To not want schools to give up summer holidays

[littleblackdress04]

Just read in papers that it’s been proposed that kids go back to school in July/ August

I think this is a rubbish idea - if it’s going to be that long then just let them have a ‘normal’ summer and go back in September.

Kids have been cooped up because of this- I’d want to take mine to the hills, go camping & let them have some freedom. Then start school in September. This isn’t a holiday for them - it’s a horrible stressful period of being cooped up & not being able to live their normal lives.

While school gives a structure and is important, so are proper periods of holiday.

I’m really against the idea but aibu? Be interested to hear other thoughts. I’ve not been particularly worried about the kids education- they will catch up in time and it will be fine

I would fully support with schools to give up summer holidays and maybe have longer half term / Christmas.
I do believe that once we are going back to work/ school, there will still be huge restrictions on travel and lots of advice on staying home where possible. So with schools working through summer, you cut out temptation and risk.
A lot of children currently are missing out on education and socialising with their friends. Postponing the summer holidays would be beneficial to those children.
Lastly, it would be a big boost to the economy, if working parents are actually working and not taking holidays because of childcare issues.

None of the selfless previous posters want to take up my idea of them giving up THEIR annual leave to work as free childcare in the open school building? I, and other teachers at my school, will happily give up some of our summer holiday on a rota basis to supervise you.......

I would fully support with schools to give up summer holidays

after months of lockdown? Hell no! People, mainly children here, need a HOLIDAY.

Now mental health would take a horrendous beating if you take kids straight from being stuck at home to lock them up at school. Who could possibly think it's a good idea.

DD is working from 8.45am to 3.15pm each school day - and more quite often. So no, I do not want them to go back before September. I'm hoping that we will be able to leave our houses by July, and even a few camping trips would be absolute heaven compared to what we're all going through now.

teaandajammydodger

Of course they don't, but after all teachers are just childcare.

The more threads that we have on this the more the idiots are shown for what they are.

Fuck off YLVAMoon.

Teaching staff have been working and will continue to work straight through until the summer holidays, whilst juggling our own families just like you. I'm not going to keep working through my summer holidays, which I'm not paid for, so you can get more work done. That's my break, and the school is too hot to be in in August anyway. July is bad enough.

@yvlamoon you are a prime candidate for my scheme idea of having parents give up their own annual leave to provide free childcare! Come on, if you expect teachers to do it then you should be willing to do it too!!!!

Got the tag wrong! @YLVAmoon

Also picked a few from the first few pages @Ladyinamask and @peoplepleaser1 I hope to see you signing up to work for free to provide childcare whilst giving up some of your annual leave. So selfless!

Schools will not go back during holidays - there is a timeframe by law for confirming school holidays so far in advance. Plus all teachers have been working at my school every day setting work, marking work etc and are entitled to their holidays. Also school staff such as TA’s, dinner ladies, support staff and admin are only paid term time and aren’t actually paid for the holidays so they will not work through them.

AprilFloundering & teaandajammydodger I don't think school is glorified child care but judging by the learning tasks my primary school DS has been set I fail to see the "poor hard working teachers" .
And I also wish you have read my whole comment, as I didn't suggest to deprive you or anyone else of their "hard earned holiday". I just wish there was set school holidays for the time when we are finally allowed to travel abroad again. Rather than being stuck a bit more at home with the kids as money will be tight. But then, some morons fail to see the bigger picture.

Whoever said no holiday needed after lockdown clearly isn’t working let alone a key worker
So sod off back to your fun activities and colour coded charts and spare a thought for those of us hanging on by a finger nail clinging to some light at end of tunnel not just same old as best case

No. This hasn’t just been one big holiday for most, if anyone - unless someone’s idea of a holiday really is just staying at home and going no where at all for weeks on end. Plenty of kids have been trying really hard at home carrying on with their learning. Also, there are still key worker children going into school - when do they get their holiday then?

4 weeks on, 2 off is the about the same amount off as now, so no extra cost for parents. just better distributed.
and apart from parents who can afford a sahp holiday means holiday clubs, so not exactly relaxation

@teaandajammydodger I don't want to out myself by my business has had to close as it's in a list of businesses not Allowed to trade. I went from being a limited company to a sole trader at exactly the wrong time so I'm given no help from the government.

Once I can work again I'm lucky to know I have a very successful business to go back to and I will be working every single hour and day that I possibly can.

Luckily we have saved hard and will be ok.

I am now using my company van to deliver food boxes, prescriptions and shopping to the vulnerable in my community. This is all organised by my local church. I've done it every day, including today and will be doing it again tomorrow.

DH has taken a 35% wage cut whilst 75% of his colleagues are furloughed (his salary was generous so the furlough limit would have had a huge impact). He has worked every day including weekends and this bank holiday in a desperate bid to keep the business afloat. Next week we had a holiday week booked but he will work through this and will feel glad to be earning anything at all.

So in my household one of us is working full time plus extra hours, weekends and holidays for reduced pay i.e a pay cut.

The other one is doing whatever she can to help, seven days a week for no pay.

I'm bowing out of this thread now. You've proved my instinct about teachers priorities 👍, what a shame.

btw, i don’t think anybody will get annual leave this summer. my husband and i (and everyone i know) know we won’t get any time of until december. our annual leave will just void. this year is about saving what can be saved, not about lazing on a beach.

4 weeks on, 2 off is the about the same amount off as now, so no extra cost for parents. just better distributed.

not better distributed at all!

You would focus the entire YEAR on school, instead of at least having a small summer break! My kids are happy at school, but still need a break. Pity the poor kids who actually hate school and are miserable there.

There must be a life out of school! Adults can always chose to quit a job, walk away from a relationship. Kids have no say, must go to school and have no way to even change theirs if the want. Leave them their summer holiday. They should be much longer already.

And lockdown is the opposite of a holiday.

@reluctantbrit

She said;
“She added: “It would be really valuable, if the scientific advice says they can, to have schools consider opening in some form over the summer holidays to help children learn and catch up but also to offer them a safe place to play and socialise with friends.“

She suggested we employed play, sport and youth workers. That, to me, suggested she was recognising they value that play and socialising was going to have. Has she been quoted elsewhere?

I’m not being an arse, Just wondering if she’s contradicted herself elsewhere.

Why do these always descend into teacher bashing? Teachers working patterns are very different to other peoples, if you want 13 weeks of fixed holidays, all to be taken when holidays are most expensive and a significant amount of them to be spent working, become a teacher, there's a huge retention issue in our industry and there will be a massive teacher shortage in the next few years.

Logistically it will be very difficult to open in the summer holiday, it will be expensive because support staff are paid by the hour.
The small businesses that normally provide holiday child care who have already missed out on Easter bookings would suffer. Lots of school staff have worked through Easter and fully expect to work over may too. Lots of headteachers in particular will have no real break from Feb to October if we open over summer holidays. I'd imagine the uk tourism sector would suffer too.

I'd expect lots of parents wouldn't want to send their kids in either, would they be fined?

I don't expect it will happen.

@peoplepleaser1
Please know, teachers didn’t cause this. Your business is suffering due to a global pandemic not because teachers are crap.

You can’t use this thread to determine all teacher’s priorities - you can’t goad hardworking people, slag them off and expect them to agree with you.

My work priorities are the children I teach, but like everyone, we’re allowed healthy boundaries between home and school.

When you bash and bash consistently, we will respond and defend.

@peoplepleaser1

Maybe those who are currently being paid a full salary (including my BIL who is a TA, neighbour who is a school dinner lady, and friend an admin assistant and school librarian) but are now sitting at home doing zero work could have their holiday bought forward to now and then work the usual summer holidays.

Aren’t all those furloughed also being paid to sit at home and do nothing, by the same people paying TA and dinner lady wages?? But they’ll still want their holiday entitlement later on in the year? So why should we forfeit our holiday entitlement - or should I say rather unpaid holiday? We’re not at home doing nothing either, we’re going into work, we’re teaching our own kids. Everyone is in the same boat but you expect some professions to compromise because others cba to educate their own kids/look after them for longer than necessary. This is by no means a holiday and it’s laughable that you should even suggest it is.

I would love a summer holiday, but my DS is in Y10 and is going to end up missing 5 months of GCSE teaching. I really appreciate his teachers sending him work to do, but he is expected to 'teach' himself. The teachers are answering e-mails and sending work, but he's still expected to teach himself things in maths and science that he has no idea about. I am having to pay for a tutor once a week at the moment.

I can't teach him the more complex maths that he needs to learn and I'm also still working full time.

It's all a bit of a mess and I have no idea what the best solution is.

You've proved my instinct about teachers priorities 👍, what a shame.

peoplepleaser1, with that, you have revealed such a deep-rooted underlying disdain for teachers. Your instinct, your innate feeling, has always been that none of them actually give a fuck? Really?!

Lucy The kids are going to miss one term + 2 weeks. That isn't 5 months of teaching. And anyway, they are being set work. it won't be so effective, shall we say 50%? So really if they go back in Sept it will be 6 weeks of teaching time lost. Which is the same ish for everyone (different resources and home conditions allowing.) I have a y10, it is going to be a strain, but no way do I want to go straight from lockdown to school Aug-Dec.

I haven't read all responses but can I please add that for schools to open in the summer the support staff, office staff, lunch staff and cleaners would also need to be in and paid. In schools locally these staff are caring for key workers' children alongside teachers, including through the Easter holidays, for which we are not paid (I am office staff). During the summer many of these staff have second jobs to make ends meet so will not be able to work in school for free.