Pembrokeshire councillors are to give their views on a consultation which could see the summer school holidays reduced to just four weeks, the first change to the school year in over 150 years.
Members of Pembrokeshire County Council’s schools and learning overview and scrutiny committee, meeting on February 8, are asked to provide feedback and an official response to a Welsh Government consultation on potential reform of the school year.
It is also recommended that members’ views be used in an authority response on the wider public consultation by the council’s Director for Education, by the closure of the consultation on February 12.
A report for members states: “The school year in Wales has not changed for over 150 years. It was designed for a very different time, when going to school was voluntary, there was no national curriculum and children were expected to contribute to the agricultural economy during the long holidays.
“However, over recent years there have been many changes and improvements to education in Wales, such as a new curriculum, greater teacher professional learning, and new ways of supporting learners with Additional Learning Needs.
“Therefore, the Welsh Government has launched a public consultation to look at how the school year, terms, and holidays can work better for learners, school staff and parents.”
It stresses the consultation is not about reducing the number of holidays; a commitment has been made that the summer break will be at least four weeks.
It will also see no change to the number of hours, nor extending the school day.
A possible change in the consultation is reducing the summer break from six to four weeks; the remaining two weeks redistributed to other parts of the year.
Other potential changes include:
• A fixed Easter break of two weeks in early April, regardless of when Easter falls
• Four terms of roughly equal length and breaks of one or two weeks between them
• Aligning term dates across Wales, and possibly with other parts of the UK.
The report for members concludes: “The reform of the school year in Wales is a complex and important issue that affects the quality and outcomes of education, as well as the wellbeing and lifestyles of learners, school staff, and parents.
“It provides an opportunity for members to provide their views on the consultation with the closing date of February 12.”
The Welsh Government aims to publish the results of the consultation and the proposed changes by the end of 2024.
A unique coalition of trade unions, Welsh tourism organisations, and farming, have this week called on the Welsh Government to scrap its proposed reform.
The Welsh Association of Visitor Attractions fears that tourism and businesses will be affected by the plans, stating that many attractions take over 45% of their entire yearly income during the school summer holidays, and any loss of summer revenue would lead to closures and job losses.
A joint letter sent to Education Minister Jeremy Miles urging the proposal to be withdrawn, has come from 11 organisations, including - the NASUWT Cymru, NEU Cymru, Unison Cymru/Wales, GMB Wales, Welsh Association of Visitor Attractions, the National Farmers Union of Wales, the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society.
“To put a key summer week into an extra week in the Autumn half term would mean a loss of tens of thousands of pounds for many Welsh attractions,” said a spokesperson for the group.
“Furthermore, the past two Autumn half terms have been plagued by massive storms leading to some attractions being forced to close.
“At a time when established attractions are closing down it is unfathomable why no research has been done by the Government as to the likely damage this proposal would do to tourism in Wales.
“The tourist industry also employs many young people during the summer break period.
“The current six-week period allows time to train and properly engage with, youngsters, many of whom are experiencing their first opportunity in the workplace.
“Many will be denied this opportunity if the holiday periods are cut short by these proposals.
“The Teaching Unions claim that a week taken from the crucial autumn term and placed in the quieter post-examination period, is not supported by research and would damage learning.
“The summer break is already amongst the shortest in Europe. The educational reasons the Welsh Government give for the reforms are not substantiated by research, including the view that there is a detriment to children’s learning. Countries that appear above Wales in the PISA league tables have significantly longer summer breaks.”
Farming representatives (NFU) have also voiced concerns about the proposed reform – arguing that many farming businesses that have diversified into the tourism sector benefit from a six-week peak season where the weather is far more favourable for visitors to enjoy the countryside and Wales’ visitor attractions.
“Under the proposals, visitors will be faced with limited time in the summer to enjoy Wales at its finest,” continued the group’s spokesperson.
“Organisers of the Royal Welsh Show claim that it could lose £1 million a year if the change goes ahead.
“The show is the largest agricultural event of its kind in Europe and, as such, affords Wales the opportunity of international attention.
“The coalition is calling upon the Welsh Government to withdraw these proposals and redirect its energies to the real challenges that face Wales and to stop fighting unnecessary battles.”
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