TEACHING unions in Wales proclaimed victory today as the Welsh government withdrew its plan to reform the school year and shorten summer holidays.
Education Secretary Lynne Neagle said: “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 want to prioritise ongoing school reforms and improving attainment and therefore, no changes will be made to the school year this Senedd term.”
“This effectively kicks the issue into the long grass,” said NASUWT Wales national officer Neil Butler.
“NASUWT brought together the education unions and representatives from the tourist and farming industries and the united pressure that they collectively supplied has brought about this result, which protects the summer break for the time being.”
Mr Butler pledged his union will remain vigilant as he noted that the Welsh government planned to return to the issue after the Senedd election in 2026.
“This was not the first time that we have had to fight this off and it will be back again either in the next Senedd session or at some point in the future,” Mr Butler said.
National Education Union Cymru also welcomed the withdrawal of the school year reform plans.
Wales secretary Nicola Fitzpatrick said: “We were clear in our response to their consultation that there was no clear rationale for reform and that any changes needed to be evidence-based to show how they would benefit children and young people in their learning while also ensuring the wellbeing of the workforce.”
The NEU said the education workforce has already seen significant changes, including the new curriculum and additional learning needs reform.
The union also said there is a funding crisis, major workload issues, pupil behaviour and attendance issues, and mental health challenges for staff and students.
“These should be the Cabinet Secretary’s main priorities and we look forward to discussing these with her as part of her commitment to listening and working in partnership with the workforce,” Ms Fitzpatrick said.
In an extraordinary intervention in the Senedd debate on the school year reforms former Fiest Minister Mark Drakeford accused his party of reneging on its election manifesto pledge to reform the school year.
Mr Drakeford said abandoning the reforms would hit the poorest children the hardest. Education Secretary Lynne Neagle called his intervention a shame and said the idea that a difference of one week extra on the summer holiday would impact on child poverty was “fiddling while Rome burns.”
