Keeping kids in from play at lunchtime.

Do they not send times tables home for them to learn? That was a staple weekly homework when I was that age. We had a spelling and times tables test every single week.

I am opposed to the removing of playtime for any reason really. Those children with the most challenging behaviour or need to catch up academically need to have big movement and play the most.

My child is practising at home his times tables, but for those who can’t or won’t I would like this to happen in school without the removal of playtime. I feel so strongly that it’s vitally important - more so actually than times tables (although it’s not an either /or and doesn’t have to be). Evidence also shows children learn more after exercise.

We used to do the times table on the school run. Otherwise at bath time, bed time. Wrote them up on a sheet stuck on a wall in the kitchen.

Did the same with spelling.

Of course it’s school’s responsibility to let parents know of upcoming tests and how they want the children to practice - apparently in this case with TTR. Education is far more school’s responsibility than it is their job to get involved with parking, interfere with parental choices about online access, advertise local charity events and complain about the contents of lunchboxes, but school seems to manage to send all those emails!

They won't be learning for 6 hours straight. They are still getting their morning break and their lunchtime when they eat, just not their lunch playtime.

And hopefully they have scheduled this on a day the children have a physical activity like PE or forest school or swimming, so they are still getting a movement break.

Fair enough.

It could be tried but I really doubt he'd see it as a positive thing, especially with his friends asking why he can't play outside etc.

As I've said, I'm glad his school haven't handled it in that way.

I don’t see why it’s the sole responsibility of the school to tell parents about the year four times tables tests, it’s been in the news. And really, parents should be teaching or at the very least, supporting the teaching of times tables anyway. Tests or not.

If your DC don’t know their times tables by Year 4, they are in need of extra support. I’d applaud the school for this. I’m a teacher for reference.

That's understandable to want to avoid that. But it could be explained to him as a positive thing for him?

It’s definitely time to feedback to the school because even if they have told the parents, it hasn’t been in a way that works (which perhaps reflects the number of them losing their break time now).

At my sons school we were invited to a parents assembly at the end of year 3 I believe it was about teaching maths at home. I’m 29 but many of the methods even I was taught have changed and I found it really helpful. It was in this that they went into the times table check in year 4. My son was using timetables rockstars regularly and got 100% on his check. I can’t understand for that reason why your child’s school didn’t do something similar because then it might have cut the need for children to lose their playtime along with teachers using their lunch time, even if only SOME parents did the work with kids at home because now you’ve found out you weren’t aware of what they needed to focus on so just seems to be something that could have been avoided

You’re right, they shouldn’t be spending their lunch breaks learning; parents should have stepped in long ago.

I wouldn't think badly of the teacher at all as like it's been pointed out, they'd be giving up their break too but I just know that my son would be gutted and feel punished and that is what I'd want to avoid.

I’d have failed. Dyscalculics simply can’t do it. We can live useful lives though, so don’t worry about us failing a daft Y4 test.

Fair enough if you work on it at home, but I don't think teachers using their own time to help kids to get up to speed who have already lost out on so much is something that is automatically bad.

I’m dyscalculic. I’m 61 and don’t know my tables and believe me I’ve tried. I’ve also got O level B in maths and A level Chemistry, and I’ve managed to live a full and useful life. Not everyone can learn tables. I’d hope a teacher (I’m one) would recognise that.

Why wouldn’t you practise timetables with your child whether there is a statutory test or not. Why didn’t you ask the school about the apps?

I'm so confused why do you not practice times tables with him? My son is year 3 and has ASD but since he was in reception I've been teaching him times tables. He can recite many of them off by heart now. Parents are the first teachers, even just 5/10 minutes per day makes a huge impact. Work with the school so he can get break time back.

When all of his friends get to play outside because they were fortunate enough to not need so much time off? It would feel like a punishment to him and I'd question exactly how effective it would actually be. Not to mention the fact that he needs a break just as much as the children who do know their times tables.

We work on it at home and they do work on it with him at school too with adapting his maths work if necessary and maths interventions largely focusing on times tables. Thankfully, never at break.

Maybe all of this is the school's fault for not communicating - although it would mean that everyone else is in the same boat and you would have thought some other parents would have raised the issue before now. You need to ask the school because based on where you are located it's different, all of the nations run their own education systems, there is nothing UK-wide.

At secondary the number of lunch, after school, holiday and weekend interventions have become ridiculous! Gone are the days lessons were seen to provide a full curriculum of education, which is ironic because there was no technology to help for those wanting to do more outside of school.

I say this as a totally committed teacher who put on extra voluntary sessions after school before it became prescribed. Now mandatory for X one day, Y another day.

Partly to do with results league tables, Ofsted but also for those students who don't make the effort to complete work in school so interventions are made to 'make' them progress.