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Changes to School Holiday Duration in the UK

jimmymelrose
jimmymelrose Posts: 9,772
in Not Sports Related
I just looked out of curiosity to find that the UK summer school holidays are only 5.5 weeks this year. I then found articles such as that below arguing for as little as a four week holiday, with 2 weeks off, instead of one, to compensate in October and February. 

My children have always been to school in France where the summer holidays are 8-10 weeks which I think are too long, but any less than 6 weeks seems stingy to me.  

I was wondering how parents in the UK feel about this.

 https://www.theguardian.com/education/2024/feb/26/school-summer-holidays-half-term-england-calendar-nuffield-foundation-report?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
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Comments

  • ShootersHillGuru
    ShootersHillGuru Posts: 50,658
    Grandparent now but one of the joys of childhood was school holidays. Kids definitely need a lot of downtime and I think adults can sometimes forget that an important part of learning is being allowed to spend time doing what you want and not just being in a classroom. Learning to become a rounded person isn’t just about term time. 
  • Leroy Ambrose
    Leroy Ambrose Posts: 14,449
    cafcnick1992 said:
    As someone who can't stand children, this is excellent news
    That has properly done me 🤣
  • valleynick66
    valleynick66 Posts: 4,906
    The 2 weeks in October has been adopted by many schools for a long time. 

    As a parent it didn’t create any benefit. It was introduced alongside some changes to the daily school start / finish times. 
  • ForeverAddickted
    ForeverAddickted Posts: 94,884
    So my Son breaks up next Tuesday, he'll be heading back to School on 3rd September.

    That is still six weeks holiday.

    What a few schools appear to be doing around here (Medway) is they're having a two week Half-Term in October, and condensing all the Teacher Training Days into that second week, so there is none of this extra day of Holiday latched on throughout the school year.
  • Todds_right_hook
    Todds_right_hook Posts: 10,895
    ForeverAddickted said:
    So my Son breaks up next Tuesday, he'll be heading back to School on 3rd September.

    That is still six weeks holiday.

    What a few schools appear to be doing around here (Medway) is they're having a two week Half-Term in October, and condensing all the Teacher Training Days into that second week, so there is none of this extra day of Holiday latched on throughout the school year.
    Same. Although there are a couple of teacher training days at the beginning of September which technically means 5.5 holiday + teacher training.
  • bobmunro
    bobmunro Posts: 20,903
    Summer holidays at the Poly were 7 weeks and I usewd to rib my mates who went to other secondary schools when they had to go back a week earlier! Only 2 day half-terms though.

    There is an argument that a six week break from formal education can lead to learning loss, particularly at critical times between years 5 & 6 and years 10 & 11.
  • gmantaxi
    gmantaxi Posts: 341
    The wife’s a teacher, has the 2 weeks in October, so we always go away for a week in the sun and don’t have to pay silly money like in official term time although guessing only a matter of time till holiday company’s latch on to this .
  • Rylo
    Rylo Posts: 860
    edited July 17
    cafcnick1992 said:
    As someone who can't stand their own children, this is excellent news
    Joking, obviously… 👀
  • golfaddick
    golfaddick Posts: 33,772
    cafcnick1992 said:
    As someone who can't stand children, this is excellent news
    As someone who's children have all left school I don't give a f**k 😄

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  • SouthWest_Addicks
    SouthWest_Addicks Posts: 6,308
    edited July 17
    Would prefer to lose days in the summer and gain them in over times of the year. IMO the price of holidays is the big issue. Holiday companies won’t drop prices, so have to try and do something to make prices more affordable for parents. 

    I personally don’t think there is a big difference between having a 4 weeks holiday & 6 weeks holiday for children. Might be different for the teachers/staff.
  • Elthamaddick
    Elthamaddick Posts: 15,849
    the summer holidays should be an absolute max of 6 weeks - spread the rest out over the year, if anything reduce the summer by a week - it's a fucking nightmare as a working parent.
  • valleynick66
    valleynick66 Posts: 4,906
    gmantaxi said:
    The wife’s a teacher, has the 2 weeks in October, so we always go away for a week in the sun and don’t have to pay silly money like in official term time although guessing only a matter of time till holiday company’s latch on to this .
    That was the ‘sell’ from the school. 

    But realistically where do you find as guaranteed sunshine then apart from the Canaries and at a real difference to peak summer prices?
  • gringo
    gringo Posts: 626
    surely if people will have just 4 wks in which to book hols rather than 6, then the prices will go up and holiday time even harder to book.
  • Kap10
    Kap10 Posts: 15,595
    jimmymelrose said:
    I just looked out of curiosity to find that the UK summer school holidays are only 5.5 weeks this year. I then found articles such as that below arguing for as little as a four week holiday, with 2 weeks off, instead of one, to compensate in October and February. 

    My children have always been to school in France where the summer holidays are 8-10 weeks which I think are too long, but any less than 6 weeks seems stingy to me.  

    I was wondering how parents in the UK feel about this.

     https://www.theguardian.com/education/2024/feb/26/school-summer-holidays-half-term-england-calendar-nuffield-foundation-report?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
    Are they keeping to 12 weeks a year?

    Shortening the 6 weeks will put pressure on the costs of holidays for those parents pushing prices up even higher and more conflict about parents taking kids out of school during termtime.
  • cafcnick1992
    cafcnick1992 Posts: 7,451
    edited July 17
    golfaddick said:
    cafcnick1992 said:
    As someone who can't stand children, this is excellent news
    As someone who's children have all left school I don't give a f**k 😄
    Nothing worse than working all year, taking a day off to go somewhere and its full of kids who have no respect for your personal space, won't shut up and who have parents who won't discipline them properly.

    I think if I worked at Disneyland or Legoland i'd end up at Beachy Head
  • T_C_E
    T_C_E Posts: 16,427
    cafcnick1992 said:
    As someone who can't stand children, this is excellent news
    It was you that passed me as I was on route to school this morning wasn’t it? 😉

  • Athletico Charlton
    Athletico Charlton Posts: 14,308
    My kids schools went to a 2 week half term in October a few years back and took the week of the summer holidays.  To start I found it a pain but as the world is either too hot (Europe) or full of dreadful weather and hurricanes etc (US/Asia) during the summer then it now makes a lot of sense. Not bothering with a summer holiday this year and going away for 2 weeks October instead.  Better time of Ur to travel and cheaper.
  • Karim_myBagheri
    Karim_myBagheri Posts: 12,849
    The only decent thing when the kids are on holiday you don't have all the roads taken up by their over protective sunglass wearing parents driving their precious offspring Tarquin and Esmeralda back and forth from their school in over sized, should have a hgv license to drive, vehicles that they can't see over the steering wheel in every morning and late afternoon. Even though they live only a 15 Minute walk from the school. 

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  • valleynick66
    valleynick66 Posts: 4,906
    Athletico Charlton said:
    My kids schools went to a 2 week half term in October a few years back and took the week of the summer holidays.  To start I found it a pain but as the world is either too hot (Europe) or full of dreadful weather and hurricanes etc (US/Asia) during the summer then it now makes a lot of sense. Not bothering with a summer holiday this year and going away for 2 weeks October instead.  Better time of Ur to travel and cheaper.
    What destinations do you  recommend for that time of year?
  • Leroy Ambrose
    Leroy Ambrose Posts: 14,449
    valleynick66 said:
    Athletico Charlton said:
    My kids schools went to a 2 week half term in October a few years back and took the week of the summer holidays.  To start I found it a pain but as the world is either too hot (Europe) or full of dreadful weather and hurricanes etc (US/Asia) during the summer then it now makes a lot of sense. Not bothering with a summer holiday this year and going away for 2 weeks October instead.  Better time of Ur to travel and cheaper.
    What destinations do you  recommend for that time of year?
    Goole
  • MrOneLung
    MrOneLung Posts: 26,914
    my boys' school has full 6 week holidays and two weeks in October
    think they extended the working day so they still do the same hours a year
  • msomerton
    msomerton Posts: 2,998
    Kap10 said:
    jimmymelrose said:
    I just looked out of curiosity to find that the UK summer school holidays are only 5.5 weeks this year. I then found articles such as that below arguing for as little as a four week holiday, with 2 weeks off, instead of one, to compensate in October and February. 

    My children have always been to school in France where the summer holidays are 8-10 weeks which I think are too long, but any less than 6 weeks seems stingy to me.  

    I was wondering how parents in the UK feel about this.

     https://www.theguardian.com/education/2024/feb/26/school-summer-holidays-half-term-england-calendar-nuffield-foundation-report?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
    Are they keeping to 12 weeks a year?

    Shortening the 6 weeks will put pressure on the costs of holidays for those parents pushing prices up even higher and more conflict about parents taking kids out of school during termtime.
    Why. They will have two weeks in October/November and two weeks in February to have holidays over seas. 
  • usetobunkin
    usetobunkin Posts: 2,198
    I took skool Holydaze whe¥ evre I is wonted buy hopppping T he wag. 
    Neder di me anny arm!
  • Athletico Charlton
    Athletico Charlton Posts: 14,308
    valleynick66 said:
    Athletico Charlton said:
    My kids schools went to a 2 week half term in October a few years back and took the week of the summer holidays.  To start I found it a pain but as the world is either too hot (Europe) or full of dreadful weather and hurricanes etc (US/Asia) during the summer then it now makes a lot of sense. Not bothering with a summer holiday this year and going away for 2 weeks October instead.  Better time of Ur to travel and cheaper.
    What destinations do you  recommend for that time of year?
    I am looking at Sri Lanka this year. Great time to visit.  If too expensive then the Azores

  • gmantaxi
    gmantaxi Posts: 341
    valleynick66 said:
    gmantaxi said:
    The wife’s a teacher, has the 2 weeks in October, so we always go away for a week in the sun and don’t have to pay silly money like in official term time although guessing only a matter of time till holiday company’s latch on to this .
    That was the ‘sell’ from the school. 

    But realistically where do you find as guaranteed sunshine then apart from the Canaries and at a real difference to peak summer prices?
    Ha that’s exactly where we go , Gran Canaria , last year the non half term week in October worked out about £600 each cheaper than the official one 
  • Rob7Lee
    Rob7Lee Posts: 9,619
    cafcnick1992 said:
    As someone who can't stand children, this is excellent news
    As someone whose kids are grown up....... but has a wife who works in a school, I agree this is excellent news  :D
  • iainment
    iainment Posts: 8,045
    edited July 18
    It seems that having a holiday is more important than a child’s education to some. 
    Funny old world.
  • ForeverAddickted
    ForeverAddickted Posts: 94,884
    edited July 18
    iainment said:
    It seems that having a holiday is more important than a child’s education to some. 
    Funny old world.
    I mean the Summer Holidays were six weeks long when I went to school, and that's been the case since I left for the last 25-years now... Has children's education suffered as a result in general since, seeing that GCSE and A-Levels results seem to go up most years.

    Let children have the time to be children.

    The bigger issue is the fact that parents have to work, work, work to live now that they've got no time to look after their children during the School Holidays (Yeah I know, we still have the choice whether to have them or not) -  Whereas when I was growing up, my Mum didn't have to go back to work until the point where I could be left at home on my own, and she wanted to go back to work. So it was easy to look after me and my Sister during the Holidays. We weren't well off either, my Dad went spare with my Mum one year because she got us brand new winter coats, when we couldn't afford them.

    Shame society can't find a way to go back to that sort of scenario now... But its all about money

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