Part of 2. 2. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Education – in the Senedd at 2:27 pm on 11 January 2017.
There is another way of looking at this, of course, and there is a strong argument for restructuring the school year and distributing holidays in a more balanced way across the year. Doing so over the year, rather than having one big block over the summer, would assist in improving attainment levels within schools and make it easier for working parents. Many experts argue that children, particularly boys, from deprived backgrounds do find it difficult to maintain information over lengthy brakes and that they could benefit from briefer school holidays that happen more often. When Plaid Cymru first raised this issue, your party and your spokesperson for education at that time, Jenny Randerson, was very supportive of it. So, what assessment have you made of this proposals of restructuring the school term? And if it hasn’t happened, will you commit to carrying out such an assessment and then report back to the Assembly on that?