Wales: School summer holidays could be cut by one week | UK News

School summer holidays in Wales could be cut by a week as the government says it would benefit students and teachers.

A week would be added on to the October half term holidays instead and there would be no changes to the number of weeks of holiday.

The first shortened summer break would be introduced in July 2026 and another week could also be taken from the summer holidays at some point in the future.

Welsh education minister Jeremy Miles said the six-week summer break ‘can be a real strain’ on parents.

‘Families struggle to find childcare over the six weeks, and others struggle with the additional costs long summers bring,’ he said.

‘We also know our most disadvantaged learners suffer the most “learning loss” from a long summer.

‘We want to make sure education works best for pupils, teachers, and families.’

Jason Elsom, chief executive of parenting charity Parentkind, said he was pleased to see the consultation by the Welsh government.

‘Our recent poll of 6,800 parents in Wales revealed that the majority of parents support a move to spread school holidays more evenly across the year, with 72% of lower-income families in favour,’ Mr Elsom said.

‘It is fair to say that the current concentration of school holidays in the summer months results in inflated childcare and family holiday costs, compounding the challenges faced during the cost-of-living crisis.’

But Laura Doel from the National Association of Headteachers Cymru said there are more pressing issues.

She said: ‘When school staff are being made redundant to balance the books, when schools should be prioritising delivering quality education to learners, and when we are deeply concerned about the recruitment and retention crisis, this should not be a priority for government.’

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