To think that closing schools for x weeks shows that a week of term time holiday was never that damaging?

[Hollyhead]

So many teachers seem to now be saying ‘don’t stress about the work set, spend time together, learn skills’ etc. Yet it’s not so long ago that it was being touted that taking a week off was consigning children to educational destruction. AIBU to think the argument is now lost and that actually for children who otherwise have good attendance a week off at a non key point of the year makes not one jot of difference to their overall education?

senseless

I agree, and this inflexibility has affected us way up the scale even to phe, the NHS everything. We are too inflexible.
Does this come front childhood where we somehow dc have to have their '' tea '' at precisely 5.45. Bath and bed. Precisely.
Everything done the same, all. The. Time?

On continent they are far more relaxed!

As a teacher it is quite disruptive to the overall class. I had a boy who every year would come back from Summer holidays then immediately have 2 weeks off then around Easter would do the same, that’s 4 weeks or 10% of school he’s missed out on. That’s an awful lot.

I also had a wee girl who never did a full week was always off for something a lot if it was visiting family down South. It’s frustrating as a teacher as she was so far behind just because she missed so much.

Multiply that by 30 odds and you see the problem?

@1Morewineplease - I can understand the parents being angry at their child being put with the SEN kids because of one week off school. There is no need for that at all. Sounds like a step aimed to punish children who have been on holiday based on dogma.

It certainly hasn’t happened to my dds who remain in their top group without any problems at all. I taught youngest to add double digit numbers in about 5 minutes myself. Less able children will need things gone over again anyway.

The current draconian approach is ott. I’ve heard of families having drs note demanded for short illnesses. No one should be fined for taking their child on a weeks holiday. More flexibility is needed.

@SallyLovesCheese - the teacher is going back over stuff dds are already competent at with the whole class. If no one needed that, the teacher could be teaching something else dd actually needs.

@SenselessUbiquity - I totally agree. I am autistic and while I like routine, I am a night owl. So are both dds who have the latest bedtime in their class. I think we are too rigid about things.

What a ridiculous statement to make. Think things through before posting drivel

Sounds like a step aimed to punish children who have been on holiday based on dogma.

More like they need a little adult support to catch up when they come back, but those children with SEN will always need support. What should the teacher do? Take away the SEN support just because there's a child who went on holiday and needs to be caught up?

the teacher is going back over stuff dds are already competent at with the whole class. If no one needed that, the teacher could be teaching something else dd actually needs.

There's a lot of repetition and consideration at primary level. How do you know your children aren't being given mastery level work if they are already competent in a skill? Have you spoken to the teacher about it, or are you just going on what your children are telling you?

Sounds like a step aimed to punish children who have been on holiday based on dogma.

More like they need a little adult support to catch up when they come back, but those children with SEN will always need support. What should the teacher do? Take away the SEN support just because there's a child who went on holiday and needs to be caught up?

the teacher is going back over stuff dds are already competent at with the whole class. If no one needed that, the teacher could be teaching something else dd actually needs.

There's a lot of repetition and consideration at primary level. How do you know your children aren't being given mastery level work if they are already competent in a skill? Have you spoken to the teacher about it, or are you just going on what your children are telling you?

*repetition and consolidation

No one should be fined for taking their child on a weeks holiday. More flexibility is needed.

Just out of curiosity, would you also be in favour of teachers being allowed to take term-time holiday? (And then they would have a week during the summer when they had to be in school for training or planning time or something, not an extra week of holiday.)

I’m back, I’m willing to accept that I was 80% unreasonable if that cheers any of you up!

For the record I never once said that I didn’t think this extended break wouldn’t make any difference. To be honest I think it’s very concerning for children who either find learning hard or for those with parents who cannot effectively hone school for whatever reason. There will be a small group of children going back significantly ahead and having had learning opportunities of a lifetime and a larger group who will have gone backwards.

I still hold my view which I didn’t previously outline that a week off in the last half term of the academic year for DC with otherwise full or high attendance is unlikely to do significant harm. However, I can see that lots of parents are more stupid and take DC out at key points of the year. It will probably fuck some of you off to know that I always do this and not even for financial reasons but because I prefer to holiday when it’s quieter. It works for our family and our school are pretty relaxed about term time holidays.

You’re not wrong that a week off in the last half term of the year isn’t going to do any harm, of course it won’t.

It’s often sad for children that go away at the end of the school year though, as they end up having nothing to do while everyone else is rehearsing for the end of year performance and the miss out on being in it, and all the other fun stuff that happens in school at the end of the year. It’s not going to do any damage for them to miss those things, but it is a shame, and I’ve often seen children sad about it despite knowing that they’re getting a fabulous holiday. Their parents aren’t there to see any of that so tend not to care.

For those people that want a little flexibility, I can understand that when you’re a parent that ensures their child reads regularly, practices their tables, does the homework etc. But schools can’t have one rule for the parents that engage with their children’s education and those who don’t. We can’t have one rule for high ability children and another for the low ability children who really do need every day of school they can get. So this is the way it has to be.

@SallyLovesCheese no one was making the comparison of home schooling and classroom learning. If you read what I wrote I said OP is correct that whatever is missed can be caught up easily however in the context of classroom learning this isn't the case and they can't simply catch up as the teacher will struggle to balance it all..

Yeah if you do it in the last half term of the year it makes no odds and the teacher won't care at all, if I wasn't a teacher that's 100% when I would choose to holiday. The ones taking kids out in September or losing weeks in may/early june are the ones causing more of an issue although I do get why people do it. My sister takes her kids away in September every year and they've been to Mexico and the Maldives for the same price as we pay for 10 days in Spain

It is damaging for vulnerable children, children whose parents couldnt care less about them, the children who get their meals from school

I disagree that all children are in the same boat now schools are closed. They are in vastly different vessels, some will be in luxury yachts and others clinging to scrap of cardboard. Never has the educational divide been greater. I think there is far less harm in the odd week off school than the damage that will potentially be caused to some by lockdown.

Children who do no active learning during the summer holidays are always behind their peers who perhaps visited enriching places over the holiday, still read, maybe still did workbooks etc.

Children who are currently sitting around on games or just playing outside all day and doing zero work WILL be behind their peers who are still doing some work. It’s just a fact really.

I do kind of understand what you are saying. In fact in the last couple of weeks my 6 year olds reading and writing has actually come on dramatically as ive been furloughed and have had time to do lots of one on one with him. Made me realise if I did take him out for couple of days and did an hour or so a day he certainly wouldn’t fall behind. We’ve had lots of work set by teacher on google classrooms and managed to complete it all in an hour / an hour and a half a day