Scottish school return 11 Aug

[TheGlaikitRambler]

How do those in Scotland feel about the plan for Scottish schools to return on 11th Aug part-time only?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-52745643

doesn't that just mean that schools definitively won't reopen before 11th August?

Loopy I have the same problem as H and I both work out the home, but we will need to juggle it somehow.

A TES journalist just tweeted this

@peajotter our nursery is due to open on the same day as school but with a bit of a variation in the hours than initially planned and only some kids are getting the 30 - others will still have a morning or afternoon place however we don't yet know when they can start full time and how things will look at the start when distancing is necessary. Looks likely it will be similar part time reduced size classes

I also saw on the BBC new website that "teachers will go back to work in June".......what does that mean?

We are due to go on holiday on July 3rd to August 17th (Aberdeen City) - so if we have to start a week earlier we'll need to go off a week earlier...

I've got three DCs, I hope they are all I'm at the same time or else working will be hard - or I'll have to fork out my entire wage for after school club!

I had no idea Scottish schools went back in mid August! That sounds awful, going back in mid-summer I know Scotland is a cooler climate, but surely that’s still the height of summer and some areas could be experiencing very high temperatures? And what if you want to go on holiday at the end of August?
Mine finish on early July (I think it’s 3rd or the 5th this year) and they go back on 4th Sept or thereabouts. I will be livid if they start talking about them going back in mid- August!

The heat in August really isn’t an issue.

If we have to go back, what would be a week earlier in August, I hope we will finish on June 26th

Not really @hablar we tend to get any sunshine before the school break up, like now. - by August it's usually cold and windy

ds is due to go back 19th August, if he is a week early I'm ok with that, or if it is "from 11th", ok too. Part school and part distance I'm ok with if safe and teaching can also be done effectively.

It is a plan for mid August which will be reviewed nearer the time, I'm sure if we are in the middle of a second peak or it is not deemed safe then it will be reviewed.

Obviously that is me speaking as a parent. Appreciate teachers will have very different challenges around this.

The other main concern for me is how are children going to catch up with missed work/time, especially those due for exams next year where education experiences during lock down, due to many challenging factors, will have been very different.

It's just something you get used to. I used to teach in England and hated working on till the middle of July.

hablar
to be honest, even England would be better off starting summer holiday mid-June until mid-August. Kids miss out on the best part of the summer and tend to be stuck in class on the hottest days.

Our MSP is going to check if our area will go back on the 11th or the 18th. I'm happy about that but not about them going back part time. I don't know how I'll be able to go to work. My parents usually has my son after school.

You can get pretty good holiday deals if you're willing to fly from Manchester during the Scottish school holidays. Holidays in England are cheaper too. I dread to think how much more it would cost if the whole of the UK went on holiday at the same time.

And what if you want to go on holiday at the end of August?

Then we'd have to take dc out of school the same as if we wanted to go on holiday at the end of May or the end of September. Otherwise you just plan holidays within the school time off. Personally I prefer going earlier when things are a bit quieter . That's a long summer holiday though, 9 weeks? Is that a state school?

Not really shocking news, they’ve been saying all along that faint hopes for any resumption before end of the summer holidays and given the distancing and lack of vaccine, part time always seemed likely.

I'm a single parent, haven't stopped working during lockdown and I work full time. I worry about supporting DS if we have to do half of his schooling from home - I don't expect his childminer will manage to help all of her charges with schoolwork when they are all at different stages and she will have wee ones around as well.

We are managing just now but I'm worried about him learning this way longer term.

We don't have a problem with it, we both work from normally and our youngest is 15 so able to amuse herself and work remotely on her school work. Her school were given ipads just before the lockdown so are well prepared for working online. She gets bullied as well so returning on a part time basis has made the poor little thing very happy. God only knows when my eldest will start her uni course or if she will be taught remotely.

doesn't that just mean that schools definitively won't reopen before 11th August?

This was never on the cards in Scotland. Summer holidays start end June.

Well it wouldn’t surprise me at all now if BJ et al start talking about schools in England going back in mid - August, but I hope not because that will not work for us. It’s usually stifling in London at that time of year and the thought of them all traipsing in their school shoes and Autumn uniform is too much. Plus, people often leave London for the month because August is too sticky and the polllution is not great. Are they meant to come back early? No, I don’t think so. I have a year 10 and a Year 12, plus two younger ones and they’ve all been working very hard on home learning. They need a full break before next year resumes because they have mocks, uni applications / interviews and it will be stressful enough.

My understanding was that all schools would go back on 11th Aug as a standardised date. With teachers going back in June, some of us have been anyway and will have to continue through the holidays as it looks like keyworker and vulnerable children will still be provided for over the holidays.

I wonder if there will be a gap in the market for 'homeschool minders' to be set up. Similar to childminders but day provision for school age children to do their home learning. I honestly can't see most working parents being able to sustain the part time school model long term without giving up work.

I don’t see why English schools would go back in August, Scotland and England have many different holiday dates that differ.