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Original poster

State secondary schools in England & Wales - do they have the same start and end time each day?

32 replies

Anna8888 · 20/03/2008 13:56

Do your children from age 11 have to be at school at the same time every day and do they end their school day at the same time every day? And do all children in the school have the same start/end time?

Asking because here in France the start and end time are different every day, depending on the child's individual timetable. Which makes childcare at the beginning and end of the day horrendously complicated.

And, if the timetable is not set in stone, when do know what it will be - on the first day of term in September, or before?

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Chluro · 25/03/2008 14:05

All schools here, primary or secondary have the same hours every day. My 3 finish at 3.05 and 3.10 and 3.15 and before I became self employed about a year ago, I used to use either a child minder or after school club for them. I have to say after age 13, as I was home by 4pm anyway, my eldest was home alone for that 30ish minutes.

Does your school not run a club for after hours?

Original poster
Anna8888 · 25/03/2008 13:48

There are no school buses in these parts - all children live within walking distance of their assigned state school.

Although children can technically stay at school longer than their timetabled hours, that makes for a very long school day - 8 am to 17.30 pm (except half day Wednesdays) (this is definitely too long a day for my second DSS who gets severely overtired in primary school) and still doesn't account for the two hours or so in the evening until parents get home. So it isn't easy to sort...

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AuldAlliance · 25/03/2008 13:47

Sorry, just noticed that you're only interested in England & Wales.
Ignore my remarks about UK schooling, they're based on Scotland.
But as far as the French system goes I'm still sure that your DSS's school doesn't necessarily expect him to leave the premises after the end of his last class of the day.

AuldAlliance · 25/03/2008 13:40

Apart from the Wed, I think the school accepts that your DSS might well stay on after the official end of his classes and work in the CDI or elsewhere until 5:30pm or the latest class time. That's what often happens in places (not Neuilly, maybe) where pupils take the school bus home, so schools are usually geared to cater for it. There isn't necessarily the expectation that you would provide childcare for those hours, teachers might think he could do his homework at school until he went home.
I think that in the UK, because the school day is shorter and follows a fixed schedule, kids don't have so many free periods as French pupils do. Though according to age, siblings in the same school might not finish classes at the same time. But my memories of UK schooling are now quite old...!

fembear · 25/03/2008 13:39

I'd like to say that it was foresight but it was mostly luck ... although you make your own luck, she says, trying to retrieve some credibility ...

Have you spotted this thread?

Original poster
Anna8888 · 25/03/2008 09:51

Regular school hours combined with part-time, flexible working is probably the easiest combination to manage for after-school care. Lucky (or perhaps very foresightful) you .

Irregular school hours combined with long, fixed working hours is another (not always unavoidable) story

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fembear · 25/03/2008 09:42

Every school I have known has had regular hours.
I work freelance so I work the hours that suit me / the children. When the kids were younger I chose schools with after-school clubs, which they loved.

Original poster
Anna8888 · 25/03/2008 09:23

fembear - the only story I want to know about is how English parents manage childcare for their secondary school children at either the end of the school day. In order to understand that, I need a full picture of what the beginning and end of the day look like.

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fembear · 25/03/2008 09:21

Eh? Which story are we going with? That the French are industrious, committed workers. Or that the French are procrastinating loiterers who would rather lunch with their colleagues than dine with their children.

Original poster
Anna8888 · 25/03/2008 08:50

"35 hour week" does not mean that everyone works for 35 hours per week.

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chopchopbusybusy · 24/03/2008 23:00

In France it is quite normal to have a long lunch break and the business day finishes later. Even in the UK though I'd say it was fairly 'bog standard' when you consider commuting time for parents not to return home until after 7.00.

fembear · 24/03/2008 22:53

I don't understand how it is 'bog standard' for parents to be absent for such long periods - I thought that France operated on the 35 hour working week.

Original poster
Anna8888 · 24/03/2008 20:40

You said that you didn't think that secondary school children require childcare. I don't agree - I think that secondary school children do require childcare, and the situation I describe is not extreme but bog standard here.

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fembear · 24/03/2008 11:16

Anna: I don't think that the extreme situation you describe is advisable. Why do you ask?

saffy202 · 23/03/2008 17:42

Ours is 8.45am - 3.05pm every day apart from Wednesday which finishes at 13.50pm.

Original poster
Anna8888 · 23/03/2008 16:42

I wasn't asking what you did, fembear - I was asking whether the situation I described was acceptable to you.

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fembear · 22/03/2008 15:04

I didn't abandon my kids in the way that you describe. Neither did I tie them to my apron strings. I found a middle way, a compromise which worked for all of us.

Original poster
Anna8888 · 21/03/2008 07:32

fembear - do you think an 11 year old should be alone in the house morning and evening, and be responsible for getting his/her own breakfast and to school on time and then alone again in the evening until a parent gets in (probably not before 7.30pm)?

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Christywhisty · 20/03/2008 21:19

ds finishes 3.30 every day except Friday when he finishes 3.15.

mumeeee · 20/03/2008 19:43

Yes. Except when they have study leave for exams ( but this is only for years 10 and 11)

fembear · 20/03/2008 19:27

Why do they need childcare? - they are in secondary!

kritur · 20/03/2008 16:56

My school has consistent start and end times, school starts at 8.50 and finishes at 3pm except for sixth form who have a flexible period 6 which takes them up to 4pm. The school day is usually posted in individual schools websites and school term dates can be found on school website or the LEA website.

Original poster
Anna8888 · 20/03/2008 15:39

Sarah - yes, I find it quite shocking too.

No wonder so many children spend so much time on their own after school

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SarahJones · 20/03/2008 15:34

I'm quite shocked to hear about how varied your child's timetable is, no wonder it is hard for you to arrange child care! I think it is so much better for children to have a consistent timetable, it encourages them to establish a routine and as a parent its much more convenient! At our school they start at 9 and finish at 3:15 everyday!

roisin · 20/03/2008 14:56

I know some schools who have varying end times to different days of the week. Usually arranging to have an early finish one day, and do some later sessions other days.

I also know of a school that has 'twilight' sessions after the 'regular end of school', but that some students have to attend - eg. sixth formers on certain courses.

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