Say it with me...

[TesChique]

School. Is. Not. There. To. Be. Free. Childcare.

All this talk of bringing the school summer holidays down to four weeks is boiling me as not one argument is child education centred. Instead its all focussed on making parents lives easier

It is six weeks for more complex reasons than "oh its from when we had farms and we dont have farms now lol oh also itd help me"

💯 No one seems to care what children need and what is best for them, including their own parents. School hours are fine as they are, and if anything children should be learning more during this time, but absolutely need a break too.

What summer loss would that be?

Some research suggests otherwise:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/evidence-based-living/202408/recent-research-questions-summer-learning-loss

https://www.educationnext.org/is-summer-learning-loss-real-how-i-lost-faith-education-research-results/

Having taught in the UK and Australia, I couldn't agree more. The two-week breaks really allow the decompressing and enjoying the time off: two quite different things.

Though while I'm here it's worth noting that in Australia, parents aren't fined for term-time holidays.

First and foremost it should reflect whats best for the childrens education

I agree but if only it actually did.

But life is a marathon (if you're lucky) often its a sprint and its always a race (sadly for many, to the bottom). Deadlines are everywhere. This is why kids have no resilience, can't cope with change etc because they are kept in a manufactured bubble then go into the real world and suddenly can't cope with anything.

What are those complex reasons?

I am going to challenge you. The current situation doesn’t work. There used to be one parent whose role was flexible- that is not the case now.

No other profession has to cram something into 75% of the year a race followed by long break. We don’t know if it works- because it’s never been done.

We don’t know what is best for the children because there has never been a time when it was part of the culture.

How do you know?

Do they have to decompress because they have intense learning that is crammed in? It’s a possibility.

If they did only 3 hours of learning a day followed by socialisation/single learning would that be any different?

You really cannot be serious. If you had a long break every year would you not feel better about yourself and life? I noticed everyone in the workforce really starts to fade towards the last few months of the year, that's not a coincidence. The solution is for adults to also be having a longer break, not to force children into school for longer. Maybe if people stopped being so materialistic both wouldn't have to work so many hours.

Comparing to other European countries with longer holidays is pointless. They have access to much cheaper childcare & many parents can take 2 wks in Aug off if not longer as things shut down. Certainly in France gps help more ime & dc are often shipped off for a week or 2. It's not the same here.

You didn’t answer the point.

The situation isn’t working. So how do you KNOW that reducing mandatory time away from school would be detrimental to kids education?

Maybe if people stopped being so materialistic both wouldn't have to work so many hours.

That's a stupid thing to say. The majority are working so many hours because their job demands it & they need the money for things like housing, not frivolous things.

I get 4 weeks off in the summer & use holiday clubs plus gp help. I am lucky.

I'm saying children are at school long enough and need a long break to relax, refresh and rejuvenate

Is it? Not for me.

I think the reason that kids “need” such a test is because the of the huge pressure to get everything done in a short time.

I edited my response to be clearer. What is the huge pressure to get everything done in a short time? I don't recall ever being particularly stressed out at school, apart from the normal stress that goes with exams

I do.

Art projects, end of term tests, presentations, performances all crammed into the last week of term.

Most countries have longer summer breaks.

Yeah but that's also how the real world works, that's why it's good you learn to cope and manage in those situations. And actually school has changed and assessments are scattered throughout the year.

It changes over the course of the school cycle. In p1 and p2, my child probably didn’t need a break from play-based learning. As they get older, they’ll probably need longer decompression times.

No one wants institutionalised children.

However, one small factor not yet mentioned in this interesting discussion - there are more and more only children. It’s a strain to keep them entertained - you have to be proactive about play dates etc (= more housework!). I think my child is grateful to be back amongst friends and peers by the summer’s end.

Over the past 30 years there have been changes not only to parents’ working lives, but also the way children play. Only those on family friendly estates are out playing in the street. Holidays are probably a battle to regulate screen time for many of us… at least (primary) schools are largely screen-free zones

I listened to an item about it on Radio 4 yesterday. There was a lot of emphasis on the fact that children (especially those from deprived backgrounds) lost a lot of learning in the long school holidays.

However, one small factor not yet mentioned in this interesting discussion - there are more and more only children. It’s a strain to keep them entertained - you have to be proactive about play dates etc (= more housework!). I think my child is grateful to be back amongst friends and peers by the summer’s end.

That's a good point, I also think there is more expectation in general to entertain your dc.

I agree regarding housing. But not the latest car, new clothes every season, elaborate kids parties, mountains of gifts etc. Needs and wants have changed significantly, even just in the last 20 years.

But not the latest car, new clothes every season, elaborate kids parties, mountains of gifts etc

That's is not the norm for the majority of families though.

Needs and wants have changed significantly, even just in the last 20 years.

The biggest ones being housing & people having fewer dc or none at all...

Parents today are far less likely to have dc that they can't afford...