Is the current ‘school year’ fit for purpose?

Amelia Jones

Schools reopened this week after the Christmas break, with teachers and children returning to a 150-year-old system that continues to take a toll on their wellbeing.

Before I was a writer, I desperately wanted to be a teacher. It was a kind of Dead Poets Society moment, where I was inspired by my history teacher. I imagined myself following the same path.

While studying history at university, I went back to my old primary school for work experience. Although my old teachers seemed pleased to see me, and were grateful for the extra help, every one of them was quick to ask why I would want to be a teacher. The question was usually followed by a warning. Don’t do it. You’ll regret it. 

At the time, I didn’t really understand the caution. Yet slowly, almost without realising it, I drifted away from the idea and began writing instead.

It wasn’t until much later, when I began to look more closely at the realities of the profession, that those conversations began to make sense. What those teachers were reacting to wasn’t teaching itself, but a system that has failed to evolve alongside the demands placed on the individuals within it.

The Welsh Government reviewed the school year back in 2023, acknowledging that the traditional academic calendar has remained largely unchanged for over 150 years. The review aimed to explore whether modifications could better support learners, families, and school staff today.

Following this, a major consultation was launched in 2024, gathering over 16,000 responses from parents, teachers and stakeholders. The feedback showed mixed opinions about changing the school calendar.

The government ultimately decided that planned changes would not be implemented within this Senedd term.

This decision feels increasingly confusing. The government acknowledged a problem and then decided to carry on as if the review hadn’t happened, leaving teachers, pupils and families carrying on in a system they all agree is outdated.

Three years on, the decision to shelve any kind of reform, despite overwhelming signs of stress, burnout and inequality feels like a cautious place to leave things.

To state the obvious, what the curriculum looked like 150 years ago is vastly different to how it looks now. Teachers taught fewer subjects with fewer expectations with far less accountability.

Schools in 2026 are teaching more content, and supporting pupils’ specific needs, all while subjected to increased scrutiny. Yet, despite these growing demands, the school calendar has remained largely unchanged.

Perhaps the clearest sign that the school calendar isn’t working is the autumn term. Stretching from September to Christmas with limited breaks, it is widely criticised by teachers and parents alike as exhausting. The early dark nights and rising pressure in the classroom have been known to cause fatigue and winter illness.

Summer holidays

The long summer holiday raises similar concerns. While it offers a welcome break, research repeatedly shows that extended time away from the classroom can lead to learning loss, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds who may not have access to opportunities for out-of-school education.

For many parents, the current calendar feels disconnected from real life. Long holidays can mean weeks of juggling childcare, absorbing rising food costs, or relying on patchy support.

While some children benefit from travel, activities and enrichment, others experience isolation, food insecurity and learning loss. This gap only widens existing inequalities.

Polling from a parent-teacher organisation, Parentkind, reveals that more than half of parents (53%) support shortening the summer holiday to four weeks, a figure that rises to 60% among families with children who have special educational needs.

This shows a clear demand for a school calendar that better reflects the realities and challenges faced by families today.

While Wales has paused reform, England is already testing alternatives. Some schools have reduced the summer holiday to five weeks, and redistributed breaks more evenly across the year. This move suggests change is not only possible, but practical.

Reforming the school calendar will not solve every problem facing education in Wales. But refusing to revisit a structure designed over 150 years ago sends a clear message about priorities.

At a time when wellbeing, engagement and equality are under unprecedented strain, maintaining the status quo is not a neutral choice, it is an active decision to accept and prolong the consequences.