Plaid Cymru will be proposing a root and branch review of the system as part of their wide ranging and ambitious Count on Plaid programme which will form the central theme of their election manifesto. The proposals have the potential of reducing the need for parents to take their children out of school during term times, reduce pupil and teacher stress levels and raise standards. Nerys Evans AM said: “Following on from the success of the foundation phase, Plaid Cymru wants to make the welfare and achievement of our 8-13 year olds a priority for our next term in government. There is a strong case to be made that the current system is not as effective as it should be. The way we teach our children has remained constant even though our nation has changed. The term structure as it is now is based upon allowing children to help on the farm and harvesting during summer. Continuing with it in its present form simply does not take into consideration the challenges of a modern Wales. It has been argued that children, young boys in particular, struggle to retain what they have learned in lessons after a long summer break. Proposals for splitting up the holidays, which will not reduce the overall amount of time schools are on break, but rather restructure them will enable children’s learning to be far more consistent with greater continuity allowing greater retention of knowledge. Changes will also have added benefits for teachers and parents. The holidays they can take will be more flexible, spread across the year rather than in just one large block. This will also allow teachers and families to make the choice between going on holidays in the peak season of summer or at a less expensive time. It is exciting that whilst the term will be structured specifically on the best way forward for improving education standards, it will also have many financial and social benefits for our communities. Wales needs and deserves a world class educations system. Plaid Cymru will put education at the centre of our election campaign because we know it is vital to ensuring that we build towards a strong and vibrant economy. We want to transform the education system and provide the best possible future for the children of Wales.”
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