Every teaching union in Wales has written to Education Minister Jeremy Miles opposing Welsh Government plans to change the school year and shorten the summer holidays. They say it will "damage" children's education and the plan is a distraction when schools face a funding, behaviour and recruitment crisis.
“All of the education unions are in complete agreement that the reform of the school year proposals are unacceptable,” the letter, also signed by farming and tourism organisations, says. Among a long list of reasons for their opposition unions say the education of secondary pupils in particular will be “damaged” by moving a week’s school from autumn to summer to accommodate the plan.
The six week summer holiday would be cut to five or four weeks under Welsh Government proposals out for consultation, which ends on February 12. If they go ahead school year dates in Wales will change as early as October 2025
But unions warned the Minister in their letter: "These proposals do not come from relevant and recent research and will not best support children in their learning." Tourism and farming organisations signing the letter says income and jobs will be lost if school summer holidays are shortened and a week moved to the autumn when the weather is worse.
They also point out that the highest educationally performing countries globally have the longest summer breaks. There’s no recent research showing shortening it would improve outcomes and the whole matter is a “distraction” while schools grapple with a funding, recruitment and behaviour crisis.
