Primary school traditions in England that are less common in Ireland

[Statsquestion1]

I’ve noticed a lot of differences between primary schools in rep of Ireland and primary schools in England lately that I thought were quite interesting,so far we don’t have;
-residentials
-school fetes
-Easter bonnets
-harvest festival
-SATS

what else do you have in England that we don’t?

I believe the school day is shorter in Ireland (in younger years?) Do they have wrap aroind care too?
(For example, Dds old school opens at 7.30-8.45 for Breakfast club, School 8.45-3.30pm, then ASC until 5.30pm.)

@JustAnUdea
My DC’s primary school day in Ireland ran from 9 to 2.45pm, with the first two years getting off an hour earlier at 1.45 (so that was 5 and 6 year olds mostly). No wraparound. That varies by school, but I think overall there’s less wraparound available than in UK schools. They were just 13 when leaving primary.

ETA My second level kids school day is 8.45 - 3.30 so the same as your primary school day!

DC Irish primary started at 9.20, which was totally life changing for me. Took all the stress out of the morning.

Yep my dc’s primary starts at 8:40 and finishes at 2:20 they have an afterschool on site until 5:20

That wouldn’t help me at all. My DCs start at 8:40 which is nice n early 🤣 I love the way different schools have different start times in Ireland though.

My kids finish school at 2.30(Ireland), asc until 3.30 if needed
2 of the main differences I notice from being on mumsnet is:
Taking time off in term time isn't too big a deal here. There are no fines and it's fairly common for people to take kids out of school for holidays.
Length of the holidays. This year my kids get their summer holidays on June 23rd and are off until August 31st so 9.5 weeks off. Once they're in secondary school (13 upwards) they'll finish the last week in May 😫😫

On a related note... is it common for both parents to work in Ireland?

Yes the taking time off is such a non issue here it’s almost the opposite. 😅 this is my first summer with a secondary school student and I’m already planning things to keep her extra busy 😅

I know this is really an Irish vs English schools thread, but just out of interest/for comparison my DC are at primary school in Scotland and they have:

• no Easter bonnets
• no harvest festival
• no SATS

They do have:

• school fairs (I think more or less the same as fetes, no bouncy castles and pony rides though!)
• one residential in the final year of primary.
• nativity plays

They also have:

• no separate cafeteria/sports hall, just one big hall that gets used for everything
• definitely no car park!
• no fines for term time holiday absences, though they are strongly encouraged to be in school

But they do have:

• religious statues, observances and sacraments (Catholic school)
• different start and finish times at all the different primaries in the area
• and whether or not they go in in PE kit or get changed at school depends entirely on the class teacher!

Yes it is common. Sometimes one works part-time for a few years or stays at home for a few years when children are small, sometimes not.
Childminders and extended family are also used when there isn’t wraparound care available.

I think it differs a lot by school. I'm in Ireland and my kids went to the Gaeltacht in 6th class, never did nativity or anything religious at all in school(or out of school), they had an annual céilí, annual school fete, had an annual Samhain show, had an annual 'hata mata' parade, called their teachers by their first name, had a big sports hall. I don't think that there is a universal primary school or secondary school experience.

The commonalities or otherwise probably depend a lot on the type of school, eg Educate together vs Catholic-ethos vs gaelscoileanna etc.

Agree with a pp that Scottish primaries seems to be somewhere in between. I attended school on Scotland and now teach in England and lots of things down here were new to me. The angst over school places is dreadful and also leads to really unequal cohorts of children in terms of ability, background and SEND.

My English school doesn't have a hall though and that's not unusual in the area (lots of small rural primaries). Children eat in the classroom and PE is outside as much as possible, even on terrible weather.

Good to hear the paying for books in Ireland is a thing of the past.
Although I think its nuts how much time teachers are spending gathering resources from twinlk etc and photocopying in Scotland.

The school day seems incredibly short in Ireland and the holidays long.

I have mixed feelings about Scottish summer holidays, I think an extra week in summer wouldn't be a bad thing.
I hate the 3 days in February
And May always seems a really disrupted month, 4 days off spread over 3 weeks - crazy.

Yes there is a lot more snobbery about schools in England

There are, increasingly, differences in primary education between England, Scotland and Wales (and I assume N Ireland) on a range of issues. It doesn't stop the UK media describing changes in education in England e.g. the recent SEND changes there as though they affect the whole UK. On a lighter note, my teacher friend dreads, (every summer), what she calls the fete worse than death.

Other differences in secondary. Ireland only has the one exam board. Everyone gets the same papers for Higher, etc for junior cert/leaving cert. The exam season is way longer in England. My daughter in GCSE did 11 subjects, one art with no written paper, another was Drama with just one. So in the remaining 9 subjects she sat 22 different exams. It goes on for weeks. There is no automatic continuation into A levels, you have to apply with predictive grades to try to get a spot....and not all schools are equal in terms of quality of education.

Applying to uni in Ireland: you apply via UCAS, sit your exams and if you get the points, you get your place.
Applying in England: you apply with predictive grades (based on mocks). If you don't have the right predictive grades you don't get offered a place. If you get the grades in the actual exams, you can try and get the course in clearing or wait a year. Applying to do Medicine in England is a fete of endurance. The whole exam/applying to uni system is messed up in England. So many layers of stress

In NI we had…

School fete before the summer holidays

Halloween disco + fireworks
Residentials - P6 (Y5 in English terms?) went to an outdoor education centre for the week and P7s went abroad, usually on a ski trip
Nativity for the younger children, older ones worked towards a different show later in the year
AQE/GL assessments (SATS equivalent I think?)
Summer serenade (choir + orchestral performances from the children with strawberries & cream afterwards)
PTA ball
Leavers disco and activity day (they got limousines to take them from school on the final day🤣)
Weekly assembly

I was part of the PTA, helping to organise most of this.. it was like a full time job at times!!

My dds Irish primary had summer family days, Christmas markets, sports days overnight trips, school hall for sports, stage for concerts, outdoor classroom and sensory room.

I have friends that have taught in the Irish and English systems and they remark that they have more freedom and flexibility in the Irish system, kids aren't tested as much and they are freer with the curriculum not as restricted. They said they were less stressed and happier teaching in Irish system

In my own experience all schools here in Ireland vary so much. Apart from the actual curriculum obviously being the same everywhere a lot of other stuff just depends on where you live and school management etc. Someone upthread mentioned tin whistles being in all schools but I’ve never encountered a tin whistle in my life and neither have my DC also sports are different everywhere. Some schools would be more into athletics or football and other schools would be into gaa. Easter bonnets would be a thing in our school and sports days are just a fun school thing. Parents wouldn’t come to watch or anything like that. We also have a disco at Christmas and Easter for the older children and assemblies would be every so often. Our school would be one of the larger in the area and it’s an amazing new building so the DC are very lucky. One thing I notice from on here on MN is children seem to change for PE. In our schools they just wear their tracksuits on PE day . Even secondary school DD wears her leggings and sports top on PE day.

Things have improved massively for kids in Ireland recently. My youngest got their first hot meal last Monday, unfortunately they are in 6th class so only a month of this privilege after 13 years of making lunches. All kids will have free books this year. A few years ago I paid 500, DS started secondary that year and most subjects had the whole junior cycle to be purchased together. Then I had two in primary too. Back to school is no longer the big expense it used to be. We complain so much about the government and costs etc but people are fairly quiet about this massive improvement.

One of the biggest differences I think is attedance. I take my kids out on a skiing holiday when it suits for a week. Lots of parents take holidays in May or June when it's cheaper. As long as they catch up no one cares. I know a teacher who works week on week off and even she takes her kids out of the same school for a weeks holiday.

Yes they are a lot more easygoing about school term holidays in Ireland than in england

Of course it is...?

That was related to the context of short school days and long holidays restricting the ability to work. Not a moral judgement.

We don't think they are long holidays in Ireland. We think that the UK has unusually short holidays!