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?

Most of Europe has longer summer holidays.

I have to be in school for GCSE and A level results.
That would mean having teo full weeks in the summer.

"Struggling families" are not the ones worried about going on holiday in the summer.
The real struggling families are those wondering how they'll feed their kids for 6/7 weeks, at least making the summer holidays shorter will alleviate that to an extent.
Those of us with children with special needs - who struggle with the lack of routine and lack of essential therapies such as physio - will also benefit. Maybe my mental health would improve if I didn't have to spend 7 weeks alone in my house with a child who is not coping with the break from school at all.
But you know, as long as your holiday abroad goes ahead.

It’s great for parents having holidays when nobody else’s school has-they can take advantage of cheaper holidays.

Unfortunately what’s being suggested here is that everyone in the country has two weeks at February and October so that the prices will just be sky high for everyone.

English summer holidays are already short compared to many other countries, making them even shorter is ludicrous. Mind you an extra week in February means more options for skiing rather than the crazy rush to the channel on Friday night and back on the following Sunday evening with knackered DCs having to go to school the next day.

The real struggling families are those wondering how they'll feed their kids for 6/7 weeks, at least making the summer holidays shorter will alleviate that to an extent.

I’m sure those struggling families will find it very hard and expensive heating the house and entertaining the kids for an extra wet cold week in February. Having that week off in July when they could go to the park and the heating doesn’t need to go on would be significantly cheaper.

The real struggling families are those wondering how they'll feed their kids for 6/7 weeks, at least making the summer holidays shorter will alleviate that to an extent.

But they would get the same amount of holiday except it would be spread through the year, so a shorter summer break means that a week will be added on elsewhere instead.

We also have different holiday breakups or weeks in our country. So oct/nov holiday, Easter and Feb holiday can differ with three weeks depending on where in the country you live. Summer holidays can also differ with a couple of weeks. It works well.

This would clash with the exams.

A ten week school summer holiday with free childcare if you need it sounds amazing! Are your taxes high there?

I agree. Silly idea.

Exactly.

People keep replying to these threads to say it’s a great idea ‘but they want the extra week in May.’

This has never been a suggestion from the government/research as far as I have seen. It’s just less time in the sun and more time off in the rain. An extra week in May would be fabulous but it’ll never happen with the exams.

People keep replying to these threads to say it’s a great idea ‘but they want the extra week in May.

They don't have secondary aged DC.

It would work in primary schools, but not in secondary schools.

Fairly high but it’s well worth it as everyone benefits. Going to the dentist is free up to the age of 23, free glasses, medicine and dr appointments for kids etc. But it’s different here as most people work, I have never met or heard of a SAHP for example. People contribute so it feels fair. No real private schools either, my friend once did go in the same class as our Crown Prince. Noone cared. 😅

Probably-they just aren’t reading what’s being proposed though, just what they fancy happening. If there is ever a consultation about it, let’s hope people read that properly rather than just blindly agreeing it’s a good idea!

I’m sure there are people who would like the May half term extended just for primary school children but having split holidays for different sectors would be a nightmare for families and would massively impact attendance! We had a MAT round here who trialled different terms but not all of the schools in the area did it. It meant that when the academy schools were off at different times, families with children at different schools leapt on the chance to get cheaper holidays and pulled their other kids out.

Families only like things like this when it gives them opportunities to benefit from quiet/cheap days out or holidays. If the whole country are changed, it will just put prices up everywhere for everyone.

I don't think the poster I was asking is concerned about that.

Nah,.the summer holidays are already too short.

I'd like 8 weeks at summer
2 weeks in May
2 weeks in October
2 at Easter
2 at Christmas and one at Feb.

Minimum.

It wont help with childcare as still more school hols than AL entitlement so it is always a juggle. Just creates more peak times for booking leave so likely to be more chance of parents not getting school hols off.

It’s easier to tinker around with the summer holidays than actually deal with the real issue is that support services have been cut to the bone and schools are the only ones holding things together. That shouldn’t be the case. We should have low cost holiday options, support with parents with those with SEND (all year round not just during the school holidays.) I think most people could more or less get on board with a 5 week summer holiday- although that’s still going to be tight in some jobs to make sure everyone gets a week off and will push up prices, but not four weeks.

The reality is that if our summers get hotter, there will have to be a huge investment to make our schools safe to teach in during hot weather or look at changing the holidays. There’s a reason why southern Europe tends to take June, July and most of August off. I remember teaching when temperature was 33/34, my classroom got the sun and you had to have the blinds down and there was no air circulating. I achieved with my classes on those days the square root of diddlysquat.

Are they? Does anywhere have any less than 6 weeks? I know lots of countries (in Europe and beyond) have a lot more.

I don’t know of any either.

You can bet that private schools won’t be dropping their long summer holidays as well!

And employing uni students.

I could get on board with 5 weeks summer term and a longer October half term or June half term. The spring term feels short and it’s always the autumn and summer terms that feel hard going for different reasons. Both of my children were on their knees before October half term- the extra week this year seemed to make a massive difference. Our head teacher was desperate for the break as so many children were struggling.

I often find that it’s easy to find childcare in the summer and Easter holidays as the longer break makes it more economically viable for more companies. In that way, I wouldn’t want to see summer reduce too much. But, I can also see why a long summer is tricky if you don’t have the money for camps. It’s the kids sat doing nothing while their parents are working that probably feel the decline the most.

When I started teaching in Scotland, we had a 7 wk summer holiday and a one wk October holiday.

One week was taken away from summer and added to October. The thinking was that it would reduce the number of parents taking their kids on holiday during term time. It did not.

Oh, definitely. Options for childcare for a week or two childcare in February half term is going be very difficult.