School’s out: a dilemma for families – private tuition or summer camp?

Lessons finished last week in Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Marche and Veneto. Today, the final bell will ring for pupils in Lazio, Lombardy, Calabria and Sardinia as well. And then, gradually, it will be Bolzano’s turn, which, on 16 June, will be the last to bring the 2025/26 school year to a close. At that point, many families will find themselves facing the usual dilemma that arises at the start of every summer: what to keep their children occupied with whilst waiting to go on holiday. For those without a supportive family network, particularly grandparents, there are generally two options on the table, which can also be combined: making use of the funds and projects that schools have implemented, or are in the process of implementing, through the Summer Plan, and/or enrolling their children in a summer camp, whether public or private.

Barring the (few) existing forms of financial support (whether from central or local government), parents’ choices are often constrained by the availability of places and the timetables of individual schools (in several schools, the ‘Summer Programme’ weeks, funded by the Ministry of Education and scheduled for June and July, are using resources earmarked for 2025).

Call for applications 2026 (under which Minister Giuseppe Valditara has made €300 million available) closed on 4 June, with educational institutions (including state-recognised private schools) submitting their applications. The funds available depend on the number of pupils: schools with up to 200 pupils will be entitled to €16,200; those with 201 to 800 pupils will receive €52,000; and for schools with 801 pupils or more, the funding rises to €80,000. With these resources, schools will be able to launch educational and training programmes to enhance skills (foreign languages, STEM subjects, computational thinking, to name but a few), inclusion and social skills, to be implemented from the date of authorisation, during extracurricular hours, particularly during the summer break. At least 30% of the authorised modules must be launched by 31 December 2026, and the projects must be formally completed by 31 December 2027.

The modules last 30 or 60 hours, at the school’s discretion, subject to the spending limit; foreign language courses alone (which, at primary level, are limited to English) may last up to 100 hours.

Compared to the long summer break, however, the provision of schools is limited and concentrated over just a few weeks. “The ‘Summer Plan’ initiatives and municipal summer camps,” comments Anna Rea, president of ADOC, “are insufficient. The allocated funds and the schools that are open do not meet the huge demand: many areas remain uncovered and many families are left off the waiting lists. Even the financial support linked to the ISEE is not enough.”