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Should Gavin Williamson shorten the school holidays?

Yes or No choice

  • Yes

    Votes: 24 20.0%
  • No

    Votes: 88 73.3%
  • Not sure

    Votes: 7 5.8%
  • Don't know

    Votes: 1 0.8%

  • Total voters
    120
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Hey 3

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I think no as the kids have already worked hard enough with zooms and it is hard enough with zooms. They need breaks for their efforts and get little time on breaks for their efforts.
 
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Darandio

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Absolutely not.

The kids need a break, the teachers need a break and parents need one too. The people i've seen calling for and supporting it have absolutely no concept about how difficult it's been for the last nine or so weeks along with the extended periods of home schooling we had to deal with last year.
 
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GusB

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I'd be worried that shortening the holidays would become a permanent thing.
 

Jamiescott1

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Short term my school holidays won't be changed as its a private school.

If they attempt to do it long term I wouldn't be happy, from a personal perspective my partner (a teacher) is able to go back home abroad for the entire 8 week summer holiday and though i work in school holidays, I like the long period in summer to work less hours and take my annual leave.

The long summer period is also when schools are able to do large maintenance projects
 

birchesgreen

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I wouldn't be surprised if they do shorten the holidays, the Westminster regime seem to enjoy squeezing any joy out of life
 

Jamiescott1

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They have effectively been on holiday for months. ;)
Actually alot more stressful than usual. A full timetable on zoom plus parents evenings, talks and extra curricular activities all on zoom. In addition to reports and trying to plan gcse and a level assessments.
 

alex397

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No, I don’t think so. While some less enlightened people and media outlets seem to have it in their heads that teachers and pupils have just had a massive holiday, they have still been working hard with online lessons (and still going in to school if they are key worker children).

It is has been a tough year for all of us, but especially I think for school pupils. They have had to adapt to online lessons which must have been tough particularly those with special educational needs, as well as not being able to see their friends at an important age for developing friendships. They deserve a break. Not only deserve it, but really need it.

Although some schools do have summer holiday clubs - I wonder if it might be a good idea if they could also offer voluntary extra lessons over the summer, for those who feel they are far behind.
 

Ianno87

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They have effectively been on holiday for months. ;)

Really, really, really, really no.

(Assuming that is a serious comment)

Actually alot more stressful than usual. A full timetable on zoom plus parents evenings, talks and extra curricular activities all on zoom. In addition to reports and trying to plan gcse and a level assessments.

And basically deprived of most social contact at the same time.
 

ABB125

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Apparently the reason we have long summer holidays is because in the past the children were needed to "bring in the harvest" and other such jobs which nowadays children would probably be banned from doing. So theoretically there's no need for such long holidays any more.

However, a long break is nice, because you can do things which aren't possible when at school. Such as photographing that class 56 that always comes past at 1000 on a Tuesday... :D:D

So I don't think shortening holidays is a good idea (although I would suggest that such long holidays do have a bit of a negative effect on capacity to learn in the first few days of returning in September (ie: going from nothing to 5 lessons a day)). It's good to have a break. That said, I would support the idea of voluntary clubs/activities run via schools, so long as the teachers are also volunteering to run the sessions!
 

Ianno87

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Apparently the reason we have long summer holidays is because in the past the children were needed to "bring in the harvest" and other such jobs which nowadays children would probably be banned from doing. So theoretically there's no need for such long holidays any more.

However, a long break is nice, because you can do things which aren't possible when at school. Such as photographing that class 56 that always comes past at 1000 on a Tuesday... :D:D

So I don't think shortening holidays is a good idea (although I would suggest that such long holidays do have a bit of a negative effect on capacity to learn in the first few days of returning in September (ie: going from nothing to 5 lessons a day)). It's good to have a break. That said, I would support the idea of voluntary clubs/activities run via schools, so long as the teachers are also volunteering to run the sessions!

Demand for summer holidays (and other activities) if the overall holidays to be shortened would be...interesting.


I was being slightly humorous but I can't help noticing a large number of kids round my way out playing on school days.

As opposed to the playing they'd be doing at school in break times?
 

ABB125

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Demand for summer holidays (and other activities) if the overall holidays to be shortened would be...interesting.
Indeed it would. Best impose compulsory reservations on trains... :D:D

But all in all, I'd probably keep the current school holiday system pretty much as it is.
As opposed to the playing they'd be doing at school in break times?
Yes, but there will be a fair minority of pupils who are treating the current situation as an extended holiday (although for most of them this will involve spending all day indoors playing on their PS4/Xbox/whatever, rather than being outside).
 

Bevan Price

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Most families have not been able to have a holiday away from home since 2019. Many will want to get away somewhere this summer (Covid permitting). There is no way they could all take a holiday if they were confined to a period of only 3-4 weeks, and there would probably be near-riots if the authorities tried to fine people for taking their kids out of school during what would normally have been school holidays.

Of course some of those running the civil service may be too short-sighted to recognise that situation.
 

DarloRich

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Williamson should resign and allow an actual adult come up with a coherent plan to help children catch up with the education they have missed.
 

ABB125

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Williamson should resign and allow an actual adult come up with a coherent plan to help children catch up with the education they have missed.
That's far too radical a solution to the problem! Surely you know better than to suggest such a thing... :D:D

(I don't really have any ideas, since I finished A-levels in 2020, so haven't really experience what has/hasn't been taught. I personally would leave it to teachers to decide what should be done, but that'll never happen of course!)
 

py_megapixel

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No. Absolutely not.

I'm sorry but anyone who suggests that a shorter school holiday will solve anything at all is completely out-of-touch.

Maybe people should actually ask the teachers (and the children - yes, the younger ones and the general troublemakers will give daft answers, but there are plenty of older secondary school kids who will be capable of giving perfectly logical opinions on this) what they feel is needed. I'd wager the majority are extremely stressed by this entire ordeal and simply want a break.

If this route is taken, I can't see schools actually getting enough students in and motivated to make it worthwhile. Or alternatively they could go down the route of counting it as compulsory schooling and fining parents who don't send their kids in, which of course creates a divide between the people who can afford to just factor in the costs of the fines into their plans, and those who simply don't have the financial ability to do so.

I would also be unsurprised if all of this led to a teaching union strike.
 

birchesgreen

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Also don't forget the holiday is for teachers too, who have been messed around even more than usual this year.
But don't forget there is a large segment of the population (and most of them supporters of the Tory regime) who despise teachers and don't want them to have anything "nice".
 

Hey 3

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Now Gavin Williamson, has gone from bad to worse. He is "thinking"(I took the term lightly) to lengthen the school day as well as shorten holidays. Before we know it, industrial action ie. Strikes will take place and the DFE will not intervene.
 

birchesgreen

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It seems the government way since at least I was in secondary school in the 80s (and mostly likely before) to keep interfering and making life more complicated. The best thing we could do for schools is leave them alone for, say, 20 years.
 

peteb

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Teachers are contracted to work about 190 days a year. Extending terms will require government to force changes to all teachers contracts. If that happens it will be incendary: and they cant simply sack all those who would not agree these ts and cs, as theres not exactly people queuing up to become teachers under the present system. Like the NHS staff who are seriously p******d off teachers will also take action if push comes to shove. And by the way imagine walking into a class of baying 15 year olds and holding their attention for an hour? That takes a good deal of lesson planning and when do teachers do that? Thats right, in their holidays!
 

alex397

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Now Gavin Williamson, has gone from bad to worse. He is "thinking"(I took the term lightly) to lengthen the school day as well as shorten holidays. Before we know it, industrial action ie. Strikes will take place and the DFE will not intervene.
Hopefully this won’t be the case, but who knows with this government. I cannot see the benefit of lengthening school days at all. Bear in mind many teachers spend the rest of the day after the students have left for meetings, planning, marking, or teaching after-school clubs or lessons (yes, not all students go home at 3pm!).

If we do end up with industrial action from teaching staff, I wonder whose side the right-wing press will be on?
 

yorkie

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A firm NO from me.

Should there be fun extra-curricular and sports clubs after school and during the holidays? Most definitely, Yes!

Should kids be forced to do catch-up sessions (over and above the usual ones)? Absolutely NOT.
 

Monty

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Not sure why people are so up in arms about it, if children's education isn't to suffer the only realistic options are to either extend the school day, extend the term or you ramp up the homework. Either way the kids will be doing more work to play catch up.
 

alex397

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Not sure why people are so up in arms about it, if children's education isn't to suffer the only realistic options are to either extend the school day, extend the term or you ramp up the homework. Either way the kids will be doing more work to play catch up.
The various posts above explain why people are so “up in arms” about it, and how it will be easier said than done to extend school days or term lengths.
 

py_megapixel

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Not sure why people are so up in arms about it, if children's education isn't to suffer the only realistic options are to either extend the school day, extend the term or you ramp up the homework. Either way the kids will be doing more work to play catch up.
You can't put mental health below that though. If that means the children will be behind where they ordinarily would be then so be it. Material will have to be removed from the syllabuses, or the teacher-assessment system will have to continue for a few more years to alleviate the need to teach nonsense which is specific to the exams.

What is the point of kids being in school if they will be stressed to the point of inability to take in any more information?
 

Mojo

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I can’t see how it would work this year. Holidays and plans are already made and booked. Going forward, there is possibly an argument for a shorter summer holiday, made up by adding weeks to other holidays elsewhere in the year. Indeed I remember this being talked about when I was at school.
 
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