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

I think England should have similar summer holiday timings to Scotland since school buildings aren’t built for the hot weather in July.

Sorry - I don’t agree either so will not be signing. My youngest finished school this year and there have been rumblings about the length of the school summer holidays ever since my eldest started school twenty years ago. I doubt very much whether anything will change - and like many other posters, I think it is fine as it is and I have very fond memories of the school summer break.

Children seem to need a shorter break and if you think they need longer then you should reassess what you do in the holidays

they come back having forgotten so much
if they are not able to be fully rested after 4 weeks then you need to give them more of a break - more downtime

• early and late sunnner holidays of 4 weeks each with 6 weeks in the middle would probably be best for their education and given climate change would likey be better for their summer holidays

we would need to get air con in all the schools for the July/ August term but that would be good for them also in the long run

Let the teachers have a break!!

Fuck.
Right.
Off.

Our children need to reset and recharge. The 6 weeks allow them to do this.

6 weeks isn’t long enough. I’m gutted mine are going back tomorrow. This summer has gone far too fast.

Was just about to say tatie holidays on October but that is not summer. We are back because we start earlier. Nothing else to it.

Aircon being fantastic for the environment….

I wouldn’t want a shorter summer break. It is hard when you’re working and you want to go out and about as well but children need some downtime. Playing at home, finding things to do themselves. Mine have done a bit of holiday club, quite a few days out, fallen out quite a bit but also made up some amazing games to play

Yes same here, completely agree and will support the petition.

Friends and family feel the same, its a constant source of discussion as the summer is approaching and during the summer so am surprised at the responses, but then I often find this forum isnt representative of wider society.

In other words, I can't afford childcare and can't be bothered to spend six weeks entertaining my own children

Summer holidays in the US are three months. Somehow they manage

Yes, I think the number of weeks off are pretty similar for most countries. I'm from Sweden and we have 10 weeks off in the summer, 1 week end of October, 2-ish weeks Christmas, 1 week in Feb/March, 1 week at Easter and then school finishes for the summer first half of June. It's 2 more weeks than England in total, not sure how it compares to the rest of UK.

Sorry OP I disagree too! The kids massively need this time off, I need the time off too (I don’t get the entire summer holiday off lol) but the time off from the daily school routines!! The morning rush etc - perhaps it’s cos I have an autistic younger child BUT my older child values the summer holidays even more. They just need to be able to reset.

They absolutely were, there was outrage when it was suggested that children be compulsory educated because they were needed for work, moreso on the land and this was the compromise made at the time.

Nah, you're alright OP.
6 weeks in summer is fine. Who wants extra time off in the cold,.dark, wet winter months?

My kids had 12weeks off when we lived in Spain and their brains didn't fall out 🤷
Off topic, but they also survived and learned well whilst not wearing a uniform 😉 😲

Love the six week summer break.

Mine have 8 weeks in the summer and a fortnight in October and it works perfectly for us. We love long summer holidays .

Whilst I don’t fully disagree. 6 weeks are hard for families who struggle with childcare but all we would be doing is moving the problem somewhere else. Equally, there is a recruitment and retention crisis with teachers. I don’t think now is the time to remove one of the biggest perks!

We are in a private school and have:

October - 2 week
December 2.5 weeks
Feb 1 week
Easter 3 weeks
May 1 week
Summer 7.5 weeks

Where I am from children always had about 12 weeks (Mud June to Mid September) holidays.
I don’t mind the start on 1st week od September but I feel school should end in June and not end of July!

Can you provide actual information on different countries, their length of their holidays and their educational attainment?

The petition states things that aren’t true with nothing to back them up, fails to acknowledge the impact on schools and teachers, and offers no sensible explanation of why an alternative would be beneficial. It’s is worthless.

I agree that children often forget things during the long holiday, but they have parents who can do some parenting to minimise that, and generations of previous children have coped with without issue.

My dc got 12 weeks off in the summer when we lived in Spain. Loved it! I reckon the UK should have at least 8 weeks. Soz Kel.

Nope

Be honest now, you just want to save money on childcare, don't you?