Especially as there is already an association with disadvantage and greatest such impact.

Teachers would still get exactly the same amount of leave, and I doubt moving a week would make such a difference to planning for the next year.

What it could do to the exam marking timetable (noted by pp above) is however an important point. And one that probably rules out extending the May half term.

I think the holidays should be distributed differently but it's too late to do it this year. I wouldn't mind the 6 weeks summer to be 4 weeks with the other 2 weeks tagged onto Easter or Xmas or even similar summer holidays to Scotland so kids get the best of the weather - July is better than August imo.

I'd personally like the summer holidays to start at the beginning of july and run til mid august as the weather is generally better these days earlier on in the summer season. And maybe pull the October half term to mid October.

I hate August. I would like to see schools close for the whole of July when the weather is typically nicer, and then have 2 weeks of half term slightly earlier in the autumn term.

Or, ( this is controversial) lop one week off the summer holiday and bring back the 'approved 5 days off for a family holiday' and also let teachers have 5 days off of their choosing too.You could protect certain parts of the school year and say no holidays in the autumn term or exam time etc. There must be a more flexible approach compared to what we have now.

Or make the school day longer - but fill it at the end with sports/arts/music activities that don't necessarily need a qualified teacher.

@forinborin

Was it originally to give children a long break, it would be interesting if someone knew the background of why the holidays are spread like they are? Not sure about the UK, but in other countries it often was because at the dawn of universal education the children still were an extra pair of hands at home, and summer was when the demand for unqualified labour (either at home or as a hired worker) was at its peak. Parents simply would not have sent their children to school.

yes agree... think the long school holiday in the UK in the summer was to help farms bring the harvest in, hence using school kids.

I think it's the same reason that HoC has a long summer recess - when MPs were landowners they went back to their estates in the summer to oversee harvest.

YANBU- I think the 15 weeks school holidays should be spread out differently through the year

In most places in England it is 13 weeks, not 15.

I don't want more holidays in the winter when it's cold and wet.
I don't mind one moving to May half term instead perhaps.

Would 4 weeks summer holiday not make it difficult for lots of workers to try and take time off in the summer? I know people in lots of offices and businesses who already find it hard juggling time off over the 6 weeks as the demand is so high. Most people will still want to have their main holiday in the summer.

Staggering holidays is a logistical nightmare for many.

Teachers can't then realistically work in a different LEA/county to the schools their children go to.

Families can't meet up in school holiday time or take joint holidays.

People who have split families or if their children don't live with them will end up with different holidays.

The overall cost of holidays will rise to meet the increased number of holiday weeks. They certainly won't come down.

School holidays are nothing to do with the harvest-but it’s a popular myth dragged out regularly. This article is over ten years old and people are still trying to blame the holidays on the harvest now!

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.tes.com/news/cut-harvest-argument-and-reap-rewards-holiday%3famp

We already have 2 weeks in Oct 5 weeks in summer but not in all schools 1 at primary school does but the other granddaughters Academy doesn't

My county currently does 5 weeks in the summer, 2 in October, 2 at Christmas, 1 in Feb, 2 at Easter and 1 in May/June.

This is all purely from my point of view and I’m fully aware that this wouldn’t suit everyone but this is what I would like!

I love the 2 in October as that term is always hellishly long and exhausting for everyone. I also like it because we often have parents evening the first week back after half term and having two weeks off gives me a chance to write my parents evening reports and get ahead for the next half term as there are always data drops and pupil progress meetings etc after half term but it also lets me have some rest.

I’d quite like 3 weeks at Christmas and come back a bit later in January. I know that the weather is miserable but a lot of kids seem to be ill or tired when they return to school, especially in EYFS, as the Christmas holidays are so hectic and I think another week at home to calm down from Christmas before they come back to school would be nice. I also think it might help stop some of the seasonal bugs spreading which is something to consider if we have to live with Covid long term.

I’d like 4 weeks in the summer as well as I think it would reduce summer learning loss. I also don’t mind working in the summer as the nights are light so even when I get home at 630/7, I’ve still normally got a couple of hours daylight before I go to bed. It always feels like I can get more done in the summer.

Also, this is probably controversial but I’d like the extra week (if you took 1 off the 5 week summer and made it 4) to be saved for staff and children to use throughout the year when they want. I’ve missed many things over the years, eg: a friends wedding because it was on a Friday for example and I was teaching. It would be nice to have five flexi days that could be used to allow people to do things. Same for children and their families eg: taking a long weekend Friday-Monday to travel to see family without fear of repercussions. I know this would have huge implications in terms of staffing and children missing work and would end up being a logistical nightmare but I’m allowed to dream 😂.

It will never be changed.