Summer holidays should be longer

[noblegiraffe]

Our kids have the shortest summer holidays in Europe, Italy have 13 weeks, even Ireland has 9.

They're under pressure so much at school they need more time to just be kids. Classrooms are so hot in the last few weeks of term that it's impossible to learn effectively anyway.

I think we should add at least an extra two weeks to the summer holidays, so break up near the start of July. This would bring us more into line with private schools too.

And with longer holidays it might help recruit and retain teachers, and reduce competition for summer annual leave slots for working parents. It could even reduce the cost of holidays as 'peak season' would be longer.

Ours have been out doing sports, days out, picnics in the last 4 weeks. Neither of my kids have complained about the classrooms being too hot.

Er.....because the activities you have described have removed them from the classroom?

I presume that schools have to comply with the same regulations on temperature as other workplaces where people manage fine to be productive? If not, of course they should, including air conditioning if necessary and windows can't be opened safely.

Personally I'd prefer more frequent, shorter holidays throughout the year (not less holidays overall) as I think it would be better for the children to have frequent decent rest breaks rather than it all being lumped into summer. I'd also have the 4 week summer break in late June into July when the sunniest and hottest weather normally is and after public exams have finished.

Terms that ran from late July/early August would also give more term time to cover the curriculum before May/June exams, as the exams could run right up yo the normal end of term.

And there would not be anywhere near enough time to mark them.

Not everyday obviously - the point is, they are not cooped in the classroom day in, day out at this time of year. I can see all the local schools are doing sports days, residentials, trips etc at this time of year - it’s right there on my facebook feed everyday! My eldest was very excited to tell me they’ve been watching movies in drama and loving it! No kids have done any serious work in a few weeks and mine have had alot of fun.

If you made the holidays any longer, there would be an absolute outcry for more holiday camps and parents couldn’t do it on the annual leave we have. Therefore, whats the point in replacing the last two fun weeks at school with sending them to holidays camp instead?

What regulations are you talking about? There's no regulation for maximum classroom temperature.

Also: This is not rocket science. Kids can't learn effectively when it's too hot.

https://www.massey.ac.nz/about/news/phd-research-finds-poor-classroom-air-quality-hinders-learning/

"Under each condition, students completed a series of online cognitive tests, designed to assess various aspects of cognitive function, including concentration, reasoning and short-term memory. By comparing student performance on the cognitive tests across the three conditions, I could isolate the effects of temperature and ventilation on cognitive function. This controlled approach allowed me to determine whether warmer temperatures, with or without adequate ventilation, had a positive, negative, or no discernible effect on students' ability to concentrate, reason and remember information.”
Dr Tookey says research suggests a comfortable temperature range for learning environments is typically between 18-24°C. However, this range should be considered a guideline, not a rigid rule.
“In colder regions of New Zealand, particularly during winter, the higher end of this range (closer to 24°C) might be more appropriate. Conversely, in warmer, subtropical areas, especially during summer, the lower end of the range (closer to 18-20°C), or even slightly lower, might be more comfortable."

My classroom has been more like 27-29 degrees the last month or so.

Makes me think back to the heatwave we had in 2022 when it was over 40 degrees. People saying 'we managed to keep the schools open then'

Yeah, it was shit, nothing got done. Well done everyone for 'keeping schools open' but forgetting that the purpose of them is supposedly so that kids learn stuff.

I don't know any schools near me with more than a few "enrichment days". We had three, all in the last week of term.

Ok I am a teacher and for the record our so called holidays often get taken for planning and preparation for the new school year. We also get extremely tired looking after your kids - as surrogate parents, social workers, educators, mental health support, counsellors, data managers, and all the other things that parents and the government decide is our responsibility!! We need a proper break! I have my own children and yet I know I will spend at least 2 weeks of my summer holidays getting ready for the sept term. I also spend many weekends and evenings during temr time plus other school holidays making sure your kids have well planned lessons. I work full time and have 4 neurodivergent kids and I am now also a single parent. I am entitled to a proper break. Also my term dates dot align with my youngest child's specialist school placement so I am currently still at school whilst my son finished his temr 2 weeks ago! ! I have to suck it up and sort out the childcare. I do sympathise with parents on low incomes that have to work and cannot take time off during school holidays but seriously can we we stop the attacks on teachers regarding their extended holidays!! We work bloody long hours during term time with planning, directed time meetings until 4/ 5.30pm most weeks , we also often have briefing each day at 8.30am. Then there are the oarent meetings and admin tasks that we dont get time for in our day! My typical day is 8.15 am to 4 30pm at school and if i have a full teaching day I get just 1 x 15 min break and 30 min lunch. When I do get home and sort out my own family I then tart work again at approx 8pm for at least 1- 2 hours. I refuse to work Friday evening or sat but also work 2- 3 hours on a Sunday afternoon / evening! I plan well organised lessons as at my current school e have walk-around an drop ins at regular intervals so we get observed multiple times ' informally ' a week and that doesn't include the formal reviews of teaching and learning. Please just let teachers have a holiday

Ok I am a teacher and for the record our so called holidays often get taken for planning and preparation for the new school year. We also get extremely tired looking after your kids - as surrogate parents, social workers, educators, mental health support, counsellors, data managers, and all the other things that parents and the government decide is our responsibility!! We need a proper break! I have my own children and yet I know I will spend at least 2 weeks of my summer holidays getting ready for the sept term. I also spend many weekends and evenings during temr time plus other school holidays making sure your kids have well planned lessons. I work full time and have 4 neurodivergent kids and I am now also a single parent. I am entitled to a proper break. Also my term dates don't align with my youngest child's specialist school placement so I am currently still at school whilst my son finished his temr 2 weeks ago! ! I have to suck it up and sort out the childcare. I do sympathise with parents on low incomes that have to work and cannot take time off during school holidays but seriously can we we stop the attacks on teachers regarding their extended holidays!! We work bloody long hours during term time with planning, directed time meetings until 4/ 5.30pm most weeks , we also often have briefing each day at 8.30am. Then there are the parent meetings and admin tasks that we dont get time for in our day! My typical day is 8.15 am to 4 30pm at school and if i have a full teaching day I get just 1 x 15 min break and 30 min lunch. When I do get home and sort out my own family I then tart work again at approx 8pm for at least 1- 2 hours. I refuse to work Friday evening or sat but also work 2- 3 hours on a Sunday afternoon / evening! I plan well organised lessons as at my current school we have walk-around and drop ins at regular intervals so we get observed multiple times ' informally ' a week and that doesn't include the formal reviews of teaching and learning. Please just let teachers have a holiday

Where we live the summer holidays are around ten weeks, we don’t have long halfterm holidays, children have 178 days of school a year, so only slightly less than 190 in England. It isn’t unusual for parents and non-parents to take all of their annual leave in June/July, so its also accepted countrywide that non-essential services will run much slower in the summer months. The company my husband works for has a two week complete shutdown for the first two weeks of the summer holidays, this doesn’t come out of his holiday allowance.

I would rather shorten the summer holidays to 4 weeks and extend the other holidays so they get longer breaks throughout the year.

Just speaking personally for my children they really struggle with the long break, even now as teenagers. They thrive on routine, and expectations. Many kids who have mental health issues, SEN, anxiety etc also need the routine daily school life brings.

Im sure children's mental health issues are related to their home lives more than school lives. We have high levels of poverty, high welfare bills, cost of living crisis, stressed parents trying to keep their heads above water, a drug culture of "just a bit of weed" leading to mentally unwell parents (mostly men), broken homes, the list goes on. I dont think its realistic to blame kids poor mental health on a short summer break.

My son had disastrous mental health, caused by lockdown and the behaviour of his school and teachers. Many kids are still trying to process their missing formulative years courtesy of the pandemic. Being 2 weeks shorter on their summer is not the cause..

That is country specific - it would be ridiculous for the UK to shut down for 2 months as most recent Summer holidays have been average temperature. We also have an economy that needs every bit of help now. What works in one country wont work in another.

Also, in an already divided society, it would be putting parents against each other ‘oh I work for an essential company so im entitled to that holiday club place more than you’.

It is far better to consult teachers and parents and see how we can best divide the holidays up in 2025 to fit with modern day life and what’s best all round.

Are you suggesting the holidays teachers get aren’t long enough already?!

Possibly in the public sector! In the private sector in the UK the average is 22-26 days. Which many people don't take.

Adults have to work under pressure and are only entitled to shorter hols. Why do kids need the extra time? They'll have to get used to adult work patterns sooner or later. Unless, of course, they have a lifetime on benefits.

Nice try.

Habe you data showing that countries with longer school holidays have higher levels of unemployment/benefits claimants?

Either you didn't read what OP wrote, or you did, and your so completely lacking in empathy that you chose to ignore it. Either way, yes, quite clearly OP is saying that due to the ridiculous workload of teaching, she needs a holiday.

@MellowPinkDeer

i get 33 but statutory minimum is 28 days, very common alas.

6 weeks is plenty as far as holidays goes

I don't think I did?

@Madsciencecovid2020

but many occupations do all of this (ok different job but equally difficult) and still get just 28 days off a year including bank holidays and paid less and worse pensions. It’s not a race to the bottom and don’t begrudge teachers their pay nor summer holidays but this idea that’s they need such long holidays to recuperate when the rest of us never ever get more than 2 weeks off at a time and still have to deal with juggling dc etc grates!

I’m presuming OP that you would have no issues with childcare or taking annual leave and for people like that of course it would be great for the kids if they were experiencing positive activities as a result. But for a large proportion of children it would not be like that. For me it would just mean putting my children in holiday clubs for an extra 2 weeks which is extortion. And my kids actually enjoy school so I’d rather them just go to their own school for free! If it’s too hot I’m sure they don’t do much ‘learning anyway’. My son came home recently and said they’d had a water fight in school. He’d had a blast, I think his mental health is fine despite having to go to school in the heat. I’d be more concerned about the mental health of children who would be stuck at home for an extra 2 weeks, bored, parents stressed at having to find money for an extra 2 weeks. And those who live in abusive households. It’s not as simple as improving children’s services. I say that as someone who works in children’s services. You need to think about the bigger picture, not just think about those who are fortunate not to have to worry about these things. I think Covid and children not being in school has had a huge impact on mental health so I don’t think being in school is the concern

Exactly!

Unfortunately- main stream can’t meet need. Hence why they go to private school. Thanks for your input though

If you have no choice … and genuinely sorry if your children have special needs, you can’t complain about it. It is still your choice.