Is a four week summer holiday better than 6 weeks?

[MercurialMonday]

Could Wales' summer break be cut to four weeks?

A four-week summer break with five school terms of about seven or eight weeks. Three weeks holiday at Christmas and two weeks between the other terms

Would this be better - I can see some positives and some negatives but mine are teens so childcare is less and issue just wonder if people did think it was better.

8 weeks is a killer! There’s usually already one 8 week term a year and by the end of it, the kids are really tired and their behaviour and school work suffers. The grown ups are pretty knackered too! I struggle to see any benefits of this new plan

It will mean everyone trying to have all their summer holidays within a 4 week period instead of 6, which will mean things are busier during those 4 weeks and probably more expensive. Not everyone wants to or is able to go away at Christmas or Easter.

We’ve got a 5 week summer break this year, we had a 2 week half term in October instead of the usual one. It’s made planning and time off work etc a bit easier. Not sure about a 4 week break. 6 feels too long, 4 seems too short. I’m hoping the 5 weeks we’ve got this year is a good balance that they might adopt.

We have 5 weeks in the summer and it always feels a bit short tbh. I'm not sure 4 weeks is enough of a break.

Getting time of from work during the school holidays is bad enough as it is. My two have finished today, one not due back until 2nd sept and I’ve struggled to get any time off before the last two weeks of it, I’d imagine a 4 week window would rule a lot of people out altogether and summer schemes would be impossible.

Trying to manage staff leave within areas like healthcare would be impossible meaning families wouldn't be able to have time off with the children .

Unless there is a removal of the fine for absence process ( not likely) then this is a dreadful idea.

I'd personally like a 4 week summer break and a 4 week winter break. The children will be less knackered when summer comes along because they've had a long break in between. Plus that it would be so much easier to visit family in the southern hemisphere during winter break. Or just go somewhere sunny to get some vitamin d and energy in the middle of winter.

Frankly not everyone gets to go away in the summer holidays full stop so a shorter 4 week break is better for them. Works both ways.

No! A 4 week winter break would be miserable. We have a 3 week one and it so long and difficult to occupy the DC or go out anywhere with them when the weather is cold and wet.

We have 7.5 weeks summer here where I am in Scotland and it feels sooo long. We have 2 weeks at christmas, 2 weeks at easter. Theres a long weekend in september and may, and a week in october as well as about 5 day break in feb. We like the long summer. We fit in plenty of stuff we dont have time to do as a family otherwise.

We have a 7 week summer holiday this year starting next Friday and it does feel too long. It's going to cost me £800 for holiday club for 4 days a week for the 5 middle weeks, I've taken off week 1 and week 7 and I've sorted out alternative care 1 day a week with family and friends.

I would much prefer a 5 week summer holidays, I think DD would prefer just 3 weeks of holiday club rather than 5 which I know by the last week she'll be getting fed up of going to. She and I would be much happier spreading out the holiday club use over different holidays but I have to do it this way as there's a limit to how much leave can be taken in the summer months and she's not yet able to self entertain for full days while I and DH work (he takes off October, may and Xmas holidays).

Unless there is a removal of the fine for absence process ( not likely) then this is a dreadful idea.

They've just brough these back - had letters and e-mails about it and pre covid the schools could be arses about unavoidable medical/dental appointments in school time.

I did wonder if 3 weeks at Christmas as they have GCSE exams in January in both Y10 and Y11 might be helpful but depends how holidays around exams in summer would be affected - Easter and Whitsun holidays proved useful with revision.

Trying to manage staff leave within areas like healthcare would be impossible meaning families wouldn't be able to have time off with the children

Interesting - as I understand recruitment in Welsh NHS is already struggling - I did wonder if it would adversely affect teacher retention or the teaching staff working across the border

I think that the longer summer holidays work for us. Our wider family is spread across England and Scotland, so we only have the period at the end of July and start of August when the 2 systems overlap.

DS1 is about to move up to a school with a different term distrubution to the rest of the area and have two weeks at Oct/ Feb and a shorter Easter and summer.

He can struggle with longer terms (ASD) but he likes 2 week holidays, and filling the 6 weeks with a child who can't cope with sports camp type stuff is hard going. Our recent holidays have involved a lot of not much as age and lockdowns killed interest in cheap outings like going to parks. Longer half terms mean we can travel more off-peak and he still gets some home-time to chill out which doesn't work on a single week.

It'll be a PITA for two years while DS2 finishes primary.

The political emphisis on no term-time holidays is the biggest problem anyway, and all the more galling after a year where 6m+ of school was missed and brushed off with "they'll catch up". Well a week here or there won't make any bloody difference then will it.

I would like around 5 weeks, shorter will be a struggle and could mean some parents don't get time off and kids in holiday clubs for 4 weeks is expensive and not very relaxing for the children either.

3-4 weeks at Christmas is far too long. Weather is normally awful, not everyone has time off and wants to visit family.

We have 1 week February 2 weeks Easter, 1 week May 5-6 weeks Summer and 2 weeks October. I think that's a good mix, maybe shorten Summer and make Christmas a bit longer.

Summer holidays are already five weeks here.

Term doesn't finish here until the 27th July. The younger children are already exhausted. Its going to be a tiring month.

We've had the odd 7 week summer which did seem too long and very expensive so I'd expect we'd adapt to a 5 weeks but 4 weeks and 5 terms does seem a massive adjustment.

I think 6 is short, most countries have longer. My DD's used to go to summer camp when we lived in the USA, not enough time in the U.K.

3 weeks at Christmas is too long. Weather is rubbish so you can't take a holiday, even Easter is very hit and miss, so everyone will be trying to go away in the 4 week summer holiday and it will be even more expensive/busy than it already is.

The political emphisis on no term-time holidays is the biggest problem anyway, and all the more galling after a year where 6m+ of school was missed and brushed off with "they'll catch up". Well a week here or there won't make any bloody difference then will it.
Totally agree with this. Sadly our school is dressing it up as "they've already missed so much due to covid so its important they don't miss more" 🙄 my daughter is year R so her schooling was unaffected by covid.

I think 3 four week, equally spaced, holidays a year would be great
dec/jan to cover Christmas/New year
apr/may to cover Easter&May bank holiday
August

then a long week-end mid term.

a re-jigging of the bank holidays, so that bank holidays align with the mid-term bank holidays.

i think there should be government organised child care (affordable or free to certain people) during most of the 3x 4 week breaks, using the school buildings.

5 weeks is a disaster for kids thry need down time and a nightmare to try and get time off with kids.

It can be hard enough when employers restrict how many people can be off at at time.

We all enjoyed long summer holidays why rob our kids of it? Childcare needs to be budgeted for, I pay the same all year round for holidays and afterschool.

At least in summer families can have some low cost days out in parks and beaches.

What are people meant to do with kids having long breaks at Christmas and October? Cold wet just miserable. Poor kids will end up stuck in front of xboxs and the like meanwhile the rich kids will be off on holiday overseas.

I'm absolutely in favour of this, and hope it gets introduced.

I'd much prefer more evenly spread weeks off throughout the year that parents and dc can look forward to, rather than the 7 weeks holiday looming long. The dc forget so much, and some dc are not adequately fed or cared for at home, and 6 weeks can be catastrophic for them.