The summer holidays are nearly here, and with them the chance for children and teachers to truly relax after a long academic year. It also means parents are scrambling to make sure that they have childcare arrangements in hand, and checking that they are covered for the extra expense which comes with having their children at home for six weeks.
Many of us look back fondly on the long summer breaks of our youth. But as more and more teachers leave the profession citing burnout, and the cost of living and inflexible working conditions make things harder for parents, the wisdom of keeping the traditional break is less clear.
So, should we get rid of the six-week summer holiday? Teacher Nadeine Asbali, father James Dixon and education academic Lee Elliot Major give their perspectives.
Ask any teacher on a dreary February afternoon how many school weeks there are until the summer holidays, and they’d likely be able to tell you the exact number. It feels like the prospect of that glorious July day where we actually get to spill out of the school gates at the same time as the students, for once unburdened by a pile of marking or the stress of planning tomorrow’s lessons, hangs enticingly on the horizon, edging ever closer from the moment the school bell first rings in September.
