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.

Most countries have longer summer holidays than us as it is.

I would much rather have longer in the summer than in the winter when it’s cold and horrible. I’d be happy to have two weeks at May half term but that wouldn’t work with y11/13 exams.

I’m in wales and I hope they leave the school term set up as it is.

Personally I’d rather the kids had time off in the good weather. Its cheaper to entertain them and they get more exercise in the summer school holidays.

I love having a long time with the DCs - 2 of them are at private school and we do loads of fun things; holidays, clubs, days out, mooching, baking.

Who wants more time off in the other holidays when the weather is awful?

That's far too short, not enough time to rest and recover from the school year. We get nearly 10 weeks in Finland which is lovely for the children.

There's supposed to be a consultation.

However I dug through the senedd review stuff around welsh bac and uni, employers, teachers, students, parents were all lukewarm to wtf is this but it was kept - and unions and schools wanted more time before new curriculum came in and that was dismissed.

So I do wonder if it's one of those "consultations" but the consultation starts next academic year - so will at earliest be year after for any changes.

I'm in the minority clearly but I'd love a longer Christmas break and a shorter summer one! Christmas break feels way too short - December is a nightmare with a full on term and trying to prep and plan for Christmas, no time to really enjoy the anticipation of it and then straight back after new year so most of the holiday is spent marking and prepping for school anyway. Also I work in a rural school so bad weather has a negative impact on attendance for both pupils and staff and can really mess things up (obviously bad weather can happen at any time but still). I also find summer too long - pupils all 'check out' as soon as July hits, then 6 weeks off and September is spent trying to piece everything back together with behaviour, homework routines etc. Just my opinion though, I understand why others wouldn't want it to change.

The UK already has some of the shortest summer holidays, it’s a shame to make it even shorter. I imagine there are plenty of people who would benefit from closing schools for a wider range of religious holidays though, so I’d support that.

Not for me because I want to see my kids and do some nice useful skills and project work.

I wouldn’t bother working in schools if there wasn’t a holiday to spend on my own kids, and many working in education are in the same boat. God knows the pay isn’t worth it.

@MercurialMonday I think you’re fishing. To suggest that a shorter Summer holiday would effect teacher retention ignores the damage successive Governments have done to our education system.
Tell you boss he’d get more teachers if he removed the bureaucracy and targets from the system.
More schools not just bigger ones.
Schools for SEND pupils with a higher ratio of staff to pupils so their needs are met.

A curriculum that caters for pupils who live in the 21st Century.
Our children don’t thrive or benefit from a curriculum designed by privileged, rich, old white men.

Sounds horrible. 3 weeks in the depths of winter and some parents will have to use their precious leave up.

3 weeks in the depths of winter when some families will struggle to heat their house.
How depressing is that? No warm school to escape to, cold and miserable outside.

Winter trips out are more expensive than summer, museums, cinema, science centres, sports, soft play, trampoline parks etc
Summer means parks, farm parks, water sports.

I really can't see a benefit to anyone. The only argument for seems to be budgeting. But childcare cost money whiter it's winter or summer.

3 weeks at Christmas is pointless.

I'd rather go back to school for the last two weeks of August, plus all of September. Then run all the us

We have 8-9 weeks off here in N.Ireland and it's far too long. I would love a May half term here and maybe a longer Easter break. But no signs of it changing here.

Might be better for pupils, but not for everyone else.

Nightmare for employers if everyone with children wanted time off within a four week period. Staggering school holidays falls down where people have children at schools with different times, and no-one wants to return at the beginning of August. The cost of holidays for those with children would no doubtless increase a lot.

Teachers need the summer break too.

I grew up in different country, and I really don't like UK system. Too many half terms. I wish they had longer holidays and less/no half terms.

4 weeks would be much better for DD, and many kids like her, who are in Welsh medium schools but from English speaking households, as they won't have so long away from being immersed in the language.

Teachers need the summer break too

You do realise that most employees get less than 6 weeks leave all year under statutory annual leave. I find it hard to pity anyone who will still get 4 weeks off in the summer plus 9 weeks leave elsewhere in the year.

We used to have these type of semesters in college which I loved.
Week 1 new topic, week 2 we'd get our assignments, week 7 we'd hand them in, week 8 we'd get our results.
I got a shorter summer but 2 weeks off every 8 weeks which worked extremely well for resting. Having said that, this was all at college years and I'm not sure how kids (or parents) would cope with 8 weeks of solid learning.

At a certain age it could be good but not when they're little.

@ladymalfoy45 teacher retention is on my minds as my three children – two in exam years – have had an awful year with succession of substitute teachers and not sure next year will be any better in some subjects.

Plus when we did live in England friend's DH worked in neighbouring county – Leicestershire which had different term dates to their children schools – caused occasional issue for friend – plus DH like many here works in England and covid restrictions did cause occasional issue with difference in Welsh and English rules - all lead me to wonder if it would be an issue.

Unfortunately, don’t work for Welsh government so can tell them anything.

I just wondered what other parents thought of the idea – I’m very on the fence and I wondered if it was because my kids are teens or I was missing something.

We have 8-9 weeks off here in N.Ireland and it's far too long.

I am aware of some difference in the UK education systems but had no idea N.Ireland had this.

I think we'd have struggled with 9 weeks TBH.

Organising the summer holidays is a bloody nightmare. I never get the “oh isn’t it nice to spend time with them during the long holidays” sentiment - we don’t get to, because we don’t have enough leave between us to take time off together so one is always working while one tries to keep the kids busy. So it’s paying for expensive childcare which only covers part of the day and negotiating who has to juggle their working day to do the runs there and back. No family to rely on for more than an odd day. And the cost of paying for holiday club all has to come out of one pay packet rather than being spread through the year. I’d prefer 4 weeks in summer, 2 October, 2 Xmas, 1 Feb, 2 Easter, 2 may/June. I have no idea how single parents without a useful non-resident parent manage it at all.

I think kids need a long summer break. Life is not all about school.

That's a good point - I wonder if that's one of the reasons.

Ours are in English Medium - taking Welsh as second language - but if we'd have moved to Welsh medium only area our children would have seriously struggled and lockdowns would have had a much worse impact.

I think the reality of trying to manage a work force who all want to take leave in the same 4 weeks in the summer would be difficult. I would like a 5 week summer and a better approach to Christmas as I think this year in Wales they break up very close to Christmas Eve which is horrendous as they are tired and often end of term ill.

23 December 2022- eek that will cause some issues with family wanting to come down before Christmas even as teens they can get ratty and tired near end of term.