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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

Do you think 25 mins lunch break is too short?

63 replies

VivaLeBeaver · 13/06/2015 14:40

Dds school have sent a letter home saying the day is being.

The mid morning break is been reduced from 15 to 10 mins and lunch is being reduced from 35 mins to 25 mins. That's a 25 min gap from the end of of one lesson to the beginning of the next.

By the time they've actually left the classroom and met up with friends and sat down and started eating and then had to think about making sure they get to afternoon lessons in time you're looking at a 15 min break.

That's if they have a pack up. If they have to queue at the canteen to be served a hot meal it'll be more like 5 mins to eat. The letter does say they're looking at an app to pre order food and more vending machines to speed up lunch queue! But they'll still have to queue to be served.

I just feel a bit sad that there doesn't seem to be any thought about the importance of kids actually having a bit of time with their friends.

OP posts:

Heifer · 15/06/2015 14:52

I've just received the timetable for my DD who will be starting Yr7 in Sept

8.35-8.50 regisration
8.50-9.50 Period 1
9.50 - 10.50 Period 2
10.50 - 11.10 Break
11.10- 12.10 Period 3
12.-10 - 1.10 Period 4
1.10 - 2.25 Lunch & enrichment activities
2,25-2.35 registration
2.35 - 3.35 Period 5

So for lunch they will get 1hr 15 mins. and only 1 lesson in the afternoon. Also lunch over 1hr later than DD is currently used to but I am sure she will cope. They can pre order food for break and lunch time apparently. I am sure she will enjoy the enrichment activiies every day too.

30 mins seems no time at all to be expected to eat and socialise..

muminhants1 · 15/06/2015 11:06

My son's school has two 20 minute breaks during the day. It seems to work well. That said, it would probably be better if one was 15 and the other was 25 so there was a little more time to eat a cooked meal. But on the whole I agree with short breaks as they finish school earlier, can do after-school activities earlier and it limits the chances of misbehaving and bullying.

noblegiraffe · 14/06/2015 15:09

Lesson 6 and 7 will just be for some GCSE or A-Level subjects that they haven't managed to fit into the normal timetable, so it won't be every day and they might just have to do lesson 6 or 7.

The 25 minute lunch is still crap though. I'd suggest that they take tutor time and put it after lunch and pull everything 20 minutes earlier so lunch isn't so late. Also they should open the canteen at break time.

CamelHump · 14/06/2015 15:06

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

VivaLeBeaver · 14/06/2015 15:05

No the timetable is for the whole school. Having a staggered lunch sounds like a good idea. Maybe if this timetable doesn't work they might do that.

OP posts:

bloodyteenagers · 14/06/2015 13:45

Could be the timetable for lunch and breaks is for her year only.
When my dd's where in the same school, their timetable where different and times staggered.
Same with the local academy and other schools.
Lunch starts at 12 and then there's 3 or 4 sittings. So you aren't serving 1000+ in one go.

MrsUltracrepidarian · 14/06/2015 13:28

at the minute they're always a few mins late to lessons
Pointless and disruptive
The best schools I work in (supply teacher) have a changeoever period so no-one is late to lessons (or rather they have no excuse for being late) much better for behaviour and for ensuring everyone starts learning at the same time.
Usually there is a slightly shorter break time - (eg 20 mins) and longer lunchtime - eg 40 mins, but if it is 40 mins then there is likely to need to be clubs running - otherwise in secondary schools much more time than is necessary to actually eat is counter-productive.
Usually the schools with the worst behaviour have the shortest break times, fro obvious reasons.
Rather than complain before trying it - wait and see.

Original poster

VivaLeBeaver · 13/06/2015 19:16

And I didn't know about behaviour being worse after lunch. So that's interesting and explains why lunch and lesson 4 aren't the other way round.

OP posts:

Original poster

VivaLeBeaver · 13/06/2015 19:14

Yeah we never had changeover when I was at school.

Even when swimming was at the other end of town from the school. We turned up 20 mins late to every RE lesson and got a detention when the head was in a bad mood!

OP posts:

EvilTwins · 13/06/2015 18:50

Most schools don't have a changeover time. I have never worked in a school which does. It does mean that students can pop to the loo/fill their water bottles/other brief necessary things. And teachers can have a breather, set up for next lesson. Most schools go straight from one lesson to the next.

Original poster

VivaLeBeaver · 13/06/2015 18:30

You can't count the "changeover" as a break. I've already explained they need that time to walk to lessons.

They already get this time without it been timetabled. They currently have to walk from one lesson to another, it's just at the minute they're always a few mins late to lessons.

OP posts:

Original poster

VivaLeBeaver · 13/06/2015 18:28

Well I would disagree but that's fine if you think that.

My main concern of them effectively having 15 mins to eat lunch remains.

There are 50 mins of break, not 60.

And five mins at either end of the two breaks will be spent walking to the canteen or common room or back to lessons. So that's more like 30 mins of actual break.

OP posts:

EvilTwins · 13/06/2015 17:59

Ok, so your initial hand-wringing op is full of inaccuracies. School is 8.30-2.50, buses leave 10 mins after the end of school. During the day, there is a total of 60 mins of break - the only difference being made is that they are now split into two breaks of equal length rather than one long and one short.

Total non-issue.

Original poster

VivaLeBeaver · 13/06/2015 17:57

There's well over 1000 kids at the school. PAN is 220 a year. No idea how they'll serve that number of kids in 15-25 mins. I guess some will have pack lunch but a lot won't.

OP posts:

Original poster

VivaLeBeaver · 13/06/2015 17:56

Dd says start and finish times are the same. I always assumed that the school starts at 8am as that's what time dd gets there on the bus but she tells me it doesn't start till 8:30. I didn't know she spent 30 mins hanging around waiting for school to start until today.

Likewise her bus leaves school at 3pm.

So effectively she is there from 8-3.

OP posts:

EvilTwins · 13/06/2015 17:48

And is also a later start and earlier finish then currently.

EvilTwins · 13/06/2015 17:46

Given that morning break is going to be 25 mins, I would be amazed if the canteen wasn't open.

My only concern with the proposal would be that there wouldn't be long enough to get every one through at lunchtime - there would need to be a very efficient system for queuing for and serving food.

Other than that, I really can't see a problem. The day is going from 8.30 - 2.50 for the vast majority - that's pretty short.

Original poster

VivaLeBeaver · 13/06/2015 17:36

eviltwins fair enough, I did type that. Meant to say it's been reduced by 10 mins to 25mins. I certainly wasn't trying to mislead anyone. I don't have a problem with the length of the break time. They could reduce that by ten mins and increase lunch by ten mins and Id think that was a better option to be honest.

And I do send dd in with the "correct" amount of food. But she already comes home and ransacks the cupboards, which will be even worse if she has lunch at 10:55. And to be honest if she has her lunch that early I couldn't blame her for needing to eat mid afternoon. But it's hardly healthy is it? And I'm at work so can hardly stop her either.

OP posts:

noblegiraffe · 13/06/2015 17:31

Why does the canteen not serve food at break time? What about the kids on free school meals, are they supposed to go till half one without food?

EvilTwins · 13/06/2015 17:26

guess she could have a big snack at 11am and lunch at 1:30 but she's trying not to snack between meals so neither of those options is overly healthy from an obesity point of view.

So send her into school with the "correct" amount of food and allow her to decide when to eat what. Pretty sure that's what most kids I teach do.

CamelHump · 13/06/2015 17:24

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

EvilTwins · 13/06/2015 17:24

OP, you originally stated that morning break was being reduced from 15 minutes to 10.

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 13/06/2015 17:23

I know, but why cram everything into an 'morning?' The kids get hungry and I don't believe learning is better before lunch I don't care what research has shown

Original poster

VivaLeBeaver · 13/06/2015 17:22

EvilTwins. I'm certainly not giving out duff info, Id hardly have posted the photo if I was.

The five mins is so they have time to walk from one lesson to the next. It's a massive school and it can take more than five mins to walk from one lesson to another depending where the lessons are. On parents evening it takes me over five mins going between classrooms a lot of the time.

Yes they do get a break mid morning but the canteen isn't serving food. Even if they did then 10:55 is a bit early to be having lunch. Dd would eat another meal at 3pm if she did that and then still want dinner.

I guess she could have a big snack at 11am and lunch at 1:30 but she's trying not to snack between meals so neither of those options is overly healthy from an obesity point of view.

OP posts:

ScrambledEggAndToast · 13/06/2015 17:20

Definitely not long enough. We used to get 1hr and 15 mins and this was at a grammar school which was one of the top three schools in our city.

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