to want some of the last week of term to be used for .. oh I don't know ... education?

[HedTwigg]

fun day all day
trip all day
in-class movies
party all half day of last day

what happened to partying on the last day only

curmudgeon

YABU, fgs, it's only a week. They're children. Once they start working it's 4/5 weeks a year off, tops. Until sixty bloody five.

I had a bit of a rant about this on the end of year questionnaire a couple of years ago when DD1 left first school (yr4). I had felt that there was very little work done after May half term! It was almost as though the school thought that all tests etc had been done and they didn't have to do any more. I was also a bit aggrieved because the school has a very strict policy on term time holidays. I think they did take some notice and I felt the situation was better by the time DD2 reached yr4. So IMO YANBU.

I don't mind at all (mine are only in reception) but I do mind them still being expected to do schoolwork at home, and also being asked to keep a 'holiday diary'.

stop grumbling. It's the hols now, is it not?

No work or homework last week here. Lots of fun activities, learning through play, social skills, team work, etc. being covered though. I like it. Shows children that school isn't just about formal learning only.

No summer homework here. Just asked to keep them reading (only recpetion oso practise regularly important). DD has also chosen to keep a small diary about her holiday to France - have a book where she can write a sentence and then draw a picture each day. And she has been doing pretend schools with her dolls, etc. involving maths and literacy stuff. She's only been off a week, I think she is mising school already, lol!

You are being a bit unreasonable imo, I can understand where you're coming from but kids look forward to this the whole year, taking in toys, getting sweets and special assemblies/activities off the teachers etc No homework! fab.

I have loads of fond memories of the end of term, it was great. In my eyes, good memories are equally as important as education. And anyway, poor little sods aren't getting much of a summer this year with all the rain.

good education gives good memories

learning something fascinating, like how volcanoes work, is fabulously entertaining

an entire week of jollities and cake is just uneccessary .. I do not want my children to enjoy school because at the end of the last term there happens to be a week where the teachers don't actually teach

Bah Humbug Twig

i agree. my twins are 14. mon tue was lessons. wednesday my daughter didn't hve any lessons becuase she was practicing for an end of term play - which she performed in the afternoon - to the school - thurs - was 50's day general videos etc in every class - no learning. fri was half day.

i agree with twigg its a bollock full of arse that it takes best part of a chuffing week to wind things down.

YANBU - especially since they still object to you taking them out of school for an eye opening holiday or educational trip of your own

ban end of term plays, I say

fun and trip day are educational depending on activities and it depends on the movie - my languages teacher friend has been showing french films my reception class ds1 Robin hooh which has been their topic. i also think celebrating achievement is very important. schools take our children off our hands for a very long time - perhaps a little gratitude?

schools take our children off our hands for a very long time

(they do a job which they get paid for) - no one is ranting at teachers - just the policies at end of term!

I am extremely grateful to teachers individually for doing a wonderful job but just think it gets ridiculous towards the end of term - mine watched 2 films back to back at school the other day, they certainly weren't educational in my book and it wasn't even in the last week.

I dont mind that in the words of DD1 (aged 5) 'we did no work ALL WEEK' but I do think its a bit rich that head teacher stood up at introductory chat and gave lecture about taking time off in school term even when it is the last week of term etc etc so we didnt then find out they did bugger all all week.

mine aren't in school yet, but that sounds pretty unreasonable (the school not you Twig) to me. The last day - ok, but a whole week - no.

ahh Custy .. eloquent as ever "its a bollock full of arse that it takes best part of a chuffing week to wind things down. "

Shrek and Madagascar

hmm? educational?

well possibly

The "fun things at the end of term help the kids to learn better in the long run as they foster better relationships with the teachers. They begin to see them as people rather than robots. If we can get the kids to enjoy certain things at school it often helps them to like it better. I also agree achievement should be celebrated.
Also even though teachers may not be teaching - they are organising the other activities - speeking from experience this is harder work than the teaching.
These extra curricular activities are what we all renemeber from our childhood not what happened in our ordinary everyday French lessons.

OH BOLLOCKS MICHIE ooops sorry caps

but absolute crock of shite .. building and cementing relationships? .. with children who are leaving your class? ... wrong end of the piggin' year for that excuse isn't it

In Reception I did not dare to take Ds out of school in term. This year his YR1 teacher confirmed to me that they would be doing bugger all. So I took him to Nerja, where he learnt to swim.

I think it's probably more to do with the children being exhausted and hyper at the end of the summer term. I couldn't get to listen at hone so lordy knows what they were like at school. Multiply that by 30 and I can quite see why teachers might have opted for the odd video/wordsearches/sports day etc.

Kids spend about 7 hours at school a day! This is a lot of education - our exam results are going up all the time - we must be doing something right. Kids are under a lot of pressure as it is - I don't believe that a weeks fun at the end of term does them any harm.
I worked in a tough inner city school and I know that the extra curricular stuff at the end of term meant a lot to a lot of kids. Some of them never got to go anywhere during the holidays and the school trips where very important to them.

Incidently - I am talking about secondary school here - have no experience of primary. So I am going to see these kids for at least 5 years. So Ya Boo to You.