Shorter school summer holiday under new plan?
PARENTS, staff and children should be prepared for changes to the school year, including possible shorter summer holidays, under plans announced by the Welsh Government in a deal with Plaid Cymru.
First Minister Mark Drakeford has now given some more details, saying the way people live has changed since the school year was devised in the 19th Century.
“It means moving the pattern of education from the 19th Century when Wales was primarily an agricultural nation to the 21st Century,” Mr Drakeford told BBC Wales Live.
“The way we live our lives now, the way people are employed and the way parents have to manage the competing demands of life, means we need to revisit that fundamental thing about how the school year and the school day is organised in Wales,
“It’s a radical policy shift. We would be the first part of the UK to do it. I’m very glad that we can now move ahead confidently because of our agreement to tackle that very important issue.”
The Labour/plaid deal commits to: “Aim to reform school term dates to bring them more in line with patterns of family life and employment. We will also explore options to reform the rhythm of the school day to create space for more wide-ranging, culturally accessible activities and opportunities.”
Changing school term dates and school hours has significant cost and time implications, trade unions representing teachers said earlier this week when the plans were unveiled.
“In terms of school day reform, which is arguably much more complex than changing the terms, pay and conditions, wrap around services like after school clubs, school transport, catering etc would all be thrown into the mix but crucially there needs to be some evidence to go down this route and as yet we’ve not seen any,” Laura Doel, Director of the National Association of Headteachers Cymru told Walesonline after the proposals were announced earlier this week.
Eithne Hughes, Director of the Association of School and College Leaders Cymru shared these concerns.
She said plans to reform the school year and day were “vague and sketchy” and called for more detail. “Is it about extending contractual hours and will it affect conditions of service for teachers?
“They are going to reform term dates, that was in Labour’s manifesto and now this co-operation agreement. Welsh Government needs to do this through the correct process. That could take years.”
Labour and Plaid Cymru are going to look at reform of the school year and changing the “rhythm” of the school day, as part of their extended three-year cooperation deal in the Senedd.
As part of its deal announced on Monday for a co-operation agreement with Plaid, Welsh Government has also promised free school meals for all primary school pupils, and free childcare for all two -year-olds.
Some experts say disadvantaged children would benefit from the changes to the school day and year. The debate has been looked at for years with some research saying children forget what they have learned over the six-week summer break and get out of
the habit of learning.
It means moving the pattern of education from the 19th Century when Wales was primarily an agricultural nation to the 21st Century First Minister Mark Drakeford