School will be closed at lunchtime one day a week from Sept

[Ilovecranberries]

The school (primary) had just informed the parents that they will be closing at lunchtime on one day a week from September to facilitate "planning".
I don't even know what to say. AIBU to think it is ridiculous? I am a single working parent, not sure how I am supposed to work around this. Extra childcare for these 3.5 hours at the local childminders rates will be £56 a week (two children here). Or two grand a year post tax. I probably will be told I am BU (I probably am), just very anxious right now.

@mummagiles, I was just going to suggest the same thing.
I wonder if working from home on a Friday would be possible?

Yet their drive to educate the children and get them back was forceful and contrasted with the state school very obviously

There’s no doubt the main drivers are different. Private needs happy parents for fees and will close otherwise. State has in some cases delivered to LCD to ensure all included. It’s crap but September hopefully that is over.

* State education isn’t fit for purpose any more.*

Absolute hyperbole

Think this happens in Edinburgh on a Friday- closes at 1pm. Dont know what working parents do tbh

After school clubs, childminders, flexible working, grandparents. The same thing they do in holidays etc. It really isn't a problem generally.

As I teacher, I would hate to work at your children’s school @Orangeblossom78. PPA once a fortnight even for a whole day would be hideous.

As for another poster moaning that the teachers in her child’s state school “didn’t want to come back”- you have absolutely no idea of their individual circumstances!

@Ilovecranberries just wanted to say I really empathise. My sons primary is currently planning to go back 2 days a week in September and haven’t confirmed if wraparound care will be available. We were better off in lockdown, at least he had a key worker space! I can’t even think about it without getting panicky so I’m just trying to pretend it’s not happening until the middle of August and hope things change. I hope it’s at least temporary for you

@Atadaddicted

* State education isn’t fit for purpose any more.*

Absolute hyperbole

I actually think this is pretty true. If we take the view that school is actually for educating children; then it’s pretty much bullshit. Funding cuts, cuts to SEN provision, over sized classes etc etc means teaching has become more like herding children through a very narrow gap with little thought for what would be a good way to educate. NOT teachers fault and obviously there are excellent teachers and excellent schools, but I would argue they are excellent DESPITE government limitations.

As has become apparent since March, schools are basically mass childcare. It’s fine to need childcare, but don’t dress state schools up as being anything but that really.

Again, this is not an attack on teachers, I was a good one, I know many good ones, it’s an attack on the system they have to work in and the society that facilitates that.

Need that’s so bad, but I thought all schools had to go back full time from September - how are they getting round latest government instruction?

I'm not in the UK, and where I live all schools (primary and secondary) close on Wednesdays at noon. It's so the teachers can have meetings, training, planning sessions etc. kids here also get more homework so out gives them extra time for that.

However, there is affordable childcare available (big discounts for those on lower incomes I believe) and kids are bused over straight from school to the childcare location. Employers are also more flexible over this as they know it's something everyone with kids has to deal with, and a lot of clubs/sports activities run on Wednesday afternoons.

For them to just throw this on you OP is not on, and I feel for you. Yes, school's primary function is not childcare, but i've heard about the high cost of childcare in the UK from friends and relatives and I don't know how some families are expected to cope.

I also understand that it must be hard for teachers, especially in these times, and I don't lay the blame on them. Like a PP mentioned further up, the goverment should be doing more to support schools and working parents.

When in a previous life I used to spend a lot of time in the pub on a Friday afternoon in Scotland, the pubs were stowed out with office workers. So I think a lot of people managed to finish early on a Friday, not only some schools.

After school clubs, childminders, flexible working, grandparents. The same thing they do in holidays etc. It really isn't a problem generally.

But only if you are in a position to do that- after schools clubs and childminders cost a lot of money so are only viable if you earn a decent amount. Flexible working requires usually an upper level job and time to flex it into, which doesn’t happen if you are bookend by school. Having grandparents who are local, able and willing to look after their grandchildren on a regular basis is a privilege.

Schools have to give teachers timetabled planning time every week by law. Maybe they are struggling to juggle cover of all children with current safety guidelines in place and can only assure planning time this way?

Are they extending after school club provision for that day?

School is for education, not childcare - lots of people seem to forget that

I HATE this line - it is just disgusting shaming of working families. Children are required by LAW to be in school in normal times - so funnily enough parents do in fact rely on school as part of their childcare plans during term time. This is how we have organised our society - if people don't think working parents should rely on school what on earth do they suggest/?

That we have nannies on standby every day just in case they are needed?

The reality is that we are now seeing working parents made to feel ashamed and guilty for 'needing' that care - it's all about 'homeschool' - people who have jobs to do cannot homeschool their children, they need childcare.
If school can't open - fine- but the govt needs to replce the childcare or enable people to offer it cheaply and in groups.

If schools can't open fulltime churches/ community centres need to be opened and run holiday style childcare/ sport/ music and art to keep kids busy happy and exercising. It's better they are fit healthy and socialising than sitting at home while their parents are on phonecalls/ working all day.

Some schools won't have given details of their plans for September yet as more Government guidance is expected in August. So even if schools have outlined their plans, they may be subject to change.

A number of schools pre COVID had started to shut for one afternoon so teachers could all do their PPA at the same time. This is a cost cutting exercise, so schools doing it now will probably be a mixture of helping keeping the bubbles separate and also saving costs.

Schools have not been given any additional funding at the moment for COVID. Guidelines for September state that no additional funding will be given for any plans the schools come up with. Schools already had stretched budgets, this is just killing schools. The schools I am a governor for are having to make staff cuts, including teachers. This is a horrible time to be in education.

Some of the recent big funding announcements for schools have been accompanied with other funding being cut (funnily enough this doesn't seem to make the headlines and isn't announced with a big fanfare). So most schools won't be better off and in fact many will be worse off.

School is for education, not childcare - lots of people seem to forget that

People need to engage their brain before writing this.

@MarshaBradyo I’m in NI and the guidance is different - according to the executive, “The Department has asked that there will be a minimum 40% face-to-face teaching time within primary schools and a minimum 50% face-to-face teaching time within post-primary schools with the balance provided through blended learning.”

From talking to other parents, it seems the only schools doing more than the minimum are either very small country schools, or private schools.

They Were on Furlough when the school was closed

I worked at a private school (just finished - forever, yeah!) and we did online lessons from day 6 of lockdown. Full timetable. All recorded so kids unable to access at the correct time could access when it suited them. Full expectation that work was completed. All,our exam students are where we would normally expect them to be. No furlough.

I don't think you are being unreasonable at all OP. It's really annoying. And for all those people who say "school isn't childcare" well actually, because kids HAVE to go to school, it HAS to be child care - I cannot choose to take my kids out of school and have them in a childcare setting all of the time without some educational provision.

It isn't the fault of the school though, but the government for under resourcing schools and forcing them to make difficult decisions such as this one.

School is for education, not childcare - lots of people seem to forget that

Apparently the government also, as the benefits system reflects expectation that parents work when children are at school.

I've never seen a single poster who's said this without an underlying belief that one parent (realistically a mother) should at all times be ready and able to put their life and career on hold, paying the rent bedamned. The alternative is what, we all pay for full hours with a childminder on the off chance there's a global pandemic?

OP I think your childminder is very expensive. I switched from childminder to the school's clubs and couldn't believe how much cheaper it was. There are other groups offering childcare in places like church halls - they were dearer than the school club but still cheaper than the childminder. I've never done it but a neighbour paid a uni student to walk dc to and from school and stay with them.

OP, I would start planning your Friday after-school childcare NOW. All other parents will be in the same boat and childcare places will get filled up quickly.

It's not just Edinburgh in Scotland. A lot of areas finish at lunchtime on Friday. It is what it is. My DD has her swimming lesson after school on a Friday.

As has become apparent since March, schools are basically mass childcare. It’s fine to need childcare, but don’t dress state schools up as being anything but that really.

Are you sure you were such a good teacher? My DCs teachers have managed to teach them loads, despite large classes etc, one with SEN and one who is neurotypical but apparently allergic to sitting down for more than 2 minutes in a row.

Absolutely, they need and deserve more funding, but to dismiss the current state of schooling as 'childcare' is massively unfair to the great work being done - and also massively ignores how poorly many children of the UK have fared while we as parents have been responsible for home education.

*OP I think your childminder is very expensive.
They were £7 / hour for after school hours (£6.50 for full time pre-school), now upped to £8 from September due to the compliance cost with all the new guidance. It seems more or less the going rate here. There are some cheaper community creches and playschemes (at least there were before the lockdown), but the problem is that someone has to collect from school and drop off.

This is currently happening at my school for the key worker/vulnerable childcare. Its the only way to fit in PPA time (which is mandatory for teachers) without breaking the bubbles.

I will return to work teaching in September and PPA (and other) cover is my normal role - I spend around half a day in each of the 9 classes each week. We are currently figuring out the safest lowest risk to enable this, particularly as I am clinically vulnerable as are some of or children.

We are hoping to get around it to enable all children to be back in all time but I can see why some schools may need to go down this road.

Having a whole system built around early finish time is different to what the op is describing. Luckily the op has secured the child care but with this short notice and lack of system it’s harder.

Especially another poster who said the school does it on different days. That’s like throwing brick bats at working women to see how much they can take before they lose it.