School Summer Holidays to be Axed?

[Section_31]

Independent

Long school summer holidays ought to be abolished in a radical change to the traditional academic year to stop children falling behind in class, according to a report to be published today. Research suggests pupils are losing some of their reading skills during the long summer break, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said. The centre-left thinktank suggested instead that the school year could be divided into five eight-week terms, with a fortnight's holiday between each. This, it said, would allow pupils to sustain their education more easily over the year. The report followed concerns raised by Ofsted that progress in raising educational standards in England has "stalled", with one in five 11-year-olds unable to master the "three Rs" (reading, writing and arithmetic). Sonia Sodha, the report's lead author said: "We need long-term reform that better gears our school system around children's needs." The report also called for a new primary school curriculum allowing children more opportunities to learn through play. It also warned that one in five children aged between eight and 10 suffered from "declining or consistently low well-being". The children's minister Kevin Brennan said ministers already had plans for health and welfare services to be located on the same school site in an effort to improve children's welfare.

Sounds suspiciously like more babbling horseshit from 'the guys at the think tank'.

I hate this country, did I say that yet?

[She Knows It]

Wait till you've got kids of your own! I would love to see the holidays more evenly spaced. Summer is a nightmare trying to keep them entertained.

My middle lad struggles with literacy, and he always falls behind massively over the summer.

[Section_31]

When is a kid supposed to have any kind of life though? Virtually all of my childhood memories revolve around long summer days spent arsing around on my bike and playing out, going on holiday and day trips to Southport etc.

If they're so arsed about it they should just have a summer school for a few days in the middle of the summer where they can go in for a couple of hours without their uniforms or something.

I hate the way they come out with these studies, when in actual fact part of the problem might have more to do with the fact that some classrooms have fucking X Boxes in them as a reward to kids for doing their work, some kids who can't speak a word of English or kids with special needs who haven't been statemented because of the prospective cost of sending them to a special unit, and exam targets which negate quality education (anecdotes from my three teacher mates)

Instead, what we get is more bullshit from 'study authors' who've probably never even been to a normal secondary school let alone taught in one.

My parents never did anything spectacular with their lives, never could afford to go to uni etc, but I tell you what, their maths and English is flawless.
Some back to basics shit needs to be pursued IMO.

[Paul]

I'd fucking love to see that eight on, two off model (which still allows for a month off in the summer, by the way). There's no doubt in my mind that kids would be better equipped to learn and teachers better equipped to teach if the divisions were more even. Autumn term feels like being in the Battle of the fucking Somme by the end of November. Everyone's knackered and ill and that gets in the way of so much. It would give parents more options for family holidays without keeping the kids out of school, too.

[melons]

This subject has been brought up every year for years, when we lived down in kent the LEA did a vote on it, we were under the impression it would come into force in 2009, dont know if it will be or not.

I'm all for it, the 6 weeks throws kids well out of routine, not good for kids, let alone SEN kids.

Here our schools are smaller, and they learn through welsh, so, at home 90% of the time English is the language used, they go back to school in September, after 6 weeks of almost no welsh language being used they are expected to slide back in to fluent welsh.

Im with you on the older systems, i before e except after c and all that lot, repeated as a mantra it sinks in. The same with times tables, my 9 year old is struggling, but i knew mine by her age through repetition. don't know how it would translate though.

On a personal note, shit me it would of near on halved my nursery and child care bills a few years ago. its easier to ask people to help out for short stints then it is for the 6 weeks.