Last day of term

[tazmaniandevil]

Why on earth does school have to close at 13:45 on the last day of term? What is the purpose of this? Confused!!!!

We are finishing at quarter past two. I'd rather teach than have to spend the last hour, plus another half hour, listening to leaving speeches, which is what we are doing. Be lucky to get home at any normal time.

Am going in the first week to do the clear out (as long as that fits with cleaner's plans) and then off for a fortnight. Will be in a couple of days a week after that.

teachers are only paid for 195 days service - sothey aren't paid for the long holidays. Their salaries are simply split by 12 payments to make things easier for budgeting
Always needs repeating, sadly.

My thoughts is that if people really begrudge our early finish (which is only early for the children because we are often still in school doing leaving things til thr end of the day) then maybe we should begrudge getting in hours earlier than we need to, we should stop staying back, stop doing after school sessions, stopping running extra curricular sport, stop coming in to do revision sessions in the holidays.
... but then the same people who complain about our easy life etc would be complaining that we aren't doing all the extras for their child wouldn't they?

It's a childcare issue for us - things are already tight covering a 6 week break between us and minimising holiday camps etc (because my son hates them). An extra day to cover is a pain, alongside all the end of term plays, open days, sports days and heading into the full 6 weeks. Straw, camel's back.

For most people this is a primary school issue but primary's still 7 years, or 9+ with more than 1 child.

We finished at 1pm on Friday. Why? Because the students really struggle to hold it together on the last day. I do remember it happening when I was at school too so it's nothing new.
For those that think all school do nothing on the last day I taught every single lesson- normal lessons occurred - no videos/'fun stuff' as we don't have time to waste as we have a lot of content to cover. As it was my first class of the day only 9 students turned up. I did have 19 in another but lots of parents pull their kids out of the last day anyway.

My DD's school closes at 9:35am on the last day, DS1's at 10:30am, DS2's at 11:30!

:o

Childcare German schools certainly aren't :o

I do wonder what on earth the point is in the older two even bothering to roll out of bed early and get themselves to school on that day though!

If anyone thinks that staff are just taking it easy during these last few weeks/days/hours, can assure you this is definitely NOT the case. Schools do not have the desposable funds to allow any member of staff to chill out or do nothing and believe there is ALWAYS stuff to do. We run ourselves ragged organising end of year celebrations, putting together plays, making props etc, as well as trying to keep some kind of structure when the exhausted kids inevitably begin to unravel. Managing behaviour when the kids have already had their leavers party requires the patience of a saint... if they're playing games or watching a film in those last few hours, the staff aren't sat about... we're clearing cupboards, sorting resources, clearing the classroom out because it does not magically do itself. We work through lunch times and come in early and stay late - unpaid - because we genuinely care about the children we're teaching. On the last day, at my school the children don't go home early, but even if they did, that wouldn't mean the staff would get to go home. I have 3 kids of my own and I have to sort out childcare just like everyone else when unexpected things happen - deal with it. And for the record, teachers and support staff DO NOT GET PAID FOR THE HOLIDAYS. We get paid for the contracted hours we work and that is split over 12 months. Therefore, each month, I take home a pittance. If your kids finish early, go out for tea together, pack a picnic, visit some family. You are lucky.

The DDs went to primary school in Sweden and it used to be very frustrating that the last day of term used to end at 10.30am. So we had all of the hassle of getting them up and to school by 8.30 for them to come home a couple of hours later.

The only good thing was the cheap after school care if I was busy at work

My Dc's last primary knocked off at 1400 every school holiday untill ofsted put a stop to it. I think they can finish early on last day of term but only if they have a parent that has turned up to watch the speeches etc .

*disposable 🙄 Grrr

We let DC leave after lunch to get some gain time that we lose when we arrange whole school trips. I got home this year at 7 and my colleague who left at 6:30 got home at 11pm.

My 6 weeks is spent planning and marking and drinking. Ta.

One local primary usually finishes at lunchtime on the final day of autumn term and summer term. It's officially INSET , but since the teachers do their INSET as twilight sessions during the term, they are indeed free to go and the children have not 'lost' any of their 190 statutory days in school.
Our school never closes early. We work (proper lessons) right up to the penultimate day of term. Final day is leaver's assembly, and sorting out classrooms. Once children leave, at normal time, staff continue the tidying and sorting out, usually until the caretaker kicks them all out at around 6pm.

When I was at secondary in the 70's, we always finished at lunchtime.

This is a massive pain in the arse for working parents as the holiday clubs etc don't start to the next week, the nannies and childminders aren't free yet for holiday care and any holidays booked will be leaving at the weekend (woe betide you if you miss the last half day to get away early).

Having said that it happens to me 3 times a year and you just have to work round it, take an afternoon off or arrage for a friend to pick them up, I don't see any excuse for being late to pick them up as the picture suggests? We know in advance that its hapenning at the end of every term though, I think it's really out of order if the school only gives people a week or twos notice, many jobs won't let you take time off at that short notice.

I do think there's a massive disconnect in this country between the government encouraging people to work, pay their way, not use benefits (rightly imo) and the schools, GPs and other Infrastructure services that are still running as if it was 20/30 years ago and most kids had one parent hanging round at home waiting to pick them up and take them to appointments (mother, of course)

A friend and I often take it in turns to take the day off (using an annual leave day) to go and get the kids.

I think it's ok for secondary btw as the kids can entertain themselves for a few hours, and they love it, have even DOI g exams etc. At primary, I'm not convinced. Can the school not let everyone that wants to go go including the teachers but still run their after school care for the afternoon? - the people that run them usually don't want to lose a day's pay as well surely?

I've never known school to finish early, and my DD1 is in year 3. It does make sense to me for high school, where you have very hyper teenagers looking forward to their holidays, and if their work for the term is finished, then it makes sense to finish early.

I can't believe it's to get off to the pub, though, as there would be so much to do at the end of term.

I can imagine it would be irritating to working parents, though; I guess as long as they give you enough notice it shouldn't pose too much of an issue.

Good points raised about notice.

Our school (and every other I've worked in) publishes the school calendar to staff in June/July of the previous year. These are then given to parents at the end of the summer term a year in advance so our parents already have next year's (2017/18) term dates. The times of leaving at the end of term have been the same for years but parents are reminded with 3-4 weeks to go (and still some will claim they had no idea, despite it being procedure for years, dates a year in advance, on the newsletter, on the website).

I suspect this was posted to get a reaction, but... in a non-aggressive way, why not consider it a very small payback for all those free lunchtime and after school clubs, breakfast, lunch, after school revision sessions and mentoring sessions your child benefits / will benefit from...? Good private tuition is about £25-35/hr so it's minimal in comparison. In reality we have a leavers lunch and tidy up, then leave around 2:30pm. Not too much of a liberty given wr work 60-70 hours a week. Consider that before you get really cross.

*we

DD's school (middle school aged 9 to 13) finishes at 1.15 on Weds.

There are a few options.

Kids walk home
Kids are collected
Kids get the bus (school bus comes early)
Kids get a later bus (school bus comes back at normal time)
Kids collected or leave at normal time

I am in school all morning anyway so DD will be coming home with me at 1.15.

Didn't every school kick out early for summers hols, and I'm going back nearly 30 years

It is the way it is done in some our schools though - kids must still wait til AFTER lunch - after the lunchtime registration... If it was for the kids benefit they'd be shooed out the door at lunchtime.

After lunch suggests the school wants their 190 days teaching box ticked.

We finish at 12.25 every in Edinburgh schools. 12 finish on last day!

Or it's after lunch so the the free school meals kids can get what may be their last decent meal for 6 weeks?

All of ours finish on a Friday which is half day anyway, so makes no difference. We are about to start week 3 of the holidays.

We finish at 12.25 every in Edinburgh schools

Don't many of the bigger employers also regularly finish at lunchtime on a Friday? I remember a friend having her wedding on a Fri pm because it wasn't an issue for work colleagues to attend.

Again, OP did not mention teachers. Why on earth you are all taking this as a personal attack is beyond me. Ridiculous.