Can School Extend Easter?

If they are having building work done and have to move stuff from one building to another then the council probably haven’t given them much notice.

But that would be more disruptive. Instead of all kids missing the days at the same time, you'd have repeated blocks of three days for each kid. If someone had 3 kids in school they may have to sort childcare out for 9 days instead of 3.

Schools take a view that they are not childcare which is true to a point BUT parents also plan on them being open on the published dates.

When mine were at First School there was an inset day at short notice over Christmas. We managed to cover it but I did have words with the head and had to point out that my wife & I had to book Christmas leave in advance by a deadline. In fairness she did get the point

OP this is an exceptional event and a one-off. It’s not something that could be helped. The school literally have to move everything over to the other building! They probably had to wait until the new building was ready. I’m amazed it’s only 3 days.

Students have to have 190 days in school and teachers are allowed 5 inset days for training. These 5 days come off their holiday allowance, not your child’s school allowance. The school can put these 5 inset days anywhere in the school calendar year but usually tack it on to the front or back of a holiday to make it easier for everyone. They are probably using 3 of their Inset days here that they have held in the bank until the new building was ready. Yes it’s usual for schools to publish a calendar in advance with all the inset days on but this is a very exceptional circumstance!

Also schools can be granted extra days in excess of inset days at short notice for things like serious repairs, extreme weather, safety reasons or unusual circumstances.

Sometimes things can be annoying without anyone having done anything wrong. You are right to feel annoyed as it’s unfortunate for your circumstance but it doesn’t mean the school are doing anything wrong here- it’s an unusual situation!

Sorry, hrtft but I thought schools were obliged to provide xx days schooling. Assuming the teachers aren't all humping boxes, they should be providing online learning as during covid, at least.

I appreciate that doesn't help childcare issues and the whole thing sounds very poorly planned! Assuming it's a primary school, have you any school mum friends who are SAHPs who could help?

Not sure what else you can do tbh....

They can if it’s unexpected or if what they need to do can’t be done with pupils on site. And whether they could do it classroom by classroom, or not they will say they can’t.

As others have said, they will have had to ask the LA who will have authorised it so as you said you don’t want to be ‘that’ parent…. only suggestion is if you’ve already taken annual leave for over Easter use the opportunity to have your children’s friends over for a day, on the proviso that you get payback on those extra days? Not ideal I know. But the short answer to your question is yes they can, sorry.

You must be the world's most easy to baffle person then or are you being deliberately obtuse?

You surely dont think that everyone has a job that can accommodate extra time off with no notice or handy childcare options for unforeseen circumstances do you?

Maybe get out in the real world of working parents and find out the sruggles

It always baffles me when people choose to have children get fined by the school/council for taking them out of school for a few days on holiday, yet here we are.

How are these 3 days of missed education going to be corrected?

Of course it does.

If the school is on fire, they don't have to tell you the day before that it will be closed. If they are just having an INSET day, they do.

Yes, they can do this.
We had similar - with the letters clearly stating they had authorisation from LEA and/or DfE (sorry, can't remember exactly).

Is there any way you could shift your work holiday around, and put in the days needed, and cancel some dates when holiday clubs could be available?

Hope you can find a solution.

You were a sahm when your kids were younger, yes?

Yeah, if they’re moving building they can add on extra days for this. So the teachers and staff will all be in working to set up the new building and make sure it’s safe for the kids

What are you hoping for, someone to tell you it's not allowed and you're going to march into school and demand they remain open with the threat of legal action? How far are you going to take it?

These things happen. As others have said school don't 'owe' you childcare, it's just one of those things. You'd have to find childcare if your child fell ill so instead of thinking about what you can say to the school focus on sorting it out instead

School that I am a governor of had building works over the summer. Staff went in the last week of the holidays and the dust was inches thick. They had to delay the start of the school year by 3 days to get it finished (and that was with all of the staff and most of the governors helping!).

School isn't intended as childcare in the uk.
If parents workplaces are inflexible then that's a separate issue.

Definitely was a big fan of this - sharing the load with other working mums … plus kids loved it!

Your frustration is understandable but schools aren't childcare facilities. They don't owe you any days

" I expect the SAHM’s are already cringing in anticipation of more of these messages."

Wow, I'd be offering in that situation to help my friends out not cringing.

well if you have plans stick to them and tell them it shouldn't be unauthorised

Lots of schools around here had terrible problems with RAAC-some were closed for weeks on end before alternative buildings were found. Sadly, it's just one of those things sometimes. I would either buddy up with friend at school and try to do one day each or ask work for parental leave.

Yes if cleared by the LEA for works done. Emergency closures are also fairly common - 2 local high schools and 3 primaries shut down 3 days early at Christmas due to water issues (thankfully it was my year 11) so yes they ca

School is not childcare and it’s not their responsibility to arrange your childcare.