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?

There is an academy trust in the south, Unity I think, which has trialled the two week October half term and found that staff absences went down by 50%, child absences by 25%, there's a lot of illnesses in the late Autumn term.
They also found it cut their unauthorised absences as less people were tacking additional days on to the autumn half term break. They have decided to continue with the arrangement .
There was an article about it in todays Guardian.
As a teacher, I would love a longer October break. Maybe cut the first and last week of the summer and add to May and October?

Exam period starts around the 11th May until the start of July.

@Vod oh, i don't know, a glasto living room might be fun!
You could get the kids to clean it when the last tent is down
(Yes, i am losing it, long morning!)

Lmao you clearly haven't met my kids!

I think many of us have trialled the rainy outdoor stuff during lockdown and know if it's for us or not. Doesn't work for me.

Maybe cut the first and last week of the summer and add to May and October?

Adding to May will not be an option due to the external exams. The proposal is October and February.

One of my kids has a two week October break. I think it's great, they are exhausted by then.

Nobody wants a long February half term, it's a nightmare as it is.

Nobody wants a long February half term, it's a nightmare as it is.

Exactly. The October week wouldn’t bother me but people seem to be saying this whole proposal is a good idea based on them wanting the other extra week at May half term instead of February which just won’t happen due to the exams.

The Spring term tends to be the shortest anyway, it depends on where Easter falls but can be as little as 9/10 weeks split into two half terms.
It should be possible to alter the public examination timetable with enough notice, moving everything one week forward if ALL schools take up the new timetable and the summer holiday also moves one week forward.
The DfE could could mandate it, after consideration.

Ah, you really do make this site the place that it is.

If the extra week can't be added in May (assuming the other one is going onto Oct), then I'd prefer a 3 week christmas break.

I think that there is a need to seriously look at how holidays are managed generally, but I actually agree that 6 weeks in summer is too long. And actually two weeks abroad in February (a lot of places are very warm then and pleasant) is often cheaper than a week in the UK in summer (often not warm and rarely pleasant!).

I would think more evenly spaced holidays, combined with, for example, some flexibility around two weeks during term time (perhaps based on attendance / performance / behaviour) would give greater scope for parents and schools.

I think it would be a good idea. 6 weeks is far too long all at once. Breaks being more spread out would be better for the kids, and childcare arrangements IMO. They need downtime. And selfishly, would also give us more opportunity to make the trip to DHs country without missing too much school!

I'm in Wales and voted in the consultation around this.
I think reducing the 6 week break is a great idea because that is a long time to go without the safety net of school if you're a child in a house where you don't receive regular meals, you're at risk of abuse or there isn't money for heating, hot water, clothes etc.

I understand the childcare issues this could raise but I wouldn't think the weather is something they should consider when looking at where to move the weeks to. And I would imagine if this comes into effect, holiday clubs etc will be made available (because they make money and the providers aren't going to just disappear if they can move them to when the school holidays are).

And actually two weeks abroad in February (a lot of places are very warm then and pleasant) is often cheaper than a week in the UK in summer (often not warm and rarely pleasant!).

Not sure that's the most appropriate comparison though. For a lot of families, a cheapo UK break is all they're ever going to be able to afford. I'm talking Parkdean, Pontins etc rather than the Centre Parcs and cottages end of the market. You're not going to get a fortnight anywhere warm for the price of a Monday to Friday Haven break in the final week of August.

If you take two weeks off the summer holidays, that means the four weeks of summer is going to be more expensive and price out some of those families entirely. A lot of the sort of places I'm talking about aren't open at all in February either, it's a common time for caravan parks who need to shut for 2 weeks of the year to still be closed. Those families would either have to do without or take their DC out of school.

And actually two weeks abroad in February (a lot of places are very warm then and pleasant) is often cheaper than a week in the UK in summer (often not warm and rarely pleasant!)

Loads of our families don’t have a week’s holiday away at all, let alone one that’s abroad. It’ll be a lot cheaper for them to entertain their kids for a week in July at the park or in the garden, than it will in February in the rain. So many of our families don’t even have passports.

I understand the childcare issues this could raise but I wouldn't think the weather is something they should consider when looking at where to move the weeks to.

Why? The weather absolutely impacts on people's behaviour, and that has a knock on impact on child welfare.

Current summer holidays are long and some families do struggle to cope, but there is at least the greater possibility of the kids being able to play outside and entertain themselves. It also gets dark earlier in October and February than it does in July and August, meaning those kids who are left to their own devices outside are less safe because of the season.

The issue of access to heating, which you mention yourself, also relates to weather. Kids from families without much money will at least be stuck in warmer houses in summer than they would be in February. A family who can't afford sufficient heating are more likely to be suffering because of that in winter than in summer.

I’d be in favour of school
holidays being shortened overall to four weeks in the summer and the remainder of the school year staying the same.

Do we even need the full 2 weeks at easter either? Easter itself changes so often, it would be better to have fixed school holidays by the calendar, and just shoulder the bank holidays (2 days) for Easter whenever they fall - often during holidays and sometimes not.

Tagging the 2 weeks onto Easter surely presents more challenges.

I think absolutely everyone in this thread is already familiar with finding activities to do that involve wellies and we all know it’s basically shit and a week of that is more than enough.

I think the novelty has worn off by now. The almost relentless rain since October in most parts of the country has most of use wanting to enjoy some time outdoors without having to get kitted up in waterprrofs and wellies.

Besides, a lot of people just don't enjoy walking around in sideways torrential rain.

I think working people would really struggle to get the time off that they want if the summer holidays. My friends in offices/wards always have a nightmare putting in for the weeks they want as they are competing against others who want the same time off-this would be made much worse if everyone was fighting for the same 4 weeks instead of 6, even worse if you have exam-age children and want to be there for the results which would take you down to only 2 or 3. The holiday companies would also ramp the prices up massively for those 4 weeks-it’s supply and demand.

Several councils in Scotland have done exactly that - the two week break is at a fixed point and the deal with the bank holidays if they need to when they fall outwith the two weeks

Lots in England do as well.

The costs for paying teachers to give up several weeks holiday would be phenomenal

Not to mention the holidays are the only thing keeping many in teaching - there’s always a retention crisis

I think it would impact a lot of businesses. So many seaside towns do a huge % of their trade in the summer holidays. They would lose that if a week was moved to February.