Parents back shortening the six-week school summer holidays to a month, according to a new survey.
Some 53% of 3,000 questioned for the Parentkind poll said they want the six-week holiday cut to four weeks.
Only 33% opposed the move. Parents also said they would prefer two-week half-term holidays and longer Christmas breaks, according to The Times.
The proposal was seen as a financial positive by 32% of parents, compared with 17% who saw it as a negative. The figure in favour rose to 47% among parents of children who are entitled to free meals.
This comes as the average summer holiday childcare bill is said to stand at around £1,067 per child - a rise of 4% since last year and around £677 more than parents would pay for childcare across six weeks during term-time.
The desire to cut school summer holidays is also shared by teachers, provided they do not lose the total amount of annual leave throughout the year.
Polling by Teacher Tapp found that 62% would accept a shorter summer holiday: 38% supported it being reduced to five weeks, with 24% in favour of it being reduced to four weeks. Just 35% said they wanted to stick with the six-week break.
Parentkind is calling for a national debate on the distribution of holidays, arguing that a shorter summer holiday would benefit family finances and childcare logistics.
Jason Elsom, chief executive of Parentkind, said: “While children will no doubt be looking forward to extended time away from school, the long summer break is a challenge for some parents. Our large parent poll shows that most parents want to knock two weeks off the six-week summer break to give teachers and children a month off instead.
“Parents tell us that a shorter summer holiday would help with costs and childcare, which would be particularly welcome at a time when some families are struggling to keep their heads above water.
“More than four in ten parents living in poverty previously told us that they have skipped meals and struggle to afford the costs of sending their children to school. We need to make sure the long summer break doesn’t add further stress and hardship for parents, particularly those on low incomes. Trimming down the summer holiday could make a big difference to parents.
“While parents back a four-week summer break, most teachers also support a shorter summer holiday, with only one in three teachers wanting to stick with the traditional six-week summer holiday.”
Research by Coram Family and Childcare charity has revealed that children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are most affected by the shortage of holiday childcare places.
In England, only 9% of local authorities said they had enough holiday childcare for at least three quarters of children with SEND in their area.
Coram is now calling on the government to provide more funding to meet the needs of SEND children.
Findings from Parentkind in 2020 said that 53% of parents were forced to change their work pattern because of a lack or shortage of holiday childcare provision, whilst 45% of parents had to use annual leave to compensate for a lack of childcare.
Plans to overhaul the Victorian school calendar system were mooted last year. A report published by the Nuffield Foundation said it was time to consider reforms to balance childcare costs and improve academic performance. In Wales, propositions to shorten the school holidays were met with opposition.
