Petition to change summer school holidays

[Kellykt]

Please read and see the sense of the petition.

https://www.change.org/p/reduce-summer-holidays-for-schools/sfs/copy/1386960292?recruiter=1386960292&recruited_by_id=4678b200-876f-11f0-a60a-cdc055e4640a&utm_source=share_petition&utm_campaign=petition_dashboard_share_modal&utm_medium=copylink

Hard disagree here.

Just home from a beautiful, extended holiday with the family where we prioritised bike rides, camp fires, exploring, and nature. We all work extremely hard at school and work and these moments together are magic. Our nervous systems have been regulated and we have laughed and slept like babies. No alarms, after school activities or commuting. We’re restored, recalibrated and reset.

I’d vote to protect the holidays at all costs.

I'm actually NOT adverse to adjusting the holidays - but I won't be signing that.

If it was aimed at supporting families with work/life balance and finances etc then maybe yes.

But all that guff about the impact of the current holiday schedule on children? You have:

• Mentally challenging
• Causes fear and anxiety about returning to school
• Significant emotional impact
• Stress and apprehension
• Disrupts learning
• Disrupts emotional balance
• Disrupts child's academic and emotional development

I mean actually wtf. Disrupts a childs 'emotional development'? Get on with you. Somewhat overegging the pudding I feel!

This isn't remotely relatable for my dc and I suspect for the majority out there. It's just a load of hyperbole with little actual truth - and many people won't put their names to it.

I'd sign that petition!

Great research - our holidays are the shortest.

When I lived in Spain they still had siestas during primary school and a SAHP who would collect children for those few hours.

I can see the argument for making October half term 2 weeks and shortening summer by 1 but there’s no evidence that will improve outcomes I’m just thinking how long that first term is as it gets dark.

However with our summers getting hotter there’s an argument for longer holidays or adjusting the timing of them

What's required is better holiday provision for those that need it. The provision for children with special needs in particular is poor.

I don’t agree with the petition, but often countries with longer summer holidays have fewer weeks elsewhere in the year. Norway doesn’t have a break between Easter and summer, and Easter is only a week, for example.

No thanks

I agree that holidays should be split across the year but a petition on change.org isn’t going to make much difference.

Scottish schools are back @TizerorFizz because our holidays start earlier, not because they’re shorter! Education is devolved so our dates are different across the board.
Hard no here. Teaching staff would not be willing to accept this either.

https://jakubmarian.com/school-holidays-by-country-in-europe-map/#:~:text=Each%20country%27s%20government%20determines%20the,the%20summer%20break%20by%20country%3A

In NI schools are open 200 days a year, vs 190 in England. So they have less holiday overall, it’s just distributed differently.

Ireland has eight weeks for primary school children and a full three months for secondary, and a better-educated population.

‘Fear and anxiety’

Are all our decisions now driven by everything seeming to lead to anxiety? If children are in such a state the issue is not summer holidays.

Childcare is an issue, but let’s look for fun, creative, affordable confidence-building solutions to that, not cramming children into classrooms not built for heat for yet more weeks of the year.

Sorry, not in agreement

@ChocolateforbreakfasttodayI know!!! My point was education in August isn’t impossible! We only have king holidays so kids could help with farming! Harvest! We carry on wanting to go abroad in the hottest time of year. Global warming should make us change!

The schools in Scotland finish in June, my local authority varies between 6 and 7 weeks in summer, this year was 7 weeks for us. I too think children need the long break over summer - yes it can be a pain for childcare but they need time out of that routine.

Just about every adult had a long summer break, but managed any loss of learning - why would we think kids now are any less capable?

And no, I never wanted more holiday time in November or February .

Lovely no doubt for those who can go for Winter Breaks in the Canaries or ski-ing , less great when it’s another freezing wet day in the local dismal playground.

Absolutely not, OP. I cannot wait for the 6 weeks with my children. They need the break! Mine have never suffered 'fear and anxiety' going back to school - if yours have I suggest you look into some professional help.

You aren't the same as other countries. Your summer holidays are really short. I used to always feel so sorry for English and Welsh kids when I was enjoying my 9 weeks in primary and 13 weeks in secondary.

That isn't true, holidays were never anything to do with harvest!

I personally wouldn't want an extra week in October or December when the weather is awful. Many (most) parents aren't actually able to go abroad regularly, or even at all.

I always find petitions like this strange because didn’t the vast majority of us have long summer holidays when we were growing up too? I don’t think it’s done kids much harm over the last hundred years.

The October break in Scotland was about helping with the harvest - still referred to as the “tattie holidays” here. Summer not so much.

@Kellykt don’t agree .
Id petition against your petition if I had too.

Kids need the holidays .

No, i dont agree with them being shorter however they should start eariler say beginning of July as the last couple of weeks are usually to hot for the kids in the classroom so July - beginning/mid august would make more sense.