School summer holidays should be shorter, new report says

Do you think a shorter summer holiday is a good idea?

Having an extra long summer holiday every year is something lots of primary and secondary school students in England look forward to.

However, a new report from the Nuffield Foundation suggests this isn't ideal for both pupils and teachers.

The research, which is due to be published in detail next month, says summer holidays should be cut down from the typical six weeks to four. It also proposes that half-terms should be made longer, going from one to two weeks.

This could help improve the wellbeing of those who children who attend and teaching staff who work at schools, according to the report.

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While many pupils enjoy the rest, the break from school and the opportunity to have fun in their free time, according to the report, one of the biggest concerns when it comes to the longer summer holidays is the impact on learning.

It's argues that some pupils, in particular those from more disadvantaged backgrounds or have additional needs, find it hard to get back into lessons after such a long break from the classroom.

They say the big holiday can slow learning - as teaching staff have to spend longer going over things students already learned before the summer - instead of teaching fresh information in the new term.

Teachers are also said to see more issues with pupil behaviour and student wellbeing after the summer holidays.

The proposed changes would also see half-term breaks extended

"Spreading school holidays more evenly across the year makes complete educational sense: improving the wellbeing of pupils and the working lives of teachers at no extra cost, balancing out childcare costs for parents, and potentially boosting academic results for many children," Lee Elliot Major, professor of social mobility at the University of Exeter and one of the report's authors, told the Guardian.

"Reducing the summer holidays from six weeks to four weeks would still provide adequate time for teachers to recuperate, while two-week breaks during the February and October half-terms would give much-needed time off during the most gruelling parts of the academic year."

Where else could we see changes like this?

This isn't the first time a change to the school summer holidays has been put forward.

At the end of last year, the Welsh government put forward plans to reduce the length of the extended summer break by a week and to put the time off somewhere else during the terms - for example having a two-week break in October.

This is something that already happens in some parts of England and Scotland.

Politicians have argued the long summer holidays means children are out of learning for too long, and this makes it difficult to support students who need it. They said it can also be tough for parents to find childcare for long periods.

If the Welsh government's proposed plans are brought in, changes to school holidays in Wales could start from the Autumn term next year.

Take part in the vote above and let us know what you think in the comments below.