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.

I do. Many parents don't.

I used to teach so I see this from both angles.

I remember all the Matildas and Hugos who came back to school full of stories about their trips to art galleries, the books they'd read, the day trips to the zoo and the dance, sports and drama camps they'd been on. I also remember the Kalebs and Neveahs who had spent the whole time on the XBox, or even worse, had ended up providing childcare for younger siblings. Guess which ones were greater depth and which ones were working below by the time the Christmas reports came around?

It's great for parents like me, I've got a good support network, a flexible job which pays decent enough, an engaged husband in full time work. I'm educated and, having been a teacher, I know what my child will be covering next year and how to prepare her for it. We love books and love reading together.

Not so much for a single mum with little to no education rushing between 2 or 3 part time jobs with no help.

I'm Irish but live in Finland. The Summer holidays are long here..my kids finished at the end of May and they go back on August 7th. That said they do not get a long break at Easter, only 4 days.June is spent by most children 6+ (preschool year up) in camps. The preschool often has its own camp and then there are camps set up for school age children.
If families can't afford camps or their kids don't want to go, then the local playground has helpers that look after the children there and do activities with them. Throughout the Summer months, playgrounds also offer park food. That is a meal served at 12 for any child that wants it. You need to take a bowl/spoon/cup. Lots of children do this regardless of income bracket and they go by themselves or together with other kids from their neighborhood.
Most people take their holiday in July and go to their Summer cottage so the camps are reduced and only some daycares are open.

I agree that the last few weeks in school this year,in the heat, in buildings not designed for hot summers, have been a total waste of time educationally. They have provided a babysitting service for working parents who don’t get sufficient leave to cover the school holidays.
The children have been tired and behaviour has deteriorated. Staff are exhausted, with ever more demands thrown at them. We don’t have enough staff to provide the support that some children need which has knock-on effects on the other children, and on the staff that we do have. My school has already lost 2 members of staff who are leaving at the end of term because they can’t cope with the increased physical demands on them. It looks a third may be going too. Requests for part time work have been refused because of timetable demands, but those staff are requesting it because they are exhausted.
I think extending holidays may help a little but, more importantly, schools need to be properly funded so that they can be adequately staffed without putting such a burden on the employees they do have.

100%

And my kids are much closer to being Matilda and Hugo here but unlike the OP, I am actually capable of understanding that there are experiences outside my bubble

I think the fact is that having to 'cover the school holidays' has become the general way of understanding parenting your child is the problem. It shouldn't be about shorter pupil holidays for that convenience of working adults - it should be about government and employers supporting parents to spend time bringing up their children themselves.

It's not for schools to fill that gap. There are too many posts on here saying that kids regress, need the routine, many go hungry, aren't safe etc. None of that would be the case if parents were willing and able to look after them properly and home life was seen to be important, and education supplemented this.

Summer holidays need to start earlier - the best of the weather has always been and gone by the time the children are off.

And stop having exams in the summer, have them in winter instead.

How would that work ie you would sit GCSEs in winter and then do what for 7 months?

That's why the community solution really is what is missing in the UK, but the sound of it.

We are the type of parents who (by education, job, income, class...) ought to do all the enhancing.
But we don't really bother particularly in summer holidays because there IS a community solution where we live, and so our kids get sent there and so do the underprivileged children. There might be some learning loss but I would expect it's more equal for all kids. And meanwhile all the kids have cheap childcare together that means they are not watching screens and are not limited to their own families.

Never thought of that aspect of it until I read this thread!

I voted wrong, I meant to vote for YABU.
Are you a stay at home parent? I'm not sure there's any working parent (or full time working parent, at least) that would want longer summer holidays.

The children of full time working parents wouldn't want longer either, as much as they don't know it!

Also, behaviour-wise, I can always tell my DS is ready to go back to some routine after 6 weeks

Jolly nice for those who can afford that.
In my experience that's a minority of people.

Bring back Hop Picking.
Work and a holiday combined.

What we do need, is subsidised childcare throughout the school holidays.

It was less of an issue when I was a child as mums (it is usually mums) were more likely to stay at home, or have very part time jobs. You could own a house and run a car on one salary. The school holidays have remained the same, but the expectations around work have changed.
Grandparents are less able to help than previously due to not being able to retire / more families moving away from parents / people having children later in life - you have a perfect storm making it difficult for families.

Sorry, I have just seen that you are a teacher, so that explains it. You have never tried to juggle school holiday childcare.
It would be lovely to say "school is not childcare" but unfortunately, in 2025, not many families can afford to only have one parent in employment. Childcare during school holidays is difficult to plan and expensive.
The population would surely deplete if the only couples reproducing were those who could afford to have one parent stay at home for the first 12 years of the child's life, or teachers

My ideal:

scrap October and May half term, they can be long weekends indeed (a Monday off or a Friday off) for example one close to the 5th November and May has already got two bank holidays so that’s ok?

Christmas from 19-20 December to 7-8 January

February one a long weekend with a Monday and Friday off

Easter nearly 2 weeks (Wednesday before Great Friday should be last day of school and open Monday after Easter, so 1 week and 1 day after Easter, not 2 days after Easter )

End of school year till 20 June max
Even if that means be back on 20 August.

But have 8 weeks off for summer.

@Natsku that’s interesting. So most people accept that 8 year olds and up will be at home alone whilst parents work but that you think it’s preferable to having shorter holidays, why is that exactly?

Learn things for the sake of learning it - not to just memorise for an exam 🤔

I don't think women (let's be honest, you said parents but it would be women) leaving the workplace and having less economic agency is a good thing so, no, I don't support the idea that we should encourage it.

I'm sorry the term "cover the holidays" offends you. But children need childcare and it needs arranging. I can assure you that mine are very much parented and loved.

Do you work op?

Ah so completely tear up the current education system? Yeh that's going to happen

in other countries grandparents help with childcare during summer holidays.

@noblegiraffe I don't disagree and loved the summer holidays. Our DC were in the independent sector and broke up early July, going back usually after the August Bank Holiday. They also had two weeks in October which was brilliant in the longest and hardest term. On that basis I agree with you but they also had:

An au-pair
A week with granny at the seaside, crabbing and leading a shallows and amazon's life
Access to one-off the best tennis/sports clubs in the UK with a pool, tennis and cricket courses, etc
A house full of books
Theatre workshops
Trips to the South Ken museums and others in London
Painting/theatre classes
Music and orchestral camps
A month at our home in France - sailing, swimming and immersing in French

The above were also available at Christmas and Easter. Overall their holidays were enriching and learning never stopped.

The school days were also longer - in at 8.30, out at 3.45 with sports or music practices at least three times a week, evening matches and matches nearly every Saturday for the sporty one; orchestras, choirs, productions for the musical/theatrical one.

I'm not persuaded that more time gaming and hanging about on the top floor of the local car park cut quite the same opportunities.

DD is a teacher, secondary, and moving to the independent sector next year. Partly for the longer holidays and partly due to the levels of neglect around education for her pupils.

Longer holidays are fine but the activities to full them need to be there and accessible.

Statutory UK A/L is 20 days plus 8 Bank Holidays. It is a real struggle for parents.

I wonder if the OP would be so keen if teachers pay was cut. They always claim that they are only paid for the same amount of leave as everyone else, and not paid over the extended breaks. so if they have longer holidays then surely they will need to have their pay cut accordingly? Really, if they are only paid for term time plus the standard entitlement of everyone else, they are highly paid compared to other public sector jobs anyway!

Yes I completely agree with you. For the benefit of the children.

I think 8 weeks off would be much better - the whole of July & August. For the parents who will struggle with childcare, I think the government should provide free childcare clubs / summer camps that can be used for the 2 weeks they would be in school. Only those with 2 parents working full time / single working parents should be able to access these and the emphasis should be on free play / fun.

Yes, this. My DD (AuDHD) really struggles with school. I think if she knew she had a break after 4/5 weeks, she could cope better. To her, a couple of weeks is not too different to six weeks and actually, probably struggles more with the longer holiday due to lack of routine and gets bored easily.

A bit like Camp Beaumont, which both of children hated.