The Welsh Government wants to change school year dates. Three options were looked at in a survey it commissioned. All three would see the summer break shortened.
These are the school term and holiday dates that were proposed in a survey:
- Three school terms of about 13 weeks each. Each term has a one-week break halfway through. The autumn term is shorter than currently. There is a five-week summer break instead of six weeks.
- Five school terms of about seven to eight weeks. Four-week summer break instead of six weeks. Three-week winter break instead of two weeks. Two week breaks in October, February/March and May.
- Six school terms lasting about six to seven weeks. Each school holiday is about two weeks long except in the summer which is a three-week break
The Welsh Government has said it will press ahead with a public consultation on changes despite a survey showing most people are happy with the school year as it is.
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Education unions are unhappy with the plan to change the school year, part of a three-year deal between Labour and Plaid Cymru to work together in the Senedd. Teachers and headteachers say there are more important and urgent issues to address including pandemic recovery, the return of exams and the new curriculum.
One union said reforming term and holiday dates was “a change too far” when schools and colleges were under so much pressure. Another said: "Now seems a very strange time to be adding more change to education."
Supporters of the longer six-week summer holiday said benefits included giving staff and pupils time to unwind, learn in other ways, travel, spend time with their families and for teenagers to get experiences like summer jobs. Others said such a long time off school meant learning was lost and the most vulnerable and disadvantaged were unlikely to go away on holiday. Some might not have enough to eat, or even be at risk. Some teachers said there was too little hard evidence that changing the school year would have educational benefits, and that targeted interventions were needed for those who might be disadvantaged by the school calendar as it is, not changing it for all.
The tourism sector likes the summer holiday income boost but parents have complained it is hard and expensive to find childcare for six weeks and that travel firms hike prices when schools are off. You can get more education news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
After research showed eight in 10 people were content with the school year to stay as it was, the Welsh Government said the results also showed that people were still “open” to changing it.
In a written Statement on June 30, Education Minister Jeremy Miles reiterated his determination to change the school year. He said research published on June 29 showed people wanted change.
“As a government, we are committed to exploring the structure of the school year to see if we can better support learner and staff wellbeing, tackle disadvantage and educational inequalities, and bring it more into line with modern and future patterns of family life and employment.
“This is being taken forward as part of the Programme for Government and the commitments in the Cooperation Agreement with Plaid Cymru.”
The statement added: “In our exploratory work to date, we have deliberately looked at a range of options, models, and principles for change in order to test different and distinct structures for the school year, and to gather the widest range of views from learners, staff, families, and the wider community.
“The report and the initial views of stakeholders have been extremely helpful in refining our thinking as we develop options for consultation. Whilst I am clear there is no argument for changes to the overall number of holidays or for reducing the summer break to two or three weeks, I am pleased that the research published today demonstrates an openness to looking at the overall distribution of holidays throughout the year with a greater consistency in term lengths.”
What education unions and heads have said in response:
Kerina Hanson, head of Pennard Primary in Swansea and president of the National Association of Headteachers Cymru, said: “With an already overwhelming reform agenda, now is not the time to be adding additional distraction and stress to the system. Schools must be allowed to focus on the important task of transforming and embedding their new curriculum and assessment. Let’s do what we’ve already started well, ensuring any further reform is firmly founded on educational research evidence.”
Laura Doel, director of NAHT Cymru, said: “We challenge the transparency of this report, given that the questions were clearly biased towards pushing the government’s reform agenda. Apart from the initial questions, the status quo was not included in any of the questions giving alternate options.
“Those who identified current arrangements as their preference were presented with a series of alternative options with no choice of retaining the status quo. Even if you were to take this report at face value, it demonstrates that there is no great desire for structural reform of the school year, and it should not be deemed an evidence base on which to make major changes.
“The key question is how changing term times would improve outcomes for learners. This remains unanswered. NAHT Cymru firmly believes that the basis of any reform should ensure the best provision and outcomes for learners. In fact, the little evidence available on school holidays shows that countries with much longer summer breaks than Wales have higher levels of attainment and suffer no significant loss of learning. This international evidence is contrary to the reforms being put forward.
“The Welsh Government would be better served in focusing on providing support to teachers and learners and helping schools deliver current reforms before embarking on any further changes to education. We urge the Education Minister to put plans to move to public consultation on hold until there is a clear evidence base on which to do so.”
David Evans, Wales Secretary for the National Education Union Cymru, said a vast majority of his union’s members (82.9%) were concerned about changing the school year. He said: “It is really important the Welsh Government speak to the education workforce about their concerns. This is an extremely challenging time for everyone in education - we still have Covid disruption, we have the new curriculum starting in September, and the first exams in three years just drawing to a close.
“Now seems a very strange time to be adding more change to education. We have asked for clear evidence showing how the planned changes will impact positively on learner attainment, as well as staff and pupil wellbeing. We hope the Minister uses this opportunity to speak with the trade unions about our members' concerns.”
Neil Butler, Wales secretary for Nasuwt Cymru, said: “It is clear that a large majority of people from all sectors are happy with things as they are. Any change would have no research behind it regarding educational benefits, would be a major upheaval and would require a change to the bed stone of the teachers contract, the Burgundy Book, which has been in place since 2000. This is simply an initiative too far. Schools and the Welsh Government really have enough on their plate without going after this flight of fancy.”
Eithne Hughes, director of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) Cymru, said: “This research shows broad satisfaction with the current school year among parents, learners, the education workforce and business and no great appetite for reform. Responses to the three alternative models put forward suggest that perceived benefits are counterbalanced by perceived drawbacks. As the report notes, some respondents feel very strongly that reform cannot take place without compelling hard evidence on why it is needed and what difference it would make.
“Given these findings it is difficult to see why the Minister for Education wants to push ahead with developing options to bring forward to a public consultation when there are many more pressing issues that need attention, such as insufficiency of funding to our schools, teacher shortages, education recovery following the pandemic, and the launch of a new curriculum.
“It is virtually impossible to arrive at a new model for the school year with which everybody will agree and which avoids disruption to the lives of families and the education workforce. There would need to be very clear educational benefits to justify such a huge upheaval and so much time and energy, and it is imperative that detailed evidence is provided along with any proposals.”
Welsh Conservative shadow minister for education Laura Anne Jones MS said: “I genuinely cannot believe that at a time when children are not getting the educational support they need after so much disruption, in addition to our young people not getting the mental health and well-being support that they need in school, or even to get back into school, the Labour Government are choosing to prioritise this. It’s remarkable.
“The Labour Government also show utter contempt for the wider impact of such decisions, such as the detrimental effect shorter summer holidays could have our tourism industry here in Wales."
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