Plans to change school holidays in Wales are shelved

The decision follows a mixed response to the biggest Welsh Government education consultation on record. Credit: PA Images

Plans to cut the school summer holidays in Wales have been shelved until after the next Welsh Parliament election in 2026.

It follows a mixed response from the biggest Welsh Government education consultation on record, which generated more than 16,000 responses and sought views on changing the school calendar to spread school holidays out more evenly across the year.

If the proposals had gone ahead, the half term break in October 2025 would have been extended to a fortnight, with a five-week rather than six-week holiday in summer 2026.

Education secretary Lynne Neagle said postponing the change until the next Senedd term would allow schools to focus on other major improvements.

She admitted "opinion was hugely divided" on the issue, which had been strongly opposed by teaching unions and as organisers of Wales’ biggest agricultural show The Royal Welsh, plus some tourist attractions.

The Welsh Government had said the proposal was to improve the education experiences of young people, especially the most disadvantaged, and align more effectively with how families live and work.

Proposals suggested moving a week from the start of the summer break into the autumn break to create a two-week half term Credit: PA

More than half of those who responded to the consultation wanted the school calendar re-structured. Of those who responded, parents, governors, and youth workers were broadly in favour of changes while teachers, unions and tourism organisations were broadly against.

Any decision to go ahead with the changes to school holidays in future would be taken after the next Welsh Parliament election in May 2026, making any change to the school holidays unlikely before the 2028-2029 school year.

Lynne Neagle, the Welsh Government's education secretary, said: “My starting point is always the best interests of children and young people. This means ensuring reforms are properly planned out and have the time and space to succeed.

“Opinion was hugely divided on this. To ensure we get this right, we need to continue listening to and engaging with schools, teachers, unions as well as children, young people and parents on how best we can implement any changes in the future.

“I am acutely aware we are asking a lot of teachers and schools. They are supporting our ambitious transformation of education in Wales and they need the time and the space to ensure these reforms deliver for children and young people.

"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."

Cabinet Secretary for Education, Lynne Neagle, said she wanted to prioritise ongoing school reforms and improving attainment Credit: ITV Cymru Wales

Welsh Conservatives' shadow education minister Tom Giffard MS said: “Education in Wales is in crisis with soaring absenteeism, a shocking decline in education standards, the worst PISA results in the UK and rising incidences of violence plaguing our schools.

“We have long called for the Labour government to scrap this distraction and get on with tackling the problems they have created in education over the past 25 years.

“Kicking this into the long grass is not good enough, Labour cannot ignore every teacher’s union, let alone the tourism and business sectors, who are against the plans, the policy needs to be scrapped completely.”

Plaid Cymru’s education spokesperson Heledd Fychan MS said: “Consulting on reforming the school year had been part of the Cooperation Agreement, and as we emphasised throughout the consultation period, it’s important that the Welsh Government listened to the views of parents, teachers and learners.

“It’s clear that there is a crisis in education in Wales. This requires Welsh Government to take action to improve school attendance, educational attainment and safety, as well as recruit and retain more teachers and improve support for learners with additional learning needs.

“Steps must also be taken to ensure no child goes hungry in the school holidays, and I am urging the Welsh Government to put plans in place for the upcoming summer holiday period to support children and their families.”

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: "The total cost of the work around the structure of the school year is approximately £350,000. This included the consultation on the school year itself, two other pieces of work with Beaufort Research and Miller Research and internal research. All costs were budgeted for as part of the Programme for Government and subsequently, the Co-operation Agreement."

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