The long-awaited summer holidays have kicked off, with students across the nation diving into a six-week stretch of leisure and hopefully plenty of sunshine. Yet, there’s an ongoing debate about whether this extended break is too lengthy, considering factors like academic performance, childcare challenges, escalating holiday expenses for parents, and increased screen time on gadgets.
Have your say! Should the school holidays be shortened? Do you think it would help pupils to get higher grades? Is it worth it to reduce the burden on working parents? Comment below, and join in on the conversation.
Earlier in the year, Ofsted’s head honcho Sir Martyn Oliver weighed in on the matter, suggesting it might be time to rethink the duration of school breaks. Speaking to LBC, he remarked: “I think 190 days of children going in out of 365 – I think the question should be ‘is that long enough’?”.
Sir Martyn highlighted concerns over “dysregulation” among pupils – the loss of beneficial habits, discipline, and structure accumulated throughout the school term, which could hit vulnerable or disadvantaged kids harder.
In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Tory government mulled over the idea of shortening the summer period to facilitate catch-up for students after two years of educational turmoil, but the proposal did not materialise.
There’s a warning that children’s screen time is set to soar over the summer holidays. A study by Vodafone reveals that youngsters could spend up to four hours a day on a mobile device, according to the Daily Star.
This represents a 42% increase in scrolling time compared to when kids are in school, the report suggests. Parents’ common worries include the potential for devices to disrupt sleep, adversely affect their child’s mental health, or expose them to harmful content.
The school holidays can pose challenges for working parents who need to organise childcare – a six-week stretch even more so. Reducing the length of the summer break could ease the burden and cut costs for families.
However, this could negatively impact the traditional summer family holiday. Condensing the demand for flights, hotels, and long car journeys into a shorter period could lead to disruption and price hikes, and the cost of a family holiday is already a contentious issue – not to mention the importance of quality family time.
Have your say! Should the school holidays be shortened? Do you think it would help pupils to get higher grades? Is it worth it to reduce the burden on working parents? Comment below, and join in on the conversation.
