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

I’ve never said there is no headteacher

You said that two headteachers of other schools were coming in to help. That means your school has no headteacher. Or is the deputy acting up and getting support from headteachers of other schools?

That’s quite a common arrangement when there is no permanent headteacher. 2 local headteachers seconded part time. We’ve also had temp headteachers for a term at a time. The LA have struggled massively to even get that arranged, to be fair to them.

The school is actually in quite a common situation, I’m surprised you can’t guess what it is

Ffs. The Tories have nade no secret to slashing public sector budgets. Why are people still surprised by this shit?

Meanwhile your local private school has their children in 8.30 until 4 five days a week and mornings on a saturday. Getting further and further ahead.

I am politically homeless atm as my local labour mp refuses to respond to any of my emails and seems to have no idea what a woman is. I honestly dont know what the solution is.

To be fair none of this Is related to this inability to spend their budget 🤣

My employer is letting parents who are affected by this work slightly longer Mon-Thurs and finish at lunchtime on Fridays, wherever this is operationally possible.

They are fantastic when it comes to being family-friendly. All employers could do with taking a leaf out of their book, tbh.

Our schools (Highland region) made this change recently. I don't know about other schools in the area but the one my daughters go to have set up after-school activities in arts and sports.

One of the senior schools I went to finished at 2:20 every day! We had two 20 minute breaks in the day too.

Passthecherrycoke - of course it's related to the inability to spend the budget. Nobody is taking long term responsibility for the school. Nobody is in the school for long enough to establish what infrastructure is needed. Everybody involved has their minds on their proper jobs elsewhere.

True but it’s been like that for as long as I can access records for. And it’s a culture for people to say they can’t afford things when firstly- they don’t actually know whether they can or not, because they don’t see the monthly management accounts- and secondly- they can!

We have this set up in Edinburgh but the difference is it's been going on for a very long time and as a result all the after school care providers cover Friday afternoons as standard. Lots of parents do compress hours to suit it but for those who can't care is mostly available.

That's clearly not the case for OP. And the whole school isn't childcare thing boils my piss - parents (especially single parents) are expected to work once their children are school age. They have to base their plans on their child being at school during normal school hours!

I don't think its asking much for school to be open till the same time each day. I get your frustration, OP.

@Passthecherrycoke
My oldest DC school (primary) is in a similar situation. I was quite shocked at the level of financial illiteracy of the board. I am not a governor, just volunteered to help them put things in order (and am qualified / experienced in finance).
The budget per class is actually not that different between a private prep and a state primary, there's absolutely no excuse for situations where teachers have to buy class materials and stationery with their own money.

Wow! Never heard of this happening in Wales or the counties bordering us.

Passthecherrycoke - all I can say is, that's not the culture in any of the schools I've worked in or been a governor of. I'm not surprised no HT is wanting the poison chalice of permanent headship at your school if its reputation for incompetence is so longstanding. I'm surprised the school hasn't been judged inadequate by Ofsted. That said, money for IT infrastructure cannot be spent on salaries for competent financial staff, or on recruiting a permanent headteacher, so I guess the safeguarding and teaching must be adequately competent, even if its financial management is dire and it hasn't invested in a spectacular upgrade of IT.

Agreed silvercuckoo!

walkaround- you’re making a lot of assumptions, as I’ve not said any of the things you suggest haven’t happened.

That is to say I am aware some teachers supplement resources from their own pockets but am totally unaware that some schools close on Friday afternoons. This must be a nightmare for parents who work full time

Passthecherrycoke - what assumptions have I made that are inaccurate? If the school had been judged inadequate, it would be in the process of being academised, but you said it was a LA school?

The childcare a full time working parent has for all the other days just applies to Fridays though too. So if you use a childminder, they collect them earlier on Fridays, same for after school clubs.

Literally everything I’ve said points to that being exactly the case 😭

I just had a look on the 'school cuts' website and it suprisingly showed funding has increased at my daughter's school. What would the reason for that be? All the other local schools have had big cuts

No it doesn't, Passthecherrycoke. LAs second headteachers from other LA schools when there is a gap between one head leaving and another being appointed - it doesn't have to be an inadequate school for LAs to do this, just a maintained school in need of extra support. An inadequate maintained school is supposed to be taken out of LA control, not left in its control.

It’s in LA control until it’s been matched with an academy chain