The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
Should we mimic French school holidays?
The news that the Nuffield Foundation will soon publish a report proposing a move to a four-week school summer holiday in the UK – with longer halfterm breaks instead – got me thinking about how differently the French approach family holidays to the British.
When I moved to France in 2009 with my husband and two children aged four and six, one thing I hadn’t really considered – in spite of being a meticulous planner – was how we would adapt to the very different school holiday pattern there. A six-week summer had always seemed long with two children at home, and childcare and children’s activities cost a fortune in London – so how would we manage a two-month summer holiday in a country where we had no family and knew no one?
As it turned out, France had it all in hand. When schools are closed, the local centres de loisirs – supervised holiday and after-school clubs – are open to entertain children during working hours, heavily subsidised and with further reductions available for those on a low income.
These covered the time when we needed to work, but the long holiday also gave us a chance to reconnect and bond as a family, to spend proper time together, and to travel at a leisurely pace. The children benefited hugely from having time to explore, getting out of their normal routine and being somewhere different.
But it’s not just about summer holidays. In France, all other school breaks usually last two weeks – ideal for a number of reasons. The children have enough time to decompress properly, and it also helps to stagger the pressure on airports and motorways. More helpful still, the country is divided into three zones, with dates for the February/ March half-term holiday and spring holiday staggered, meaning that holiday locations (especially ski resorts) are less crowded, and helping to keep prices down. Friends who work in tourism say that this is also a boon for them, as visitors arrive over several weeks rather than all at once.
And as for the proposed four-week summer holiday in Britain – is this really a long enough break? A teacher friend recently told me that she felt it wouldn’t be enough down time for children, or indeed for exhausted teachers.
Shortening the summer holiday would also surely exacerbate an already extortionate holiday accommodation and transport landscape, and likely lead to more children being taken out of school during term time.
It’s a well-worn cliché that, in France, people work to live rather than live to work – but when it comes to holidays and time off, it is certainly true, and time off is widely regarded as a right. French families on low incomes receive vouchers which can be used at campsites and holiday villages across France, and many companies also subsidise holidays for low-earning employees.
Admittedly, French schools have longer days in part to compensate for the extended holidays, and while some feel they are too long for younger children, they also fit in much more easily with working hours.
The UK could, in theory, benefit hugely from a French-style holiday pattern – but the necessary infrastructure would need to be put in place, including accessible childcare for working parents, as well as affordable holidays for all. In France, proper holidays are part of the culture, whatever your income. The UK could learn a lot from this.