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If you work in secondary - school day timings

31 replies

YippieKayakOtherBuckets · 16/01/2017 22:52

What are the timings of your school day? DD will start reception in September and I need to rethink our childcare. She is currently in a private day nursery with a 7.30 start. My school is 30 mins away and our contracted hours start at 8.15 with a briefing in the staff room. I can make it, but it's tight, and there's no space for any prep in the mornings. First bell goes at 8.25 and lessons officially begin at 8.30. The teaching day ends at 3.05. It's my perception that our school day starts and ends particularly early but am I right?

OP posts:
ITCouldBeWorse · 16/01/2017 22:55

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Iwantacampervan · 17/01/2017 07:48

I don't work in secondary but my daughter has to be in school at 8.30 (for form time) and she finishes at 2.45 - they have a very short break at lunch time.

RainbowDashing · 17/01/2017 08:00

Me - first bell at 8.40, with briefings etc beforehand, not sure wheat time they start as I'm support staff so don't attend. Day finishes at 3.25.
Dd - first bell at 8.30, day finishes at 3.40. Just realised how much longer her day is!

leccybill · 17/01/2017 08:05

Me- briefing at 8.35, finish at 3.

Some local high schools here finish at 2.40. One has a lunchtime finish on a Friday! Find one like that Smile

DoctorDonnaNoble · 17/01/2017 08:06

8:50 - registration through to 3:40 with one 8:40 staff briefing on Tuesdays.

xyzandabc · 17/01/2017 08:13

Kids primary 8.45 -3.10
Me secondary 8.30 - 2.50 x 3 days,. 8.30 - 3.45 2 x days
That's teaching time it's a split site so some teachers have to commute between sites between lessons so there is a 20 min break between each period to allow for that. The extra time on the 2 x long days makes up for time lost to so many long breaks.

YippieKayakOtherBuckets · 17/01/2017 13:30

Interesting stuff. If my school were 15 mins closer and the staff contracted time started 15 mins later then my morning childcare problem would be solved. A 3.05 finish sounds great but I'd rather finish at 3.30 and start later as afternoon childcare is so much easier to come by. Breakfast club doesn't start until 8am, whereas after-school club is until 6pm. I need to decide whether to move schools to somewhere closer with a later start or start enquiries about alternative morning childcare. We are ttc and I was half-hoping that the problem would be temporarily solved as I would be on mat leave but we're running out of time for that option.

My first two schools both had early Friday finishes which was brilliant. None of that around here, it seems.

OP posts:
fourcorneredcircle · 17/01/2017 15:44

My school is 9:00-3:30, unusual in a secondary but very rural so beholden to bus timetable and allowing for students attending their catchment school to travel over an hour each way!
Foster teenager 8:45-3:30 mon-thurs, finish at 2:40 on Friday. We live in a large town, other local secondary schools have similar hours to yours.

cricketballs · 17/01/2017 16:59

We have to be in school by 8.35 for 8.45 registration (briefing at 8.35 3 mornings a week ), finish at 3.10.

I suppose it depends when you prefer to do prep - I prefer the morning so I'm in for 7am and leave usually at 3.20 whereas I have colleagues the get in at 8.30 but stay late

YippieKayakOtherBuckets · 17/01/2017 19:19

I suppose it depends when you prefer to do prep

I don't really have the luxury of a preference, cricket! Any decision will have to be based on my childcare options. I have multiple options for the afternoons, and currently nil for the mornings pre-8am...

OP posts:
Rosieposy4 · 17/01/2017 21:14

We have to be at achool for 8:30 for briefings, kids must arrive between 8:40 and 8:50
Finish at 3:30
Due to childcare and consequent traffic I arrive at about 8:20 some days. I never plan to do any prep when i arrive.
Some staff are literally running in at 8:30.

EvilTwins · 17/01/2017 23:18

Briefing/meetings 8.20 every day. Lessons start 8.35. We finish at 3. My kids' school is 10 mins drive away. I drop them for breakfast club at 8. They finish at 3.15 but have gone to after school club since reception - I used to collect them at 3.15 on Fridays but it was toooo stressful. We have meetings on Mondays and I often have rehearsals/kids to see/other chats to have so after school club seemed the best option. They are there till 4 or sometimes 5. They're Year 6 now and after school club has always been their favourite thing about school Grin

clary · 17/01/2017 23:45

We start at 8.25 with briefing. Lessons end 3pm and we can leave at 3.10 - and if you leave at 3.15 you will not be the first, I know cos I've done it.

OP I think you need a CM where you can do a 7am breakfast drop off. You can make up for it at the other end of the day with a 4pm pick up :)

BackforGood · 17/01/2017 23:58

My dds' school has the same timings as you - 8.30 to 3.05

Have you asked at the Nursery if they do breakfast time care and school delivery ? Most of the Nurseries around here do.

Otherwise, you can get a list of CMers from your local Family Information Service, and it's definitely worth phoning your dd's school as they are usually aware of any established CMers that drop off at the school and may be able to put you in touch.

What drop offs is your dh able to do ?

YippieKayakOtherBuckets · 18/01/2017 00:14

Back DH will be taking up his first headship in September. We've agreed that at least until Christmas, while he is establishing himself, he won't do his usual morning drop-offs. That will obviously change further down the line, of course.

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ManicGirl · 18/01/2017 21:00

I moved the kids to a cm from their breakfast club because breakfast club didn't start til 8 and I have to be in my school for 8.25 which was causing me too much stress about being late. The cm walks them to school and it means I'm not starting the morning panicking about being late.

steppemum · 18/01/2017 21:27

secondary begins 8:40, finishes 3:25
primary begins 8:30 finishes 3:20 (but 1:30 on Fridays)

unicornlovermother · 20/01/2017 05:24

7.55 start and 3:07 finish but Tuesdays are half day teaching then we prep on that afternoon. Rarely leave before 5 pm with prep and marking

walruswhiskers · 20/01/2017 06:05

You'll need a childminder, I expect. I was lucky - my kids' school had breakfast club that opened at 7.30 but that's quite rare. And childminders are often flexible for things like INSET days on days when your school is still open etc.

MaureenMLove · 20/01/2017 06:08

We have to be in by 8! First bell to go to registration is 8.25 and if students aren't marked in by 8.30, they're late! We finish at 2.55.

adagio · 20/01/2017 07:20

My DDs are both too young for this at the moment, but can anyone explain why Schools, secondary in particular, have such early starts/short breaks/days? I thought it had been scientifically proven that as a general rule teenagers are crap in the morning (carcadian rhythyms and hormones play a part IIRC). So why does the school day not reflect this? Plus, as op says early starts are the hardest thing to deal with for childcare - if schools all started at 9 and finished later surely it would be easier for us all (as a society/community I mean).

ArgyMargy · 20/01/2017 07:25

Short lunch breaks are where schools think a longer break means more likelihood of trouble starting. I think it's terrible that children don't get a decent break during the day where they can switch off, play games, get some fresh air, have fights, get up to mischief and be children. A short lunch is barely enough time to queue up for and wolf down some miserable food.

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MsAwesomeDragon · 20/01/2017 07:34

We start at 8:50 and finish at 3:30. One of the things putting me off some of the other local schools are the early starts. I would have to drop DD of earlier if I moved to a school just down the road than if I stay at my current school half an hour away. We use a cm who is very flexible, so if I did change schools at any point I'm sure she would accommodate an earlier drop off.

It's getting harder to find childminders round here though, because most people use breakfast club and after school club, there are fewer cms around but they fill up quickly.

DoctorDonnaNoble · 20/01/2017 17:17

Our lunch is 12:35-13:30. I'd prefer it to be a whole hour.

teacher54321 · 20/01/2017 21:21

8.25am-4pm here (private school). We have 8am meetings two days per week.
Ds attends the prep bit of the school I teach at and I can drop him at 8am. He then has wraparound care until 6pm if necessary. It's the reason I took the job, as the stress of arranging wraparound care at my old job was so nightmarish-the traffic near us is horrific and I hate being late.

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