Happier pupils? Try cutting the holidays!

THE long summer holiday for pupils could be scrapped after calls for a ‘radical rethink’ of how term times are set out.

Experts say schools’ annual sevenweek break is a relic from a time when youngsters were needed to help out on farms.

They told Holyrood’s education committee the long holiday puts low-income parents under extra financial pressure due to the added cost of feeding their children and paying for childcare.

The possibility of altering term times was raised as part of an inquiry by the committee into the impact of poverty on school attainment.

Child food poverty policy adviser Lindsay Graham told MSPs that pupils from poorer backgrounds could fall behind with their studies because of the summer break.

In her submission, she wrote: ‘I do respectfully suggest a radical rethink of term times and the use of school premises is something the committee should consider.

‘Our current approaches to child poverty are not working and if we are to improve education attainment… we need to look beyond the school gates to help children stay well, happy and engaged in their communities.

‘Our school holidays were set in motion over 100 years ago to suit timings with harvests.

‘In a modern society this is no longer the norm yet we still have long holiday spells where children become disengaged from social support and the will to learn.’ The committee – which is expected to publish its recommendations later this year – has been told some schools run ‘summer clubs’ to ease the pressure on families,

Evidence submitted by Dalmarnock Primary School in Glasgow stated: ‘The summer holidays were problematic for families and we decided to open the school two years ago for a summer club.

‘This is not childcare – children must be accompanied by adults – but it has impacted on everyone by developing better relationships between parents and statutory agencies. It has allowed parents to develop more friendships, reducing social isolation.’

Some schools in England have experimented with shorter breaks. The East Manchester Academy adopted a five-term structure, with four weeks off in summer.

But evidence on the impact of long holidays on attainment remains unclear. Children in Ireland and Finland have some of the best reading levels in Europe despite enjoying some of the longest summer holidays.

The debate comes as teaching union the Educational Institute of Scotland pushes for a 10 per cent pay rise for teachers.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘We welcome ideas to support our priority of closing the attainment gap and raising standards for all, but have no plans to change the school year.

‘Instead, we are taking forward a range of significant actions to tackle the poverty-related attainment gap and the underlying inequality behind it.’