Summer school hub - yes or no?

[BlessYourCottonSocks]

I spoke to a member of SLT earlier and idly said, You aren't thinking of keeping school open through the whole summer holidays for key worker children are you and was basically told they thought they would probably have to. We are an 11-18 secondary.

There have only been a handful of Y7s in - but we stayed open through Easter and half term. I'm just wondering if anyone else's school is doing this? I'm utterly enraged, to be honest - because they will be expecting staff to volunteer to do this.

I won't be, frankly. I don't need to list all the reasons here in the staffroom that I am massively against this - but I think that SLT should actually say to parents, Sorry about that, but we can't honestly expect to open for childcare for 5 kids all summer holidays.

Does anyone else agree? And is anyone else's school doing this? I'm furious to think of the caretaker, office and support staff that will be on rota to be in - because I'm old enough and stroppy enough to basically say, yeah, fuck that! I won't be in during the holidays.

And frankly I'm knackered already. You couldn't pay me enough to give up some of my summer to babysit a bunch of 12 year olds I don't actually teach anyway.

[Cookiecrisps]

I wonder if Anne Longfield will say any more about catch up summer schools. It makes me so cross as kids aren’t going to be falling over themselves to attend. They need to be staffed with subject specialists who know the exam boards the school is following for a subject or primary specialists with an in depth knowledge of the curriculum for that particular year group to have any real educational impact. There’s no way the government will stump up any cash for this. We do so much more than our directed hours anyway and have been constantly bashed in the press and in MN do I don’t see why we should work for free over the summer.

[Cookiecrisps]

Oops I’ve gone off at a tangent. In answer to your question I think my school will do some KW childcare over the summer perhaps due the first couple of weeks if not all of the year groups are back in school this half term. I don’t think teaching staff at my school would have minded so much doing a day once a fortnight during summer if we hadn’t been rushed back to school now but as you say it’s the site staff and SLT who have not had a break that I’ll feel most sorry for if this goes ahead.

[BlessYourCottonSocks]

@Cookiecrisps. Thank you; I'm assuming you are primary, is that right? (I think it was just the talk of all year groups and Boris' initial thing about all primary kids in for a month).

I could perhaps more easily get my head round the need there - although I still utterly disagree with it. I just feel that sending your (almost) Y8 kid in is just taking the piss. They don't need babysitting for you to work, and expecting teachers to come in unpaid so that you can trot off to do your shift in Iceland (which is what I know some of our KW do) is utterly ridiculous.

[StaffAssociationRepresentative]

I teach at a secondary and we are definitely not open.

[Cookiecrisps]

I am in primary. I agree with you. I have a yr 8 child and decided it was safer to leave her at home than send her to school as a KW adding in another set of contacts.

My school is doing wraparound care from 8-6 with a free hot school meal and now we are teaching full lessons to these children too as they are expected to attend full time. We are doing the best we can and the children are great.

I wouldn’t mind too much doing a day or 2 as a volunteer over the summer hols for these children doing play scheme type activities (definitely not lessons) but I hate the way the press and others expect teachers to do it for free whilst accusing them of being lazy and using emotional blackmail ‘think of the children!’

It should be completely optional for all people involved that includes office and site staff as well as teachers, TAs and SLT not a given that people will just suck it up and go along with it. It will be far better if everyone gets a proper break from school. Some of the KW children have attended every day including bank holidays, Easter and half term since lockdown began. They need a break too.

[drspouse]

My DC are primary and DD school wrap around care says they are expecting to do normal holiday club for their normal 4 weeks, paid as normal.
I just hope it's not "officially school" as they have been refusing to take DS (it's his former school, he has SEN and gets on really well at the holiday club).

[TheSultanofPingu]

I'm support staff and I'm quite concerned about this tbh. I'm going to say I'm not doing it if asked, but will feel guilty.

[Cantaloupeisland]

I don't understand why schools would be expected to open over summer for a handful of kids, especially seconary. I thought the whole idea of opening over Easter was back then we thought the NHS would be overwhelmed, people working extra shifts etc. Now that's all calmed down I don't get why we'd be providing childcare- what do parents normally do?
Summer 'catch up ' classes is one thing but key worker childcare is just daft and I certainly won't be going in!

[echt]

I don't get why we'd be providing childcare- what do parents normally do?

School as childcare is the new black, and entirely predictable once teachers worked unpaid. I was amazed they did this, and they should have struck a very hard bargain, i.e. TOIL, double time at weekends and holidays, to be taken when the teacher wants it, i.e. term-time.

There will be parents arguing, and there's thread about this on AIBU, that schools should continue this provision, more than this, that schools are childcare.

I know teachers do a lot of unpaid work, but this was most unwise and has opened the door to the "catch-up" summer holiday hubs.

[CallmeAngelina]

The genie is out of the bottle.
No idea what my school is planning, but I will NOT be involved.

[MadameMinimes]

I’m secondary SLT. There’s no way we’ll be doing this. We are currently deep in planning for September and it is going to be hard. We are expecting that our students will be on half timetable for at least the first half-term to term of the next academic year. We are trying to get our heads around that and all of the other changes that are going to be required. It is going to be mentally and physically exhausting for staff teaching and also providing home learning and there are going to be changes that people will find really hard to adapt to. They are going to need the summer holiday and they’ve bloody earned it. I am totally in awe of the way that they have created an online school for our students. It’s not just lessons... people have been doing clubs, wellbeing events, virtual Sports Day, assemblies, prayer groups and staff socials. It just goes on and on and that’s just the online stuff, there’s also been doorstep welfare checks, deliveries of food parcels, laptops, WiFi dongles and stationery etc. Our staff will be having a well-earned break.

[thunderthighsohwoe]

I’ve wondered about this. Our head says she’d prefer not to, as we’ve provided a high level of online support and currently all teachers are doing double duty - teaching a bubble by day and planning/resourcing/feeding back to their class evenings and weekends.

If the government offer overtime I’d consider it as we’re keen for extra money BUT would have to be if MIL agreed to have our toddler for extra weeks as she does in term time. I’m not paying £50+ a day in nursery fees to come in over the summer!

[FrippEnos]

We have already been informed by the LEA that we will not be supplying KW provision over the summer and that the school will be closed.

[rawlikesushi]

Our LEA have confirmed that we won't be open over the summer holidays.

I didn't mind going in unpaid over Easter and May half term as I did have several days at home, at the beginning, when I didn't do much work, so it felt like a fair trade.

But as everyone knows, the workload now is really quite incredible and I don't want to think about how many hours pw I'm doing - I definitely don't think I owe anyone any unpaid hours over the summer.

In fact, what other line of work is expecting people to work without pay just now? People are earning bonuses and overtime in the private sector. Even public service employees who had holidays cancelled are being given them at a later date.