To think we should do away entirely with school holidays?

[SkaPunkPrincess]

Just musing and wondering why we don't just do away with them entirely?

Run schools like a regular workplace in that they operate 52 weeks of the year, Teachers and students to get 4 weeks allocated holiday allowance per year and parents can use this at their discretion. Staff would be able to be more flexible and they would have more time in the year to teach children at a more realistic pace?

Am I missing why this isn't a genius idea?

As a teacher and a mum I think this is a bad idea! I both need and enjoy my holidays, as do my children, and I love that we spend them together. We are mostly in the private sector so get longer holidays too!
(Only bonus would be potential cheaper holidays abroad)

I’d love it, but then I’m a supply teacher. After almost 30 years as a class teacher, I decided to quit. So go ahead, ignore the exhaustion of the children, their emotional well-being and all the hidden stuff that they need to grow into secure and stable adults. The government would fill up the hours with curriculum subjects and boosters rather than yoga, lifeskills and forest school.
I’l just have the opportunity to work 52 weeks of the year. Or not, as I chose. No commitment to anyone else’s wellbeing except my own.

chickenowner for my son with Sen it removes much needed routine and as a child and parents we barely hang on.

Teachers get paid well around here

And so they bloody should, what with being in a graduate profession which requires a postgraduate qualification.

OP: it's an utterly dreadful idea, which the vast majority of posters ahve pointed out to you. it's not a better way of doing things, it's a recipe for utter disaster.

How would teachers be able to teach the whole class the same curriculum when with flexible holidays ewither one or more class members or the teacher themselves would be missing. They'd contantly be bringing people up to speed.

We can barely afford to keep schools open 9-3, 5 days a week on the current system. Our school is poorly funded, in one of the worst area for funding in the country - despite being in the SE - and if no further funding is given, it will have to close early 1 day a week becasue they can't afford to stay open. Longer hours would be impossible.

I could go on and on, but you appear so firmly entrenched in your own viewpoint that you're unlikely to listen.

Tomorrow

Have you spoken to your son's school about this? They may have suggestions on how some routine could be maintained during the run up to Christmas.

Obviously it needs funding

Wipes away tears of mirth...

In addition to the various excellent points made by teachers and parents above, in very rural communities secondary school children are working through the summer holidays - they’re doing the harvest! Obviously it seems a world away from city life but the summer holidays are still used for their original purpose out on arable farms where there’s wheat to combine and dry etc. Tractor licences are available from 14 and only apply if you want to drive on public roads anyway.

It would make more sense to have schools run more like real life

I like the idea that schools aren’t real life.

Teachers get paid well around here

You know that outside London teachers get paid the same across the uk.

Sounds bonkers to me. I’m a teacher & the holidays are necessary for both staff & students to recharge & avoid burn out. Also needed to get through endless workload including planning & marking etc.

I do agree with a PP though that they could be more evenly distributed. Personally, I’d love a week off after every 5 weeks. Pupils & staff are usually getting tired by then. It would also help with behaviour & workload - when you get to week 7/8 it’s knackering!

It's half term now.
We are on the beach (we live on the coast). My two primary school age children are currently running about on the sand, playing in the sea, having lots of fresh air, exercise, fun and building relationships with each other. If the weather holds. We will do this all
Week. I used to be a teacher and put massive importance on education but this, what they are doing now is a million times more important

The funding crisis in education is second only to the funding crisis in the NHS. Money is down to the bone. Experienced teachers are being replaced by NQTs, libraries are going, languages, drama, music, arts all being cut. In our local school the book budget is so bad that the staff get a textbook and the students get photocopies.

Your idea would break the already staggering system completely.

Well, given I suspect a teacher spends at least an hour working in their own time for every hour of class time, we'd better have school 9-1 only so techers can actually prepare all these lessons and "only" work an 8 hr day.

We did nearly half the school year (August to xmas) with one day off this year. It was shit.

I'd happily have longer half terms in the UK, but here (middle east) I'll stick with the longest summer possible. School runs in 40+ heat suck.

Sounds like a great idea for working parents. It's really hard to cover holidays and it's very expensive.
I personally love the holidays. My family live in Mexico and The US so I can pack up and go.
I'll be really unhappy if school was all year round.
Children get tired and need to be free to be kids.

You have clearly never worked in a school OP or you would know this idea is totally unworkable. It would be impossible for teachers to deliver lessons and ensure each child made progress if everyone had holidays at different times.

Why would you even bother having children then if they were open all year round? Genuine question. Sure you wouldn’t see them from age 4-18, no need to raise them really, sure the school will do that for you.

I’ve just done some maths and if I got paid for the days I am currently unpaid then it would come to about an extra £6k.

Fucking shit idea. I'd quit teaching and home educate my kids

Just because your children love school, doesn’t mean all the other children in the country do too. I can’t think of anything more depressing for a child than going to school the best part of 52 weeks of the year, which is what it would be for some.

Are you the ice queen from Narnia? Always winter but never Christmas.

OP, you say your children love school. Do they dislike the holidays?

What is wrong with all your children that they are all so exhausted by being in school

Alternatively we could have the children in school in the morning and reopen the pits so they can work there in the afternoons for free. Great work skills training.

It doesn't matter what lovely fluffy games and artsy stuff you want to fill the extra weeks with- it still needs to be staffed. And you would need to pay those staff extra for all the extra weeks they'd be working.

It would be impossible to organise carching up all the kids who'd missed different bits of the curriculum. Teachers taking holidays whenever they like would be a total nightmare. There's little enough consistency already, what with teachers quitting in their thousands. This would not improve matters .

I don't think you're a troll, OP. But I think it's a stupid idea that wouldn't work, and you haven't countered any of the objections so far.

Clearly this ridiculous idea doesn’t go far enough. As well as opening schools every weekday (including Christmas Day), we need to think about people who work at the weekends. So clearly schools need to open 365 days a year. And then there is the issue that 9-3ish doesn’t cover a working day. Indeed 9-5 won’t cover a parent’s working day, so they’ll need to be open 7-7 every single day. But, lots of people work shifts so clearly schools should be open 24 hours a day every day. Basically we could replace the school system with some kind of dystopian compulsory state homes, possibly even from birth.

Parents will definitely save money on childcare and holidays so what could possibly be wrong with that idea?