Shorter summer holidays and longer half-term for pupils in Surrey
Why is Surrey council changing school holidays?
Schools in Surrey were asked if they were in favour of a two week autumn half-term in a survey. 60% of schools said yes, 30% were against a new system and 10% were unsure. Clare Curran from Surrey County Council said the survey was in response to a wider discussion about term dates. She added that the decision was based on "the feedback received by the council from schools, school staff, and families regarding the challenges of differing term dates".
Are other places changing their schools holidays too?
Surrey isn't the only place in the UK reviewing the length of school holidays, with some areas like Suffolk and the Isle of Wight already implementing a two week October half-term.The Welsh government looked at shortening their summer holidays too but has since shelved the plans after opposition to the idea. The discussion comes after a report from last year by the Nuffield Foundation suggested summer holidays should be cut down from six weeks to four and half, with terms made longer to improve the wellbeing of both teaching staff and pupils. That's something schools part of the Unity Schools Partnership in Suffolk found after introducing the longer autumn break. Pupil absences for illness after the holiday fell by 25% at 31 of its primary and secondary schools. What do you think? Would you give up a longer summer break in favour of a two week holiday in October? Let us know in the comments.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
12 minutes ago
- The Independent
London protests: Police swoop to make arrests as hundreds rally in support of Palestine Action
News UK Crime Demonstrators are campaigning to lift the terror ban on protest group Palestine Action
BBC News
13 minutes ago
- BBC News
Police make arrests at Palestine Action ban protests
Police are arresting protesters in London at a demonstration in support of proscribed group Palestine than 100 people simultaneously unveiled placards with the same message "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action" at the protest, organised by Defend Our Juries at Westminster's Parliament government proscribed the Palestine Action group in July under the Terrorism Act of 2000, making membership of or support for the group a criminal offence, punishable by up to 14 years in the hours before the protest, the Metropolitan Police has issued a statement saying: "Anyone showing support for the group can expect to be arrested." Footage from the square showed officers moving among the protesters, who were mainly seated on the ground, and speaking to them before leading them X, the Met Police issued a statement saying a "significant number of people are displaying placards expressing support for Palestine Action."Officers have moved in and are making arrests."The protest comes just days after the first three people to be charged with supporting the group in England and Wales were Metropolitan Police said it had drawn officers in from other forces to help form a "significant policing presence" in the capital as it faces a busy well as the protest by Palestine Action, two marches have been organised by Palestine Coalition and pro-Israeli group Stop the Hate and will be held on consecutive days in central Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan warned ahead of Saturday's protest that "anyone showing support for Palestine Action can expect to be arrested" and urged people to "consider the seriousness of that outcome."More than 200 people have been arrested across the country for similar reasons since the ban was implemented by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper last week, two women and a man were also charged with showing support for a proscribed terror group. They are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 16 September, the Metropolitan Police voted to proscribe the group after activists broke into RAF Brize Norton in June, spraying two Voyager aircraft with red paint and causing £7m worth of damage. Palestine Action took responsibility for the incident at the time.A Home Office spokesperson said the decision to proscribe the group was based on "strong security advice" following "serious attacks the group had committed, involving violence, significant injuries and extensive criminal damage".
Telegraph
13 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Defra axes tenth of workforce in cost-cutting drive
Labour has cut 750 mandarins from a single Whitehall department under a new efficiency drive to slim down the Civil Service. Steve Reed, the Environment Secretary, has slashed his workforce by 10 per cent as he battles to bear down on levels of green bureaucracy. The savings, set to amount to more than £30m a year in salary costs alone, will be funnelled back into projects to clean up Britain's rivers. It comes after Downing Street announced plans to cut more than £2bn a year in Whitehall back-office costs over the next five years. Rachel Reeves has pledged to cut at least 10,000 mandarins to achieve the savings, despite facing fierce opposition from Civil Service unions. The Chancellor hopes that making major efficiency savings in the public sector can help stave off the need for even more brutal tax rises at the Budget. Whitehall's total headcount has shot up from a modern low of 386,000 just before the EU referendum in 2016 to 516,000 at the start of this year. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is the eighth-biggest government ministry, having expanded rapidly in recent years. Back in 2016 it had just 1,706 employees but that number rocketed after Brexit, more than tripling to 7,384 by the time of last summer's election. As such it has been earmarked for major savings by Labour, which is also looking to streamline green bureaucracy. Mr Reed has cut the workforce by more than 750 posts over the past year by slashing layers of management and the duplication of roles across quangos. A Labour spokesman said: 'With Steve Reed's leadership we are cutting waste and ensuring that taxpayers' money is spent on where it matters. This means more money being directed to the front line to clean up England's rivers.' The average salary of a Defra official is around £42,000, according to recent analysis of official data by the Institute for Government think tank. As such, the reforms are set to save over £30m in wage costs, before other expenses such as pension contributions are taken into account. It comes amid wider efforts to save cash at the department, which has running costs of £540m a year out of a total annual budget of £4.6bn. Earlier this year, The Telegraph revealed how civil servants there have been given a 'gadget limit' after an audit unveiled a huge splurge on iPads. Officials were told they are only entitled to two electronic devices after the number of taxpayer-funded tablets doubled to 6,000 in just five years. The number of Defra officials surged post-Brexit as Britain took back control of farming subsidies and drawing up its own environmental regulation. Mr Reed has been tasked with trying to streamline those green rules, which have been blamed for holding up housing and infrastructure projects. Last week, Ms Reeves said he was an 'unsung hero' for his efforts to unlock growth.
