A Nottingham headmaster has reiterated his opposition to calls from Education Secretary, Michael Gove, for shorter 
school holidays as the country’s schools prepare to break up for their final half-term of the academic year.
Mr Gove has said he believed traditional long summer school holidays were a relic of the 19th century and should be replaced by shorter holidays and longer school days.
He added pupils are at a “significant handicap” compared to children in the Tiger Economies of East Asia who do longer days and benefit from extra tuition.
Keith Morrow, Head of The Elms Junior School and Nursery in Long Eaton, concedes that long holidays do put a pressure on families where both parents work. But he insists it is improving holiday childcare provision and not slashing holiday time that is the answer.
He said: “Increasingly in today’s society both parents work and therefore the issue of child care in school holidays is a major concern for such parents.
While having sympathy for parents struggling to find holiday care for their children, I disagree with Mr Gove’s arguments for shorter school holidays and longer school days for pupils.
“Children need a break from their studies, a chance to play with family and friends, a chance to recharge batteries and assimilate their learning, a chance to take up new hobbies and meet new people and, dare I say it, a chance to be bored and have to make their own fun to fill an unstructured day. We need to give our children the opportunity to be children.
“How do we balance the need for parents to work with who looks after the children? I’m always amazed by the ingenuity of parents who manage the school holidays with a rota of time off work, family and relatives drafted in and coming to mutual childcare arrangements with friends. Parents need good childcare during the holidays rather than more school.”
Mr Morrow says The Elms have looked closely at holiday activity provision, including a holiday club for children in Reception to Year 2 and initiatives such as Activate Sport and Mad Science that run at The Elms during the school holidays to provide worthwhile fun activities for children, as well as quality childcare.
He added: “Having visited schools in China and Vietnam, the work ethic of the pupils is impressive, but the schooling isn’t something I’d wish to replicate here.
Very large classes of children sitting in serried rows, learning by rote, demonstrating excellent computational skills but limited creativity, isn’t the education system we should want for our children.
“Why is it that British international independent schools are in such demand overseas? Why do so many families living overseas seek to send their children to British independent schools?
It’s precisely because of the quality of education offered; the broad and balanced curriculum, creativity and thinking skills, which are valued so highly the world over.
“Having seen how hard our pupils work, the holidays are a necessary balance between the long days and demanding, balanced curriculum our children already experience at school.”
For more information about The Elms Junior School and Nursery visit www.elmsschool.net