To think 4 weeks summer is ok

[comeonlabour]

So as the title suggests, if the plans do go ahead to make summer hols 4 weeks I for one am not against it. I always think 6 weeks is way too long so 4 is more manageable

Also we will have longer half terms of 2 weeks in some cases instead of 1 so all good

Anyone else feel the same/agree with me

6 weeks break does become very long. I don't want anymore 1 or 2 weeks though. At least in summer it's all out of the way at once. I pay for my childcare so I prefer to just pay the Sumner hols then it's out the way!

I'm in Wales too OP but it's just discussion atw. I'm in 2 minds about it. There are.pris and cons. On a personal level I'd prefer it but I think it's unfair on the teachers..

I'm pretty sure most people are in jobs because of what it enables them to do when they're not working yes...

For myself I’m not really bothered either way. The amount of annual leave I get won’t change. It nearly covers my half of the holidays with exh getting the other half, with no days off for myself in the year.

If it helps disadvantaged children according to any reliable research then I’d be fine with it.

@skelter83 surely some teachers would prefer more frequent shorter hols with their children?

Im not criticising what you prefer, but like anything there’s going to be a mix of views?

Oh, I thought some people went into teaching because they found it rewarding. Like I do my NHS job. My mistake, sorry.

But if the same time were spread out, wouldn't you be less in need of it?

Why wouldn’t teachers want one long holiday unpaid break? We do also get frequent short holidays which we get paid for, which are the equivalent of everyone else’s annual leave.
I want 6 weeks so I can travel for two without having to rush back to work the next day, I want 6 weeks so I can properly unwind, I want 6 weeks so I can do bigger house projects without it impacting my work, I want 6 weeks specifically in summer because it’s more likely to be nice weather.
The 6 weeks honestly does fly in, and the shorter holidays are fine because it’s not as annoying being at work when it’s cold and wet anyway. - I’d hate my summer to be shorter!
It would also be a nightmare to calculate maternity pay. How would they decide which weeks we are paid for and which ones we aren’t?

Part of what makes it rewarding is the fact we get more time to spend with our children in summer. Or just more time to relax. That is rewarding.

That’s fine, I’m just thinking it won’t be as cut and dried as “all teachers will prefer the status quo and none will want longer half terms”.

No big deal!

I think with the state of the economy and lack of children's support services at the moment, 4 weeks would be better as I understood this benefits disadvanted children. For those that don't get enough to eat, that don't have a book in the house, whose parents don't interact much with them, or that just get left to entertain themsekves because their parents need to work and can't afford any holiday clubs etc, 6 weeks is an incredibly long stretch of time.

If they did this and had to put those two weeks somewhere else I think they should also take the opportunity to move the school holidays forward by a few weeks as late June and early July is often much better weather. And have one of those extra weeks in May.

I feel for the teachers. 6 weeks isn't a perk from what I can see or any of the half terms. Quite frankly teachers have no choice but to pay extortionate prices and I suspect deep down that's sometimes why there is uproar when people pull their kids out and go on hol! I'm guilty 😀

When mine were little I loved the six weeks holidays with them to do what we wanted. I was lucky that I worked term time for a while and before that I was a SAHM with a few part time hours so didn't have childcare costs in the picture.

I think primary school children, in particular, do benefit from having a longer spell to rest and be at home. As a child myself I loved the six weeks holidays and wouldnt have wanted them shorter.

As someone who works in holiday club and wrap around care I can't help but feel sorry for the children who still end up being in some kind of formal arrangement for most of the holidays. That isn't a judgement on the parents who need us, more a judgement on the way our society values work over homelife these days.

What could maybe tempt me would be 4 weeks at summer and two weeks of actual proper annual leave like every other job gets. Not being able to have any flexibility on your holidays at all is so hard. Especially for things like friends weddings, children’s achievements, personal things like for teachers who are professionals in other fields (like sport or music for example) or just for a week away on holiday.
My work are pretty good at giving me time off but it would have been nice just to book a day off for my scans etc rather than to have to tell my work I was pregnant early on, or to be able to book some holiday to see my kids shows and such.

I'm quite surprised that anyone with enough wherewithal to get on the internet didn't know that people commonly take terms and conditions into account when they choose their jobs, but every day's a school day. No pun intended.

If you'd do every single aspect of your job if you didn't need the money, not just the bits you like but the bits you don't, I suspect you're rather a rarity.

I understand what you're saying and I would be surprised if some teachers didn't prefer it. It's the same amount of holiday, just spread out differently.

I spread my annual leave out and prefer it that way - I like a two week chunk but, after that, I would rather have it in weeks at a time rather than 3 weeks in one go.

@ChangingPhoto

Teaching is rewarding. We wouldn't do it if it wasn't. However I give plenty of my time to my class for free.

I absolutely hate the rhetoric that teachers should be doing the job for the love of the children and don't deserve to be paid well, to work the hours they're paid for or be treated with respect.

Please stop pushing that agenda.

I am not. I was responding to teachers who say they only do the job for the holidays.

Have any of us said that?

Not directly. But heavily implied
eg ‘I’m a teacher. The long holidays with my kids are pretty much the only reason I stay in teaching’

So that's a no then.

Who has the annual leave to cover the 7 weeks (in Scotland too)!?

DH takes 2, I take 2, DH takes 1 and I take another 1. Its rubbish and you can't spend it as a family because you're juggling annual leave.

All AL is taken up in Summer. Doesn't fit with modern working parents now. It's old fashioned.

All this talk of parent's Annual Leave and whether pr not teachers 'deserve' the holidays are secondary to the question as to what is best for the children. I think most children benefit from having a longer break and that 6 weeks is actually on the shorter side for that. I'd actually be in favour of a week or two more over the year.

Ok

I’ve worked a corporate job and am
now a teacher. I loved both. I was better paid in a corporate job but the holidays weren’t as good. Without the holidays to spend with my kids, I’m back off to the corporate world I’m afraid. Conditions are far better…