Or is 30 minutes too short for school lunch?

My kids get 35 mins. They have long since given up on school lunches and the queues so take their own in.

The school I worked at it had been brought in to deal with behaviour issues between different years. Definitely a bad move as it doesn't give kids time to eat properly and get some physical exercise in/socialising before being expected to concentrate again.

It is indeed very sad it needs to happen. But necessary in some schools!

Until the mid-80s, tea hers could be compelled to do lunchtime supervision. Since then, they cannot. A few opt in (and might even be paid for it) but most staff want a break.

Finding school meals supervisors has become increasingly difficult for many schools - some can add the role on to cleaners' jobs (which gives them more pay and hence more reason to take the job) but it remains a great difficulty for a lot of schools.

When I started teaching, lunchtime was an hour 20 minutes, it was lovely! There were lots of clubs run at lunchtimes by the TAs after or before the kids had eaten and they (and we) had a nice relaxed time to eat.

I don't work in that school any more but know they only have 50 minutes now we have 45! No lunchtime clubs, it's barely enough time to get everyone through the hall to eat.

The reason was to reduce the lunchtime play as behaviour had got so bad.

It has a knock on effect on the length of the school day though as schools seem to now all finish earlier.

When my children were at secondary school they reduced the lunch break to 30 minutes to stop students walking into town, following complaints from shops of shoplifting and other anti-social behaviour.

Absolutely this. It's widening the gap and reducing opportunities for state school pupils who may have enjoyed joining clubs at lunch time, and although those who just really need a break and some decompression time.

Both of my children chose not to eat lunch at school as there just wasn’t time, also there was rarely anywhere to sit and queues for the toilets were too big.

They ate a good breakfast, took a snack to eat at school and then ate ‘lunch’ when they got home at 4pm ish, then dinner at 7pm ish. Not ideal but it was fine and they would rather that than be at school for longer.

I went to school in the 90s and had a 35 minute lunch break. It was to deter children from leaving the school grounds, but loads of us went into town anyway and always had enough time to queue for a sausage roll, have a smoke and walk back up to school 😁

We did finish as 2:30pm though so I suppose that compensated for the short lunch break.

20 extra minutes in a cramped noisy dining hall with 400 people as its pouring with rain and freezing...

Or school finishing 20 minutes earlier, and being able to socialise where you want to?

What kind of school is it?

I understand 30 mins... lunchtime is where the majority of pastoral/friendship issues can happen... and if it's a particularly 'rough' school then it's just more time for fighting. 😂

I taught in a secondary school years ago which decided to change the school hours. This was done to align with the train timetable and also to prevent the pupils from going into town lunchtime (there had been complaints from some shops). School then started at 8.30 and ended at 2.55. Lunch cut to 30 minutes. Everybody loved it. We could offer so many more after school activities and it made a big difference to morale overall.

Free time should never be boring for kids that age… part of being a child is having unstructured free time with friends!

Do you think some of them have forgotten how to enjoy it?

I do. They haven’t got enough time to eat and play football so they just play football. Then come to p5 starving and desperate for the toilet as they haven’t done either.

My 12 year old loves break times, she socialises with her friends or goes to a club. They don’t chat in lessons though so it’s the only time for socialising.

Exactly this. My 12 year old always tells me breaks are boring and there's nothing to do.

This increases the likelyhood of poor behaviour.

They have two 30 minute breaks 1st lunch and 2nd lunch to minimise queuing and are scheduled for canteen access on just one of those slots.

He takes a packed lunch so that he can choose to eat at his leisure.

I have a 30 minute lunch at work. Took a little getting used to after previously having an hour but I actually like it better. No mucking about or wasted time and I don't get paid for lunch so the less time the better.

I’m pretty sure we had a longer school day in the 90s when I was at secondary. There was absolutely a difference between the time I broke up from primary abc the time I broke up from secondary. My secondary child leaves school the same time as my primary aged child - 3.15pm. I think he also has an hour lunch but I’d have to check that.

Yes it’s short but many schools have done this and finish earlier, our local secondary cut 20 minutes from lunch and finish 20 minutes earlier so students can pick up their younger siblings from primary if needed and the teachers (especially teaching assistants) can get to primary school pick up. Very popular with the staff. Wednesdays all staff stay on for meetings, training etc but they are free to leave at 3pm the rest of the week

My kids have that. It’s because we’re Scotland and school shuts at midday on Friday and they accommodate this by reducing lunch breaks. It’s a shite system in so many ways:

Kids don’t have time to eat lunch and socialise and so do one or the other.

uptake of free school lunches is low because the kids don’t like it eating into their lunchtime.

socialising is an important part of school for kids.

it’s hardly worthwhile them going on Friday so many parents don’t bother taking their kids in, and one working parent has to work part time to accommodate half day Fridays.

Mini blondes gets an hour and 8

It’s supposed to be twenty but they start blowing the whistle and ushering the kids in at exactly thirteen minutes past. I’ve timed it!

Thirteen minutes? What a random time!

Our school makes all teaching staff do a lunch duty once a week.