Lee Elliot Major on the benefits of shorter school holidays

Earlier this week I had to get up at an ungodly hour to appear on Good Morning Britain. It was great fun but added to a particularly hectic schedule. We’ve been releasing our last research blockbusters before August’s media lull. And our summer schools at universities are in full swing, helping thousands of state school pupils.

At home meanwhile I’ve been overseeing with military-like precision plans for our children over the summer holidays – always a challenge with two parents working full time.

I was asked to comment on the story of two Lincolnshire primary schools which became the some of the first in England to abandon the traditional six-week summer school break. Pupils at White’s Wood and Mercer Wood schools will instead have a four-week holiday. Extra weeks will be taken off at other times during the school year.

This is a radical move: the current school year has remained largely unchanged since the introduction of compulsory school attendance in 1875. So I was glad to hear that the two schools had consulted with parents and teachers!

Summer learning loss” is well documented in the US where holidays can extend to three months. Pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds return to school having regressed by one to two months in their learning. While we haven’t produced evidence of a summer slide in the UK, every teacher will tell you they observe a similar trend on this side of the Pond. It’s hardly surprising given the 80-20 rule of education: roughly 80% of the variation in children’s school results is due to individual and family characteristics outside the school gates, with the remaining 20% due to what actually happens during school. Inequalities outside school are widening, with middle class children enjoying the enrichment and education stimulation that their less privileged peers can only dream of.

International evidence is hardly consistent on this issue: as many countries perform well educationally with long summer breaks (Finland) as those with shorter summer breaks (Hong Kong, Singapore). The question for England, as increasing numbers of schools are given the freedom to change their term times, is what works best for children here?

Sadly our trials of summer camps aimed at boosting the achievement of disadvantaged pupils during the break have so far proved inconclusive. Meanwhile previous reviews of reforming the school calendar have revealed much talk, but little actual evidence of impact – all the more reason for evaluating these reforms properly now.

Parents calling in to the TV show also welcomed the moves as it might break another enduring inequity. If groups of schools in different areas of the country staggered their summer breaks to start at different times we might finally force the holiday industry to stop charging extortionate prices for summer holiday packages. These currently penalise parents and teachers of state school pupils in particular.

So on balance I think it is a good thing to try – as long as we assess the evidence of its impact. And yes it might mean less planning for my children’s seemingly endless six week break. I’m just glad my two children were not watching me on Tuesday morning.

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