To think this will do nothing to help absence rates

[Imonthebloodyphone]

So a report published today says that school summer holidays in England should be cut to four weeks. (I know Wales has been consulting on this for a while but don't know if anything has been decided)

The report recommends longer half-term breaks in the autumn and spring terms in a proposed overhaul of the academic calendar. Article here:
www.theguardian.com/education/2024/feb/26/school-summer-holidays-half-term-england-calendar-nuffield-foundation-report

AIBU to think this is only going to exacerbate school absence? Because what struggling families really need is even more pressure on the already expensive 6 week summer holiday period when they can take their kids away!

Who on earth wants extra weeks in November and February, especially families who can't afford to go abroad. The last two weeks have been so bloody wet and miserable here in the UK; I can't imagine if a February holiday was my best hope of a break.

i do think that the autumn term is long and could do with a longer holiday, but February, really?

Actually, I'd welcome it. 6 weeks off in one block is too much. If local authorities stagger the moved weeks, it's a chance to get a cheap week abroad.

We can't afford summer holidays outside of the UK (on healthy combined income) so anything to help I'd welcome. Plenty of warm places to go to in Feb/Nov, doesn't need to be scorching to have a great time!

Yet nurses working in ER and in highly stressful, busy roles work 12 hour shifts or six weeks holidays a year. It doesn’t add up.

But what are you saying. The two aren’t comparable.

Teachers signed up for the only perk of the job which is six weeks holiday. Even though a lot of it is spent working. Remove the only perk, remove the applicants.

Its nothing at all to do with nursing. Nursing signed up to their own conditions by choice, as did teachers.

That’s not what’s being proposed.

LA’s are not going to ‘stagger’ holidays to make sure parents can get a cheap getaway.

It’ll be the same weeks off for all. Prices will be inflated to make up any shortfall and parents will all be trying to compete for the same weeks off. Many unsuccessfully.

Prospective teachers will think twice about joining the profession without the benefit of the long holidays. Existing teachers such as myself will leave.

Parents will realise that holidays are too expensive in the four weeks off and will choose to go during term time, accepting the fines, as it will still be a lot cheaper. Attendance will take a further hit, but it won’t matter because your children will only be missing cover lessons anyway.

Teachers and school staff who do stay in the profession will be lucky if they can afford a holiday and will stop doing the prep or classroom maintenance/displays because it eats too much into their shortened holidays.

Teachers won’t come in for results days to congratulate the exam kids because they may be away on holiday and there isn’t enough time to fit that in before results are out.

The negatives will outweigh the benefits and anyone who thinks they won't, is living in la la land.

Do all teachers really only train as teachers for longer holidays?

No wonder some of them are so unsuited to their roles.

Yes. I signed up for the holidays, as the career was family friendly and I could return home abroad for the summer.

I’ve managed over 20 years teaching very successfully, achieving some of the highest residuals in my school, and great results for my pupils.

All three of my children went to an outstanding academy that operated 8 weeks on 2 weeks off and a four week summer holiday. They came out with excellent grades and we managed well. Even when the younger children were at primary with usual term dates. The difference for me is that I signed up to it and was fully aware of the compromise and willing as the academy ethos was excellent.
Overall though I do think it’s the right thing to do, especially for children who do not have such a great time over the longer summer holidays.

Where is abroad? And why not recruit abroad? Go to the Phillipines and recruit as they do nurses?

There is an academy chain near us that started doing something similar 20 years ago. They really struggled to retain staff with the shorter summer holidays-lots couldn’t afford to live in the school catchment so sent their children to different schools with standard holidays and it just didn’t work for them as families. They have switched back now.

It is not the right thing for any child, especially when they don’t have enough teachers…and we are already at a critical level.
The problem is that yet again teachers are being treated as extended social services and social workers. I didn’t sign up for that responsibility.

Because I’ve lived here forever and was educated and trained here. Despite being in the UK for the majority of my life, it will never be home.

On the other hand, people educated and trained abroad cannot just teach in the UK.

IMO the rules should be changed around this. It would solve a lot of problems.

How will it help price? If everyone is off, they’ll be the new core holidays and will cost what the summer does now - and the longer haul ones to get warmth in February will mean more than a quick nip to Southern Europe.
Why do people keep saying 6 weeks is ‘too long’? The rest if the world manages longer…

It would create problems.
They would not know the curriculum.
They would not be familiar with the exam boards or specifications.
They would not be able to easily adapt to the different culture and pupil behaviour.
They would not be fully aware of our laws and safeguards.

All teachers who come to teach in the UK must have the appropriate qualification. This takes time and money.

People fail to see the bigger picture. They are thinking with ‘childcare’ blinkers on.

It’s a factor in career choice, as are all terms and conditions for every job. In teaching, it went along with good pensions - now eroded and autonomy - now removed. Plus teachers aren’t paid for them all. They are paid for 195 days plus statutory holidays and the resulting salary is divided by 12. So you would have to pay them more too.

Would it?
I currently teach English GCSE to an adult class many of whom are from countries where English isn’t the first language. They are lovely people, motivated and intelligent, but their English would not yet be good enough to manage the GCSE or A level specifications in most subjects. You need a very high level of language acquisition in order to teach through the medium of English.

They can learn. A friend of mine is a nurse and she trained in the UK. She managed to move to Sweden, retake the nursing exams there, learn the language (from scratch which few need to do with English), and has worked as a nurse there for years.

The Gov could incentivise and facilitate this. It would not be an immediate fix but it would be a long term solution.

Throwing extra holidays to attract teachers does not work both for attracting the wrong people and the whole education system is a shambles. I come from a family of four teachers. Not one of them care about their jobs other than the benefits and one left to work in customer service because she didn’t like that she was putting more effort in than her colleagues while they all received the same rewards. The system is broken.

I don’t want “extra holidays”.

Just the ones in my employment contract.

I think it’s a great idea and I would have loved it when my kids were little.

6 weeks is hell to cover for childcare, and we were lucky with family to help. 4 weeks is much more manageable.

If may and should October half terms are then 2 weeks it gives more options for families trying to get a holiday away imo. May/June is usually much better than August in the UK and abroad it’s much more manageable in October too.

School is not childcare and I assume you knew the structure of the school year before having children?

Commenting on proposals by the Nuffield Foundation to cut the length of the summer holidays from six weeks to four, NASUWT General Secretary Dr Patrick Roach said:

“The crisis in our education system requires substantially more investment in services for children and families, not another policy predicated on placing further demands on schools that are over-stretched, under-funded and at breaking point.

“These proposals to shorten the school summer holidays are nothing new. Depressingly, what is also not new is the lack of credible evidence demonstrating that such changes would improve educational standards.

“The last 14 years have seen schools trying to fill the gaps as wider children’s services and support for the most vulnerable have all but disappeared.

“Fixing the cumulative impact of the pandemic and 14 years of under-funding of our schools, children’s services and wider public services requires a future Government that is willing to invest in the high quality services that our children and young people deserve.”

https://www.nasuwt.org.uk/article-listing/no-evidence-shorter-break-will-improve-standards.html

It isn't but most women are expected to work nowadays

I came from a country where instead of 3 half terms we had an extra week at Christmas and 2 in summer.

And much prefer the way it’s done here. It’s lovely to break up the terms.

4 weeks would be so depressing.

So campaign for better childcare services and free provision, rather than expecting schools to fill yet another gap.