AIBU to think half an hour is not long enough for a school lunch break?

My secondary school did this when I was there 25 years ago and still do. Two 20 min breaks at around 10 and around 12 and finish at 2.15pm.

traininthedistance, the failure of current university students to cope is down to the lack of education and training in independence, not hving too much of it!

And the days when we could afford the luxury of shelling out for long lunches is long gone.

Crikey, user - I'm not sure you know very much about education! Children are not empty vessels to be stuffed full of some kind of vague product called "actual education": just as workers don't work harder or better if you take away their breaks.

And people wonder why productivity levels in this country are crashing through the floor...! People are not robots. To learn or work well they need to eat well, refresh themselves, regroup and have space to think, be respected.

This all seems to be going in the exact opposite direction to the trend in primary schools, which at last is recognising the importance of good eating and nutrition, forming relationships, having a healthy balanced lifestyle, exploring play and creative learning beyond the rigid boundaries of the curriculum, learning in nature and forest school, etc.

Our secondary school students, however, are currently arriving at university worn out, highly stressed with a massive rise over the last five years in mental health issues, anxiety, eating problems, self-identity problems and self-harming. I'm amazed at the difference compared to previous age cohorts. And they aren't doing any better in academic terms; worse, if anything. No wonder they are all so messed up if people think school is only about cramming as much "education" into them as possible rather than allowing them to eat a decent lunch and have a few minutes off the unrelenting factory grind.

We used to have 1 hour 25 mins for lunch. I agree about the toilet issues for girls.

you are getting confused about what school is for. It is there for education. Shortening lunch break means more money for actual education, and less education time wasted planning for/ dealing with lunch time issues.

Finishing before rival schools also means your children avoid trouble more easily, as trouble will be outside the other school's gates, not yours. Appreciate this only moves the problem w=else where, but for the OP it is a good situation.

Your children need to eat faster.

Going to lunch time clubs is seen as uncool.

I strongly feel that the majority of children require a longer lunch break. The obsession with bullying, which does affect a minority, should not impinge on what the majority need. The school should also deal with it! Not harm all the other children. This is such a lazy and unacceptable ttitude. The idea that huge rafts of children cannot face a longer lunch break is just ridiculous. In fact, one of the best ways for a child to avoid bullying is going to a club or activity. Meeting friends with similar interests. It protects them.

Yes, I really think it's irresponsible and discriminates against the girls. Boys don't have menstruation to deal with and can always use urinals rather than waiting for a cubicle, if the school has them.

When I was at secondary school all our loos were in the basement, and there was a great rush of girls for them from all parts of the school (in a 4-storey building block), at the start of lunchtime, plus huge queues. Imagine being 13 and getting your period, having to get to the loos, wait in a long queue, sort yourself out, clean up a bit, have a wee, wash hands - easily 15 minutes gone, no time for queuing for lunch - not really fair! The boys are out and grabbing their lunch already!

Most adults in the workplace can go to the loo when they need to, but school students can't easily, and many schools are really strict on this. I used to have to go to the loo at both the beginning and the end of the lunch hour so I didn't feel anxious that I'd need the loo during the afternoon - and there were always big queues again just before lessons started - if I had only had 30 minutes for lunch and had my period, I'd have spent it all waiting to go to the loo, going to the loo, then waiting to go to the loo again!!

Not long enough imo

Wow, that's awful! So bad for children's mental health, eating patterns and stress levels. Yes it might superficially leave no time for bullying, but instead it inculcates a really punishing culture of constant work without the expectation of any downtime. Not to mention that it hardly supports schools in encouraging healthy eating and preventing cultures of eating disorders springing up (have they thought about how it normalises not eating for older girls in particular?) Why can't schools get a proper grip on bullying without this (costs and other priorities, I should think.... )

I had 1hr in the 80s and 90s, and that was enough for all pupils in a school of approx. 1250 to have some lunch, have some down time, perhaps do a club or be at choir practice or a music lesson for 30 minutes; and it also enabled the school to offer the occasional off-timetable GCSE course if enough pupils demanded it (I took a Russian GCSE at lunchtime with a small group of interested pupils and the help of enthusiastic teachers who were willing to offer enrichment opportunities outside the timetable, even in what was a pretty bog standard comp). There wasn't much bullying, but then the school - despite not being very academically ambitious - was very hot on stamping out any suggestion of a bullying culture.

On another note, it strikes me that cutting lunches to just 30 minutes is actually very discriminatory to girls in particular - boys might make do with a quick wizz before grabbing some lunch, but imagine being a young girl getting used to having your periods and being faced with the choice of either eating or going to the loo to sort out your pad or tampon but not being comfortably able to do both? That is something that I am very surprised that a school has not thought about. Queues for the girls' loos are inevitably much longer than for boys and girls that age are often intensely anxious about pain and periods and potential embarrassment. What a way to make that worse, and increase the pressure on girls and making eating socially stressful - even more from what it already is. I teach in a HE environment and no wonder the students are arriving a mess of nerves and anxiety and eating problems these days

When I was at school we had two 20 minute breaks and a 10 minute break each day and finished school at 2:30 (started early). Was a bit of a shock coming up from junior school where we'd all had longer lunch breaks but we all adapted to it

1.5 hours at my dc school, rural so lots of clubs at lunchtimes because most trav to school by bus etc . When weather nice also lots of time to loll on grass , play footie, rounders etc . I think they need a break

Even 40 mins is quite short by the time you go to the loo and if you queue up in the canteen. I hate short lunchtimes.

We have 30 minutes but a rolling lunch hour, so a different group goes on lunch every 2 minutes. Seems to work well, no queues.

Schools where I have my kids at have an hour and a half for lunch, with at least 30 minutes being absolutely ring fenced to sit down and eat with their friends (i.e., they can do two 30 minute music lessons/clubs/meetings but one third is for eating properly and thoroughly).
Nobody mucks about because there's always things to do in a lunchtime.
40 minutes isn't enough for a club and a proper lunch. It should definitely not be shortenened!

We had quite a long lunch hour at my grammar school in the 80s. I remember chatting in the classroom, but on the hand i also remember us getting up to mischief, bullying going on and even two girls rolling around on the floor fighting. The devil makes work...

Wow, we had 1h15 min back in the 80's/90's. I have many fond memories of sitting & chatting with my friends or even impromptu basketball games between teachers and pupils!

Personally I think 30 min is too short if it involves having to queue for 20min too. I get 30 min at work, but don't have a queue. It gives me 15min to eat at leisure, time for a toilet visit and a quick browse on my phone.

Half hour more than enough if staggered and managed properly. I've just had my half hour ! We also have a 2nd break of another half hour. Less chance for kids to get into mischief/fall out/smoke.

Dd's school's is 40 mins. Clubs are after school usually.

dds school staggered lunch every 10 mins from youngest to oldest year group. I don't think she ate lunch after year 9. School lunch was not optional

Very common to have 30 mins and for it to be staggered. I'm supply, I was at one school that had compulsory breakfast - for staff and students, so teach 15 mns then breakfast for 15 (on a rota so some days you taught 45 mins which was better).

It was an absolute pain, however the area the school is in I think it is good idea to provide breakfast, not all kids will get one at home.

I taught at a school in which we were given only 20 minutes for lunch, it was pathetic. By the time I'd 'had a talk' with certain pupils, put up the next lesson activities on the board and gone to the toilet, there was hardly any time left to eat anything for lunch. The problem was of course far worse if I had my next lesson in a different classroom, as I'd have to go there and set up too.

For the students it was also not enough time. The canteen and toilet queues were horrendous, and students would arrive at your lesson clutching a takeaway box of half eaten food, or bursting for the toilet. Senior Management told us we must issue detentions for any student lateness after lunch break, and we all refused to do so. Many of us used to let them continue to eat for the first 5 minutes of the lesson while they copied down objectives etc - they really appreciated this, and behaved really well. My Head of Department also printed toilet permission labels for us all, & we stuck them in students diaries and let them go throughout the lesson one at a time. They were only usually allowed if they had a medical note.

Senior Management only realised what a dreadful cock up they'd made with their '20 minute idea' when they started doing their Teacher observations and saw students and staff banqueting at the beginning of the lesson, and a constant trickle of students back and forth to the toilets. They changed it to 30 minutes for the new school year, which I still do not believe to be good enough.

20 minutes wouldn't be enough at DD's school. It takes her 10 minutes to walk back to post 16 from the science block. If she had a science after lunch she wouldn't have time to eat anything. They are very strict about where food can be consumed as well.