The Welsh education secretary will announce tomorrow that plans to make changes to the school year - including shortening the summer break in order to give more time off to teachers and pupils later in the year - have been put on hold.
The Welsh government says it is pausing the plans to allow schools to concentrate on delivering other reforms and improving attainment.
Education secretary Lynne Neagle says any changes to the school year will not happen now until after the current Senedd term, which is due to end in 2026.
Lukewarm response to proposals
The decision - which has also been influenced by the lukewarm response that the proposals received in a recent consultation - has been welcomed by NAHT Cymru.
The school leaders’ union said it had been opposed to the proposed reforms to the school year from the outset and congratulated Ms Neagle, who became education secretary in March, on being “brave enough to put much more pressing issues to the top of her agenda”.
The Welsh government launched its consultation on changes to the school holidays in November.
In 2025-26, the six-week summer holiday should be cut by a week, it proposed, to give staff and pupils two weeks off in October rather than just one.
It was thought this would have the potential to improve the education experiences of young people - especially the most disadvantaged - and align more effectively with how families live and work.
The consultation also explored the possibility that, in the future, the summer break could be cut further, to four weeks, with staff and pupils then given an extra week off in May.
On Tuesday, the results of a consultation on the proposals will be published.
No consensus on changing school holidays
According to the government, it received well over 16,000 responses, but only “a narrow majority” were in favour of changing the school holidays.
The government says the findings were “equivocal and contradictory” and more discussion and exploration is needed “to ensure any future amendments benefit everyone”.
The pause, according to the government, will also allow other reforms such as the Curriculum for Wales and reforms of additional learning needs to be fully implemented before other changes are introduced.
Ms Neagle described opinion on making changes to the school holidays as “hugely divided”.
The education secretary added: “I want to prioritise ongoing school reforms and improving attainment and therefore, no changes will be made to the school year this Senedd term.
“In the meantime, our priority will be to maximise the support available to learners during the summer holidays, including doing more to target that provision towards the poorest communities through a range of policies and activities, including the School Holiday Enrichment Programme and Community Focused Schools.”
School leaders saw no evidence to back changes
Responding to the Welsh government’s announcement, Laura Doel, national secretary at NAHT Cymru, said the changes needed to be supported by evidence and “no such evidence was forthcoming”.
She added: “This should never have been a priority, especially amid other reforms to the curriculum and alternative learning needs (ALN) provision.
“We are grateful to the cabinet secretary for being brave enough to put much more pressing issues to the top of her agenda rather than pressing ahead with a reform which would have had no benefit to learners.”
