Do you WANT longer school days and shorter school holidays?

[shadowlily]

YABU- yes I want schools to have longer school days and shorter holidays

YANBU- no I'd rather keep the hours/terms we have.

I keep seeing this is being discussed in the media today, do you think it's likely to happen? Personally I think kids would benefit more from the summer holiday and being able to catch up on the activities they've missed and socialisation with friends. They've been home schooled to keep up with the curriculum (for the most part! I know this might be a contentious statement for some!) but nothing has replaced the play dates, day trips, parties etc. they have missed.

What do you think?

In my opinion this is Gavin Williamson trying to leave his mark and fancying himself as some great politician like Rab Butler (just like Boris thinking he is the new Churchill

You are exactly right! He has referenced the 1944 Act several times now...

twelly there is literally zero evidence that long summer holidays affect education.

Longer days, shorter holidays we are going back to a Victorian approach to life. We might as well have children going up chimneys, down mines, and out on farms or a modern-day spin such as working in an Amazon warehouse.

@twelly

Educationally the long summer holidays do not make sense. If we are truly child centred these need to be changed and now is an excellent opportunity to act.

Why don't they make sense? I know there is a received wisdom that children forget what they have learned over the six weeks but I would rather look at it as them consolidating their learning. What they do not retain hasn't been properly taught in the first place. They are not hot house plants to be forced to develop faster than is natural.

I'd be ok to take 2 weeks off summer and add them to October and may half terms

But I can't see the unions accepting this so I can't see it really happening.

I think they need longer holidays tbh. Especially secondary. They are under so much stress.

I think what kids most need to catch up on is exercise, socialisation with their peers, and a return to a more carefree way of living.

They have the rest of their lives to catch up on education, but if they don’t have the chance to properly regain their freedom the effects will linger far longer.

@Sapho47

You do have to factor in wider issues such as the holiday industry that relies on long summer holidays - plus the fact that if everyone has to take their holidays in the same two weeks, businesses would grind to a halt like they do at Christmas.

You could stagger it across the country so its not everyone taking the same 2 weeks but maybe split into thirds each taking 2 weeks over a 6 week period

But then every parent in every office/shop/hospital ward etc would all want the same two weeks off. It's bad enough now!

Studies have shown children go backwards , children forget and speak weeks catching up at the start of the next term. Given the current situation there isn't time for this. At the present time children are stressed , stressed as everything is in chaos and flux they need routine. Many schools have not handled online classes well

Abaxan

Yes, children need to develop their independent skills but a lot of the time this would be better done in a well-resourced school library than in an under-resourced household.

And young children need their time at home to be free of the stresses of school. Remember children get homework sent home from the age of 5 - and it causes a great deal of unnecessary conflict in homes throughout the country.

At the present time children are stressed , stressed as everything is in chaos and flux they need routine

Stressed children don’t need more school.

Can you reference those studies please twelly? For all age groups?

@twelly

Studies have shown children go backwards , children forget and speak weeks catching up at the start of the next term. Given the current situation there isn't time for this. At the present time children are stressed , stressed as everything is in chaos and flux they need routine. Many schools have not handled online classes well

A change to the holidays is not going to happen this year. So that argument is moot.

@user143677433

I think what kids most need to catch up on is exercise, socialisation with their peers, and a return to a more carefree way of living.

They have the rest of their lives to catch up on education, but if they don’t have the chance to properly regain their freedom the effects will linger far longer.

Absolutely

Yes, this idea is meant to be long term , not just to make up for the many schools who allegedly ahve not managed online classes well.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

I think they need longer holidays tbh. Especially secondary. They are under so much stress.

Wouldn’t the better approach be to alleviate the source of the stress, rather than factor in an extended recovery period?

Isn’t this all a bit moot anyway, because many schools can already set their own term dates?

@whenwillthemadnessend

I'd be ok to take 2 weeks off summer and add them to October and may half terms

But I can't see the unions accepting this so I can't see it really happening.

Additionally people are forgetting that we don’t need years 11, 12 and 13 during July or August. They generally end their year in June anyway.

Adding weeks to Oct and May, reduces KS4 and Ks5 learning but two weeks a year.
Over the three years, those pupils would lose out on 150 learning hours.

*adding weeks holiday to May and October that is.

Nope.

You know what would be much better? Optional government-funded summer activity camps so kids can experience some time off that's not school and not sitting around at home, whatver their parents' income.

As for catching up, honestly, expectations may just need to be lowered a tad for a couple of years.

government-funded

From the magic money tree

I don't want longer days or shorter hols and I don't think it would benefit kids at all. They're like sponges, and once they're full for the day no more is getting in. They need some down time to decompress and allow their brains to process the days learning in readiness for thee next day. They need the hols for the same reasons. I don't think it would lead to better outcomes.

The only thing that I think would be better would be to start summer hols at beginning of July and back mid Aug, because the weather is almost always hot in the last few weeks of term, but not hot in the last weeks of the summer hol. Hot kids don't learn as well.

@SoupDragon

government-funded

From the magic money tree

They always seem to find the money for what they want to do but not what they should do.

Cancel HS2 - £45billion there for you. Who needs to get anywhere a bit quicker now that everyone's meeting remotely anyway?

@Echobelly

Nope.

You know what would be much better? Optional government-funded summer activity camps so kids can experience some time off that's not school and not sitting around at home, whatver their parents' income.

As for catching up, honestly, expectations may just need to be lowered a tad for a couple of years.

Oh yes - this would be marvellous! Agree

In theory I think two week breaks throughout the year is a good idea. I work in hospitality it would actually be of assistance not a hindrance and revenue management would quickly adapt a new strategy.

As a parent its the same amount of holiday days to cover so whats the difference, economical structures such as factory shutdowns would evolve.

Longer days doesn't work even if your not 'pro' teacher most people know lessons involve prep work and most teachers work 8 to 5 +

www.tes.com/news/schools-out-summer-and-so-learning

journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0907568218779130

Negative impact of summer holidays - there are more studies。

Longer days and shorter holidays are a good idea, not just for the post-Covid period but generally going forward. The school day should be long and children should be too tired afterwards to do anything other than do homework, eat dinner and go to bed. Ideally my timetable would be something along the lines of

8am - sports
9am - assembly
9:30 to 12 - lessons
12pm - lunch
12:30pm - break
1pm - lessons
3:30pm - sports
5pm - home, unless in detention until 6pm.