4 day working week … for schools.

@MumClaireof2 it's not just schooling that is designed around the presumption of two parents under the same roof with one a SAHP (or working from home). Utility 'appointments' (or time windows in reality), parcel deliveries are other examples.

Four day weeks at school would not work, especially for younger children, imagine them at 430pm on Thursday.

I think people forget that teachers are people with their own families and lives as well.

So @MumClaireof2 ive just realised that you expect teachers to have an "admin day" on a Friday - when they have already extended the hours of the school day Mon to Thurs? So they just get to work a lot more under your system? Look I can see you are finding the whole thing of childcare around school a bit shit, and it is, I've had over 10 years of it so I do sympathise - but the answer lies in better wrap around care for those who need it or more flexible workplaces, not longer school days that are not being done for any educational reason.

We’ve never done drop off and collecting as working hours and school hours aren’t the same and when you add in a commute, breakfast and after school clubs are necessary. Same as needing holiday clubs.
Employers aren’t going to change working hours to fit in with parents.

Not really if one parent does drop off and one does pick up. Obviously for people without that luxury a shorter working day may be necessary.

Posted out of sheer frustration as a mummy experiencing school life for the first time and facing the reality that the system doesn’t work for people who need/want/have a career and have kids in public school. Also the reality of wanting to pick your kids up from school but not being able to as you have to be at work and feeling so guilty sending the to a mediocre after school club as you have no other choice.
The hours in school were design for one parent working not 2. Shifts would work too but the reality is most people post pandemic flexi working from home have the luxury of being able to pick up their kids and still work but businesses requiring physically having their staff face the reality of not being able to have them a huge amount of hours or face having staff who are stressed due to the challenges of payments for out of school care. This way parents get a little relief, kids have more structured time in education with hopefully some more innovative physical activity to break up their day and taking away an unproductive 3 hours in school on a Friday. Doing this also allows time for teacher to focus on marking and lesson prep on a Friday which could be from home. Allowing saving on all factors of running the building to take place on a Friday too. Just a suggestion and a dream but wouldn’t have a clue how to get it off the ground. Just looking to see if others feel the same🤗

If the children are at school 9-5, and someone works 9-5, wouldn't they still need childcare? School would need to be 8.30 to 5.30 - and then there's need to be special childcare for teachers' children that was open 8-6....

I assume this has been posted because people are happy to consider it for THEIR jobs, so how would they feel if it was extended to others , including teachers?
Obviously many jobs couldn't just do 9-5, 4 days a week, and shifts etc would have to be implemented.

They would get easier, better jobs. Trying to find staff for these hours is really hard I’m sure. And I’m sure other businesses world pick up these clubs if needed. Such as football clubs, council run kids clubs, sporting halls etc.

What would the people running the Friday club do for the other four working days?

It gives the hours needed for a school week. Also if one parent does drop off and one does pick up it works really well. I don’t have a full day Friday of school so currently deal with this so I guess in other areas this may be different but a lot of Scotland is 9-12.30 on a Friday already.

A lot of private primary schools do a half day once a week

Can’t see it working with parents having to spend more money on childcare for a full day on Friday as well as still paying for breakfast and after school clubs Mon - Thurs.

Yes of course if needed. This would be much more available as clubs would thrive on offering this full day instead of trying to find staff to work 1 hour am and 2.45 hours pm in after school clubs.
In our family we currently cover the Friday anyway as my kid goes to school in Edinburgh, they are in 8.45-12.15 which is so pointless. So I am off Friday one week and my husband is off the next Friday but we can work weekend days. A lot of the parents at our school do flexi working from home in a Friday and so they do this around the kids. It’s much easier to manage and much like the schedule we worked to when the kids were both in private nursery.
it is what private school work to as well but they offer this 5 days a week.

Yes of course if needed. This would be much more available as clubs would thrive on offering this full day instead of trying to find staff to work 1 hour am and 2.45 hours pm in after school clubs.
In our family we currently cover the Friday anyway as my kid goes to school in Edinburgh, they are in 8.45-12.15 which is so pointless. So I am off Friday one week and my husband is off the next Friday but we can work weekend days. A lot of the parents at our school do flexi working from home in a Friday and so they do this around the kids. It’s much easier to manage and much like the schedule we worked to when the kids were both in private nursery.
it is what private school work to as well but they offer this 5 days a week.

.

I think secondary school kids could be in 4 days and do some work at home on the 5th day - allowing the teachers paid time to mark and plan. It's completely unacceptable that they are expected to do this in their own time.

I'm not a teacher so haven't a clue - but surely rather than worrying about teaching hours matching the curriculum- the curriculum needs to be designed to fit the teaching hours?

Yes its a good idea.
Teachers have the most holidays out of all professions but their hols are not hols but working/preparing hols

I thought a teachers job was holidays galore until I met an ex-teacher

So if Friday is a non school day, where do children go on a Friday? A full day in childcare?

Hi,
I have been thinking a lot about this lately. My son just started school last year and honestly I’m just feeling like the system isn’t fair for working parents, kids or teachers.
Both myself and my husband work full time management jobs and need to to live but also have no flexibility with working hours as we are in each of our premises. We have had to commit to the fact we will spend on average £7000 per year on childcare when our daughter goes to school too (We are more at the moment with her in nursery!) We also have to deal with them going to after school club or miraculously finding a childminder which isn’t something we have managed at the moment as no one wants these hours of after school care.
Ideally I would like to propose a school week of Monday-Thursday 9-5 or 8.30-4.30 and a Friday off. Seems a no brainer to be honest. I am just not sure how teachers hours work etc but surely an admin day on a Friday would be great! This would save the schools on payroll. Electric, food, toilet roll etc to name but a few things. Thus would also allow the working parent to feel less guilty, more relaxed and productive in their jobs and the kids would find it great instead of being passed from pillar to post. Also the added benefit of how much money the working parent would save is phenomenal.
I really want to start a petition on this but I’m not sure where to start.
There are some comments that this is too long a day for children but my kids went from being at private nursery 4 days a week 9-5 having the best time to school on a much shorter day. They never felt this day was too long and I’m sure schools are innovative enough to incorporate out door play or physical skills into the day to have fun with this.
It just seems the school system is still designed for 1 working parent but with mortgages and life as expensive as it is now this cannot be the cases in a huge majority of families.
please do let me know if anyone feels the same, or not 🤗

@Chocchops72 these are already less than the hours I work and my children have to go to nursery for those hours. I’d happily teach for those hours but I wouldn’t then do the additional hours needed. Someone on TV said yesterday teachers are working 9-4 at most. My school starts at 8.35 and runs till 3.30, in reality I do 7.30-4.30 every day so I’d much rather teach and be paid for those contact hours.

@AutumnIsHere21

Given that lots of teachers say they work 14 hour days 7 days a week and still can't keep up with the work, how on earth would you be able to take a day off?

@MarshaBradyo

Yeah, I agree.

I don't really get people who struggle with full time work. (disability aside)

Although I definitely think we need to move away from the Mon to Fri 9-5 model.

Longer days or more flexibility should be introduced

Your post reads a bit like I was saying that the lack of the above is a reason why 4 days can't happen (although extended funded childcare wouldn't under the Tories in a million years). I'm just pointing out that termtime childcare in school hours, so not after school or breakfast club, doesn't exist at the moment.

And yes, I agree there's nobody to do it, as a PP said. I said "create" because the existing preschool childminder network wouldn't cope.