Plea to change school year

BY REBECCA THOMSON - THE WELLINGTONIAN

Children returned to school this week, but one Wellington mother wishes they had not.

Actress Miranda Harcourt would like to see the summer school holidays moved to February, when the weather is warmer.

She said the school year should start at the beginning of March and run until the middle of the following January, with a few days off for Christmas.

"Every year it seems ridiculous that weather turns brilliant when kids go back to school and it will be brilliant for much of the first term," said Ms Harcourt.

"It's a cruel irony that teachers are wrangling kids to coming inside when really kids should be outside enjoying the weather.

"The world over, school terms are according to the season. You start school in the autumn.

"In the United States and Europe, Christmas and Thanksgiving are short holidays that break up a long winter. We don't have that."

She said planning for exams, Christmas and holidays all at once was stressful. Moving the school year, and therefore exams, could remove some of that pressure.

School term dates are set in accordance with the Education Act.They must be set by July 1 the previous year.

Primary and secondary schools may open between Auckland Anniversary Day (last week of January) and February 7.

The Ministry of Education's Rawiri Brell said moving holidays to February would be a major shift.

"The timing of school holidays cannot be taken in isolation from wider workforce concerns," said Mr Brell, the ministry's early childhood and regional education deputy secretary.

"Moving summer holidays to February/March would have to follow a change to when the majority of working parents took their holidays.

"To do otherwise would unacceptably increase childcare costs for many families."

However, a major change in term times has occurred before.

In 1998 a four-term year was introduced to primary and secondary schools.

"The absence of regular breaks was said to tire children needlessly and work against effective teaching and learning," Mr Brell said.

"It was argued that four even terms of about 10 weeks each, with breaks of two weeks between them, would be a much more appropriate model."

He said term dates were last reviewed in 2006 and education sector representatives, including parents, were involved in those discussions.

"At that time, they were unanimous in their support for this model."

A 2008 Research New Zealand poll indicated 44 per cent of people thought the summer holidays should be moved to February.

Ms Harcourt acknowledged changing the school year was unlikely to happen, but would like people to start discussing the possibility.

"It would be a massive cultural shift ... but we've got to have a vision of how it would suit us. It comes down to the health of our children."