4 weeks of extra school in the summer

[noblegiraffe]

Justine Greening (former Ed sec you’ve probably forgotten) has asked that every child get a guaranteed 4 extra weeks of schooling over the summer.

Practicalities of this aside (imagine it is a fully funded army of well-trained, eager and willing tutors, fresh and full of energy rocking up to your kids’ school), do you want this for your children? When you saw the thread title were you ‘yes!’ or ‘god no!’?

Personally I want my kids spending the summer taking advantage of lower restrictions to visit people they haven’t seen since last summer and doing outdoor, fun activities. Education isn’t the only thing they have been missing out on.

However, I know that others are very worried about the missing education and may consider the summer better spent catching up.

YABU: I want 4 weeks of extra school in the summer holidays

YANBU: I want my kids to have the summer off to do other things

My year 10 dd is spending very long days in front of her laptop, doing lessons followed by lots of homework, including homework on weekends. She is working incredibly hard and I want her to have a complete break over the summer, and hopefully a holiday somewhere.

I’d also happily volunteer at the school doing whatever I can. I used to be a TA and am a volunteer there already in non covid times.

I think if they are back by Easter then they just should cancel the two weeks of Easter holidays. Obviously take Good Friday and Easter Monday of and then an extra week in the summer.

But the kids need a break from homeschooling. They haven’t been off school, they’ve been working. My primary school child does about 4.5 hours of lessons/work each day between 9 and 3. My secondary school child is logged in at 8.30 and works til 3.30, with 1 hr of breaks altogether. My year 12 is doing 18 hours of A level lessons each week. Then there’s homework on top. And you want them to not have a break at Easter? No chance.

@BelleSausage

They are already recruiting staff for this. But be warned before you get too excited- these are brand new tutoring companies (provenance unknown) who are actively recruiting retired teachers and NQTs. I’m not sure the quality is going to be quite the same as school provision.

The job ads are already up on TES. I’m not sure that is this is the solution parents are expecting. It won’t be your child’s normal teacher with a knowledge of their needs. It will be someone your kid has never met before who may or may not have any teaching experience and may not have taught in schools recently.

Wouldn’t this money be better pumped into schools to improve the quality of lockdown provision?

100% this.

That's the reality, I think. I can't imagine how else it will be structured.

I can think of a handful of teachers who would be willing to be contracted in for parts of the summer, but they are in the minority I think.

however the children will still view it as they have been t school while others are at home, so it will seem unfair to them as they are viewing it as a school day

My kids are at home but it’s still very much a school day. They’re logged in, sitting at their desks, doing schoolwork.

@MrsKoala

I’d also happily volunteer at the school doing whatever I can. I used to be a TA and am a volunteer there already in non covid times.

That's incredible @MrsKoala

I think if they are back by Easter then they just should cancel the two weeks of Easter holidays.

Not a chance. I work in a school and had my Easter holiday 'cancelled' last year due to covid, also the half terms. I also did loads of work over the summer. All of this was unpaid. I am still in school most days, working well over my contacted hours. Whether schools are fully open or not I will be spending my Easter holiday with my own children, who I feel I have neglected for the best part of a year.

@CisMyArse I don’t think so really. If they’d help my boys feel less shit I’d re-gravel the playground with my bare hands!

We are very lucky at our school that there are quite a few parents who already volunteer. I’d expect a lot who took up a non compulsory place for there struggling child would also be happy to volunteer themselves.

Not for us, no.
My ASD and Dyslexic Y11 has been SO badly let down.
4 more weeks before the end of this school year would be 4 more weeks of panic attacks so bad his Psychiatrist thought they were Epilepsy.
(we waited 6m for an assessment due to Covid, but it's not epilepsy, just 'Psychogenic Attacks' so bad they knock him off his feet and he spasms and cries out in pain).
4 weeks of some botched Govt window dressing will do nothing for the kids that REALLY need it (appreciate that my Ds is not typical but we are FSM and at a rough Academy with only 9 kids attending and NO live lessons and basically fuck all help from the school ever).
It will also just stress the kids that don't need it.
IMO all kids should be offered the choice of being awarded a C grade equivalent for GCSE or to take the exam if they feel they will achieve more. A Levels are much more complex a problem, clearly.

I would happily have an extra long Easter and a shorter summer holiday though.

This sounds good too. 4 wk easter holiday job done and 4 wk summer holiday, kids go back to school in August.

Extra tuition can take place over 2 the Easter holidays. Provided by 3rd party companies focusing on key subjects but delivered online.

@Appuskidu

Perhaps an army of volunteers from Us4Them could staff it-they do seem terribly worried about vulnerable children missing out on valuable learning.

{grin} Brilliant! It would be nice to see them trying to do teachers' jobs seeing as they seem to think we are all a bunch of lazy, useless wasters sitting at home on full pay doing nothing.

Easter holiday suggestion is not good either. Same with half terms etc.

Many Support staff have to work 12 days throughout the holidays. Many people have probably decided to tick these days off during the Easter holidays. And have probably got the ball rollling for getting child care sorted for then etc. If these become school days then when will our holiday days happen?

Absolutely. There are plenty of weekends to see family and friends.

No dd has been in school throughout as has the rest of her schoolmates (independent specialist) I want her, her friends and her teachers to have a relaxed summer hopefully enjoying all the things we haven't been able to do.

Whether schools are fully open or not I will be spending my Easter holiday with my own children, who I feel I have neglected for the best part of a year.

Completely agree with you. My kids teachers have gone above and beyond. I always thought they did a good job but I am so impressed by the level of teaching and commitment shown by them. As well as teaching, they’ve phoned to check how things are and have answered chat messages and emails into the evening from kids and parents about homework and other concerns. They tell the kids daily that they’re available to them if they need help or to talk during breaks and lunch. I’m sure many are homeschooling their own children on top of this. They need a break as much as the kids do.

@TwelvePaws I don’t disagree that they are, but they have home comforts of being warm and comfortable, I know they have the windows and doors open and children are sitting in the cold doing their work at school as they need the ventilation because of the virus, and they are following extremely strict guidelines at school with regards to the virus, I’m not saying home children are working any less harder, I’m just saying that for the children attending school it’s not at all fun for them.

For some children that 4 weeks could be super beneficial. Not every parent is finding that their children are doing well with home schooling. Some need that education setting! I for one know most of the parents around me who would be grateful for their kids to have that extra time.

I wouldn't want 4 extra weeks of "school" for my DC (primary and lower secondary) but I would definitely be all up for signing them up to 2 weeks of quality summer activity provision of the type where they got to do sports, drama, coding, art and all that stuff that isn't bloody literacy & maths.

Two weeks with their friends on school premises doing extra curricular things that are fun, educational without being "sit down and learn this" and make up for some of the softer social side of school that is so important for mental health.

I would personally rather Easter was cut to 1 week and summer cut to 3 or 4 weeks

Nope.

Summer is only 6 weeks as it is.

I'm not working it, I'm already in school every day.
And I'm not sending my kids in; they're doing their own school work every day.

Oh yes, please. I would love my DC to be able to do all the stuff they can't do at home, with their friends.

It won't happen, though.

Wobblywibblywoo

I agree. It’s just some people seem to think homeschooling = off school, so therefore they don’t need the Easter/Summer holidays. Yes, I’m glad my kids are home. They’re warm and we are all happy they are at home rather than school but they are working hard. My youngest 2 took themselves off to bed early last night as they said they ‘feel tired and have school tomorrow’. They definitely feel like they’re at school. A building doesn’t make school, the work does.
But yes, I feel for the kids at school if they’d rather be at home and can’t be. It’s a crap situation.

@NoSquirrels I completely agree with that idea.

Nope! My children have been working hard everyday with their remote learning. I’m not going to send them to school during the holidays. It’s like saying, sorry, you’ve had to miss seeing your friends and family for so long but let’s punish you as well! They love school but enjoy their breaks too.

Nope, not interested. Mine are in full-time online education right now, working extra on homework/projects, no way could we keep this up without holidays! I don't think they are massively behind either, the teachers are teaching intensively in terms of coverage.