To wonder why some private schools have longer holidays?

[Notgivingin789]

DS goes to a private specialist school so this may be different.

But DS is on Easter Holidays for 3 weeks! I'm enjoying my Easter break with him, but I am desperate to go back to normality .

Is it common that some private schools have longer breaks ? DS half term was for 2 weeks and vice versa.

If your children are in private education, how did you cover childcare and so forth? as it's a pain for me as most holiday clubs finish by the time when the majority of kids go back to school.

[redhat]

mine are off for three and a half weeks. Its crazy

I just ignore them all day and hope for the best.

[Lockheart]

Longer days in term time, plus Saturday too. I was at school from 8 til 6 three days a week, then til half 12 on Saturdays.

[Ifailed]

Not being harsh, but surely you realised this when you choose the school, and factored in the child care costs alongside the fees?

[FluffyPersian]

Saturday school - I was there on Saturdays from 8.30am to 12:30... for every Saturday we went to school, we basically got an extra day of holiday.

It also meant that boarding pupils who lived in different countries had longer with their families and didn't have to travel back so quickly.

[manicinsomniac]

Yep, we get 3 weeks at Easter and Christmas, 8 weeks in Summer and the normal half terms (sometimes Oct half term is 2 weeks). It's amazing.

I think it's because we have Saturday school (academic lessons in morning and matches etc in afternoons) and we teach academic lessons till 4.45pm from age 7 (though that does allow us to fit sport in every day so not sure if that helps with the holiday length explanation or not). We also have extended hours so the children do tend to be exhausted by end of terms (some are staying as late as 7 or 8pm on several nights) and we are partly a boarding school and have some international students.

I do think our holidays are ridiculously long but I'm certainly not complaining as either a teacher or a parent; I love it! Childcare isn't a problem for me as I teach and have my children in the same school.

I don't know what the full time working parents do - I suppose during term time their life is a lot easier because the children can stay as late as necessary without incurring after school care costs. So maybe they save that up for the holidays.

[MLGs]

I don't know why - I thought it was because they have more overseas students, or some do.

However I think it is a bad thing generally, as it creates a further inequality where children from private schools can access activities and facilities when they are less crowded. However I'm sure that statement will not be popular on here.

[Notgivingin789]

DS school don't have Saturday clubs and his school finish at 3.30.

Ifailed not harsh at all, DS school is specialist and that school was the only one that can meet his SEN needs, so in effect I didn't really have a choice or I could stayed put at his mainstream school but he wouldn't progress in the long term.

Oh wow red three and a half weeks! .

[WhoKnowsWhereTheT1meGoes]

It is a pain, I too have a DS in specialist school for SEN reasons and my other DC is in mainstream, so we can't take advantage and go places when it's quiet/cheap as a family and we have childcare problems in those same weeks.

[Creampastry]

They have longer school days Monday to Friday - usually 830-4/430 rather than 845/55 to 3.

[Artandco]

3 1/2 weeks here. They start and finish same as most other schools also, 9-3.30pm.

They had a month off at Christmas and will have 9+ weeks in summer.

For us it works well. We have to travel with work, and it's easier to take them with us when no school, than work out who's home with them when school is on.

[NeedsAsockamnesty]

With a lot of the SN indie's it's down to how far the children travel or the likelyhood of weekly boarders or longer days dependant on what's relevant.

Many none SN it's down to the hours attended.

3 of mine are at school 8-8 and have access to an additional school week mid way through the summer holidays.

[JolseBaby]

My school day was 08:30 - 16:30 Mon to Fri, with compulsory 'study' time from 18:30 - 20:00 every day (shorter time for junior forms). Saturday school from 08:30 - 12:30 followed by lunch and then compulsory PE ('games') from 14:00 - 15:00. Lots of kids had long journeys back home - including overseas in a lot of cases - so the longer holidays were helpful for that, as lots of them didn't go home (me included) during term-time.

[PortobelloRoad]

Longer and more intense days. Most offer wrap around care so you're saving on childcare during term time so can afford more in the holidays.

[Blueberry234]

MLGs I agree, my BF boys go to private school and she revels in the fact that they can afford decent abroad holidays as their children finish earlier so they don't pay the school holiday premium, even though they could afford it!

[SawdustInMyHair]

Kids I know who go to private school don't have longer days (8:30-3:30 which is the same as the state schools) or Saturday school.

Why is everyone keen to tell the OP how long the days are when she presumably knows when her child is at school!

[scotsgirl64]

maybe they can cover the curriculum quicker because of smaller class sizes!!

[Flashbangandgone]

If they weren't how would there ever be time for skiing in Feb, Antigua at Easter, yacht in Med in May, Tuscany in July, Cornwall in August, Seychelles in October, Christmas in New York, and then we'd still have to find time to have some quality time at the gite in Provence!

[incywincybitofa]

Does his school or another private school not run any childcare?
DSs school does cover the extended holiday with schemes and activities for working parents.

I have found the 2 week October half term really necessary as the longer days take it out of DS.

[lurked101]

They aren't bound by the 190 days law that state schools are and therefore can choose how long they can close for.

The Saturday school thing is a misnomer, they go to school on Saturday's because most ( if not all) have Wednesday afternoons for extra curricular arts/sports etc.

Also the longer days thing doesn't always justify it either as they tend to have longer lunch breaks and break times, but do study longer too.

All in all, I don't think it all adds up to the extra weeks and weeks of holiday private schools get, its more to do with my first point. But good luck to em cause they get great results in the most part!

[dairymilkmonster]

DS has 3.5 wks for easter, we had 3 at xmas and i think 8-9 this summer. We factored in extra childcare costs when budgeting. He is ipre prep and does 8.35-3.30, goes up in yr3 to 8.20-4.00. For us the long hols are a pain but ds is thriving in his smaller class, specialist teachers, broader curriculum etc. He wasn't happy in reception at our local school (current school only 2miles so not far) so we moved him and have certainly noticed the longer hols! We do benefit from free early drop off and only pay for after 4.30 for after school club.

[Notgivingin789]

Incy yes, DS school offer after school care, though these longer school holidays are a pain.

[hefzi]

My DF had a theory that there was a positive, direct correlation between the amount you paid in fees and the amount of time your children were on holiday at home...

My secondary school had school from 8 until 7, and 8.30 to 12.30 on Saturdays; at primary, it was 8 until 5 (or 4 for the 4 year olds): so I suspect it has a lot to do with longer days and not being bound by government rules. I have not had experience of schools that Sawdust mentions with such short days in the private sector - and where I live now, the children start at 9 and are flooding out of school by 2 (I have no idea if they have lunch at school in this instance, but I know most schools in my city do) - this seems to be common across my area of the city. Where I grew up is still grammar school territory - but even they finish at 3.30.