Local schools shutting at lunchtime on Friday? And what do I do about childcare?

[WhiteWavingCat]

Is this common?

Seems the schools here are starting between 5 and 10 minutes earlier. Then the primary schools have cut lunch by 5 minutes and have no lunch break on Friday to then close at 1pm on Fridays. High School has cut morning break completely and lengthened lunchtime by 5 minutes (gone from 40 mins to 45 mins) but is still shutting at 1pm on Friday with no lunch break.
All bar one of these schools (6 in total) are academies, the none academy is religious and run by a local religious group.

Is this normal? And am IBU to think it’s ridiculous? Not just because it saves costs (I assume no meals on Fridays saves £££s) but the missed education. And what about the families who rely on Free School Meals? What happens to those children on Fridays?

Also we live in a town with several rural villages around who bus the children to schools in our town, surely the very young children (8 years and younger) can’t be left alone?

This actually worries me as I am single parent and my DD starts school in September. Her school only runs After School Club on Tuesday and Wednesday as it is, and my working days are Wednesday – Friday, I cannot change this as it works around her dad. But what the hell do I do with her on Fridays when I have no help? Her dad has her EOW Sat morn – Sun teatime but works 2-10pm Fridays, she’s currently at Nursery until 4.30pm Friday but they have all their spaces filled from September (which is understandable) and don’t run an after school club. Her dad will be having her Thursdays after school and her gps on her dads side will have her if she's ill and neither of us can but they're emergencies only.

My work cannot change my hours as I’ve had to change them this year once already. What the hell do I do? I have family nearby but they’re not reliable so I am literally stuck with giving up work or trying to find a job that will let me leave early Fridays which I don't want to do as I love my job and it saves my sanity at times

That sounds hard. Can you look into a local childminder?

Childminder

It is absolutely to save costs, because schools have no money and can’t staff/otherwise afford Friday afternoon. For example, a primary school could give all staff their PPA on a Friday afternoon, meaning they don’t need to pay another teacher/HLTA to cover the class. Lunch is probably a saving too.
Blame the Tories and austerity. Vote accordingly.

It’s annoying, but lots of people work weekends or evenings or nights, and they have to organise childcare. It’s not the responsibility of the school.

It’s not lack of school meals that saves money but not needing to pay for ppa cover, all teachers get it on a Friday afternoon, saves the schools thousands (plus heating/lighting).
Don’t vote Tory if you don’t want school budgets cut to the point that this happens.

It's getting more normal as budgets are getting squeezed it saves money on-
Staff and staff PPA
Heating/electric especially in winter
Catering costs

Lothian (Scotland) schools have done this for years, so not just a tory thing, kids get a pack lunch to takeaway if they are fsm

Good old Tories.

Speak to your friends, find one that voted Tory, thank them very much and ask them their advice.

Ours do this, historically (10 yrs ago, before my kids) the kids stayed at school and did sports activities but it's been cut and the school day finishes at 1230.

After school care is all that you can do.

Honestly think that if anyone made full school days 5 days a week an election pledge in my region they'd win by a landslide. Really don't see anyone who benefits, apart from the teachers and after school care providers.

I imagine the local childminders will offer care on Friday afternoons.

Which areas is this happening in?

Teachers don’t benefit - they still work Friday afternoons

Could you tweak your work pattern?

I think educationally it’s brilliant.

More free time for the early years, more down time and independent study time for older ones.

More time to pursue their own interests.

Unfortunately school isn’t childcare. I can see that it is tricky for working parents but school should be run according to the children’s interests and in the most viable way, not to accommodate work schedules.

@DroningOn The teachers don't benefit. They are still at work on a Friday afternoon, they use it as their prep time that would otherwise be covered over the rest of the week. This is happening because government funding is so poor, not to give teachers an early finish.

It’s not a Tory thing. Not everything can be blamed on them. My school
Did this when Labour was in control years ago.

Complain to as many people in authority as possible:
HT
Govs or equivalent
MP
DFE
Ofsted (using the inadequate safeguarding argument).

The whole of Edinburgh does this. You won't be the only person in your situation. Can you ask around? Or ask the school?

@Conks Are you denying that education funding on a per pupil basis has been considerably cut since 2010?

Guessing you're in Wales. Unless you want to donate massively to the school budget, YABU. School isn't a childminding service - you'll need to make alternative arrangements.

You suck it up. You change your job or hours. You use a childminder or after school club. Not much you can do about it. Kids cost money. It's tough, but you get used to it. My kids hate after school club, but no other option.

This website shows how much budgets are being cut for each school.

schoolcuts.org.uk/

Where we used to live did this too. All the school finished at noon on fridays, no lunchtime that day.
The school did have a big after school program and it was even bigger from noon on fridays to accomodate kids who needed from noon to normal finish time.
Saved a lot of money, it was that or less teachers and bigger class sizes.

All schools in Edinburgh / Lothians region do this and have done even since I was at school (about 30 years ago!)

Defo happened in West Lothian for years, never a tory thing there, apparently people manage...think it's batshit personally.

Not convinced by the saving money argument. I’m a school governor and chair of the finance committee and bloody fed up of hearing how the school has no money when they have a substantial budget but appear to find it easier to tell everyone they’re skint than to actually spend it.

Re the childcare though OP, what a pain. We would have problems with this too