How much break time / lunch does your secondary school child get

[freshstart24]

DD started Y7 two weeks ago. I've only just looked at the the actual timings on her timetable.

The only break in her day is 30 minutes for lunch. Is this standard? I'd assumed she would have a slightly longer lunch and also a short break.

What do other secondary school children do?

Her school day starts at 8.30, and ends at 2.45, with six lessons each day.

DD is Year 8, school is 8:30-4.

25 min break in the morning, an hour at lunch.

Nancy that is alone the lines that I was expecting. It's barely enough time to eat.

Also I realise school is primarily about learning, but I'd have thought that a decent break would be conducive to learning, and give pupils a chance to develop social skills.

I've just been emailed a list of lunchtime extracurricular activities- goodness knows how they are supposed to fit those around lunch.

8.40-3.05, two lessons - 30 min break, two lessons - 45 min lunch, two lessons - home.

30 min break and a 50 min lunch

8.55am - 3.40pm (1.20pm Fridays)

Morning break of 15 mins (might be 20, not looking at the timetable right now) Lunch of 50 mins.

DS - school 8.30 - 3.45 , break 25 mins, lunch 1.10hrs
DD - school 8.30 - 3.45, break 20 mins, lunch 1.10hrs

Everyone seems to have significantly longer than DD. I think this was a recent change bought about by the previous head who has now left.

The school is in the process of becoming part of an Academy Trust. I do hope they reconsider break times.

I'm assuming there is no point saying anything to the school!

I wonder how large your school is and what the arrangements are for actually eating lunch? I suppose if most kids have packed lunches it's not so hard, but a high uptake of school dinners would need military organisation to get a significant number of children fed in 30 mins.
Are there no lunch time extra curricular activities?
On the other hand, both mine would probably appreciate finishing school an hour earlier......

I think there are about 500 pupils and the school covers years 7-11.

Lunch is taken in two separate 30 minute time slots, depending on the year group.

Most children have a hot meal. According to DD and friends, the food is the highlight of their day!

There is an impressive timetable of extracurricular lunchtime activities but goodness knows how they are expected to fit them in! We have a meeting with form tutors towards the end of September so I will ask about this then.

45 mins for lunch.

Approx:
2x1hr lessons
1x20min break
2x1hr lessons
1x45min lunch
1x1hr lesson

DC’s school day is 8:50 to 3:25. They have 5 lessons of an hour each, a 20 min (I think) break in the morning and a 55 min lunch break. There weee plans to reduce lunchtime to 45 min but there was a lot of opposition

My DD school day is 8.50am-3.20pm.
It starts with registration for 20 mins, then 2 lessons with a 15 min break at 10.50. Then 2 more lessons followed by a 45 min lunch break at 12.50. Then final 2 lessons and home.

That's a really early finish! Maybe that's why lunch break is so short?

My dc are 8.30 until 4 with 20 mins morning break, hour at lunchtime and 15 mins in the afternoon

Don't have children that age but when I was at secondary school we had 2 short breaks (mid morning and mid afternoon) and an hours lunch break.

Ours get 50 minutes. Plenty of time.

My understanding (from a friend who is a teacher) is that there’s been a general trend to shortening lunch breaks over the years as lots of bored teenagers hanging around is a catalyst for trouble and bullying.

That must be hard to work - so some kids are still in lessons while the first lot eat, and then the first lot return to lessons while the second lot eat?
When do teachers eat?

Year 10. 8.25 to17.10 with a 1.40 lunch break.

That is a really early finish though. We were 8.45-4.15 as far as I can remember

My DD starts high school at 9.05am, finishes at 3.20pm. They have 50 minutes for lunch as well as 20 minutes for recess/morning tea.

This is in Australia and is pretty standard I think. Kids and teachers alike need to have breaks.

8.30-3
5 lessons of an hour, 30 minutes tutor time.
20 minute break. 40 minute lunch.

I wonder if the short breaks are to enable the school to shut earlier which therefore saves money (DC's school rejigged their timetable recently to finish 40 minutes earlier).

Two separate lunch periods of 30 minutes sound better than everyone having the same lunch break - and the school is so small anyway, I guess that should be plenty of time to get lunch and eat.

DS has left school, but he got a 15 min mid morning break and 30 mins lunch

20 min break
40 min lunch

Thank you everyone for your input.

DD's 30 minutes break does seem like a short amount of downtime in a while school day.

I would have thought a bit more break time would be good for learning.

I can see that there are other things to consider especially costs of a shorter vs a longer school day. Never the less it leaves very little down time in a 6.5 hour learning period.

I'm not sure when teachers eat- maybe they do not teach for all six periods in a day.

It seems a sad state of affairs that shorter breaks have been introduced to minimise bullying. I can see how it would work but it seems like a bad solution if it means the kids don't get a decent break!

When I was at school, we started at 8.30am. Morning registration until 8.40. 3 lessons which were 1 hour long. Morning break was half an hour, from 11.40-12.10. Then 2 more lessons which were 1 hour long. Afternoon registration was from 2.10-2.15. Then 2.15 was home time. School considered that 'lunch time and if you wanted you could go and get something to eat. But most went straight home (well out of school at least).
When I first started it was only years 9-11 who could leave at 2.15, years 7 and 8 had to stay until 3pm (with nothing to do at all), unless you had an 'early exit pass' which meant there was an exceptional circumstance why you had to leave at 2.15. They ended up changing it so everyone was allowed to leave at 2.15, which was better all round.