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

Well I hope they’ve got plenty of tutors at hand ready to roll this out because teachers:

1. Are not contracted to work in the holidays (they are not technically ‘holidays’ but non-contractual days);
2. The vast majority of teachers have been working their arses off since the return in September and got into gear with online delivery systems and need a break; and,
3. Children need a break too.

3.

I also can't see how it would work for kids with SEN so would be likely be exclusionary and discriminatory.

No thanks. My DC are still quite young (oldest is Y3, youngest is toddler) so they haven't really missed anything vital at school that 4 weeks of summer school would cover. The only thing is social skills but they can practice those elsewhere.

I’m currently working everyday live, (have volunteered through all the hols thus far and have worked in summer schools before, both organising and teaching). I’m part time 80% and am working Sundays and Mondays to prep lesson material, mark etc. I’m also going to school on a rota (currently travelling to supervise 15mins worth of breaktime for keyworker kids). That’s my week.

I am not paid for the holidays. I’m not claiming I’m anything special. Most of my colleagues are doing exactly the same as me. I know that some in other schools are not; I know some provision is patchy; and I know that kids are suffering.

How would summer schools provide differentiated, high quality teaching? How would the curriculum be monitored? I teach 11-16 year olds and have 5 classes, with a high degree of need and ta support in some. There are also fsm kids in there so would need feeding etc. The whole school support staff would have to agree to come in. They don’t get paid for the hols either.

I paid for craft materials, devised fun activities and teaching materials for the last two hols that we worked - one kid turned up and his parents were both at home furloughed and his older brother was sleeping in so didn’t bother coming in.

I love working with the kids and fortunately have had some exceptional conversations with parents about the lessons, which are the only thing stopping me resigning at the moment, along with most of my colleagues. If I could think of something else that could pay for my kids uni living costs that I’m supporting, then I would do that. I am not working a shortened holiday and in my dept meeting, that feeling was unanimous.

Never going to happen in the form people are imagining it. Totally impossible to deliver.

There could well be some funding for schools to spend..... it same thing at all.

It would help with childcare issues over the summer but that's not what it's supposed to be for.

Personally can not see it happening. But just in case it did no my child wouldn’t be attending he shall be having play dates with his friends. Hopefully he shall be having a summer of fun!

No thanks for my child! Though she is coping even though academically low, potentially SEND

Though I have a feeling parents would use it as free childcare during the summer holidays. Or it would be the pushy parents sending their more able children rather than the lower and the vulnerable who need it.

Can't see it working for those that need it. Money in schools for staffing, resources, interventions, mental health would give better outcomes.

If this happens (and tbh I doubt it ), it will be a scheme that allows a party donor to make £££ out of something that schools and local organizations could spend more wisely.

Did the extra tuition happen? Did the summer 2020 catch-up program happen?

I think if it was using the school buildings for a variety of clubs (which the providors of will have lost a lot of money this year as not able to run) it would solve some of the staffing issues and provide kids with somewhere to go and be social (but still within 'school bubbles') and have some fun.
So
Football/Netball other sports etc
Bushcraft skills
Art club
Language clubs
Coding/Minecraft
Bouncy Castles

etc etc

Would work well for primary school. Younger kids learn through play and such activities anyway

Secondary would be more difficult but maybe a raft of acitivites they could pick and choose from like activities week

Yes absolutely

I am a TA and my holiday accrued is written into my contract as summer holiday so I won't be in then unless they pay me double, but thanks for making school staff look like the bad guys for not wanting to lose our mandated vacation days. Even the NHS is doing buybacks and carryovers, but will education be able to afford that? Heck no!

God no! We are already limping to whey schools reopen. It's a daily struggle and dd has switched off from learning as I have from teaching. I want my dcs to have some freedom to play and be children. They will be doing nothing during the summer. However, they are both able and are where they should be educationally. Lockdown hasn't effected their education too much. But if my dcs were behind and struggling I might feel differently.

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.

It does make sense if as PP said, if they change the term time around and have less summer holiday but have longer winter holidays instead.

Otherwise, I don't know. If it was made mandatory, then no choice, but if not, those who really need it may not turn up. Making up more gaps between children. And who's teaching anyway? Are they trying to sacrifice teachers/TAs/school staff? I can't see that happening.

@yomellamoHelly

So there are some kids who will not engage with online learning...

But these are also the kids who won't turn up / benefit from spending their summer holiday in a classroom. And it punishes those who have worked hard from home. Don't know what the answer is, but this isn't it.

This is not true ime. There are many kids who cannot engage at home but do so in a learning environment. They also require different resources and teaching styles which are available at school but not on zoom calls or from their parents. It’s a bit of a stereotype to imagine they are struggling because parents are not teaching them or that the parents wouldn’t care enough to ensure they go to extra lessons.

During normal school terms my children already attend before school lessons, to just try to keep them only less behind than they already would be. This was stopped the Autumn term they went back, so they’ve missed their extra interventions for a year already, plus the work they are set for home is not differentiated for them and often completely inaccessible. The gap between them and their peers is now a huge gulf and I’m genuinely terrified that they now will switch off from learning. Ds2 was crying during his zoom call yesterday because he couldn’t do the work. If he disengages from learning now, I just don’t know what we’ll do. I’m so sad inside for him.

@formerbabe I'd love that but it will never happen imo. I'm still waiting for the catch up summer school Boris promised us last year....he did didn't he?! I didn't imagine that

Yes Johnson promised a summer of catch which never materialised.

I would happily send my primary DC to a school camp for a couple of weeks over summer
A)so the they can get active outdoors. I can’t do group sport at home. Team solving puzzles etc
B) so they can learn with friends
C) have chance to practice and develop skills like putting on a play/assembly that many have missed for 1 or 2 years now
D) so I could have a couple weeks focusing/making up for work time I have been distracted homeschooling

So I guess for primary what I would hope the Government would supply is along the lines of a Play scheme. I am worried about my primary DC in upper KS2, they are less inclined to work from home or listen to me! But as they always met expected targets I think they will be unlikely to be targeted for additional help / interventions but obviously nowhere near where they could be as have missed March-July last year and Jan-?? this year. I really wish the Gov would direct money into extra TA/tutor time so ALL children could benefit from small group booster classes. They all deserve to catch up in a variety of ways.

DC KS3 at secondary i’m less concerned about dropping behind as all lessons live but would still welcome the funded weeks to allow drama / practice science experiments/ cookery / pe in person.

The school staff need and deserve their holidays though so don’t see how it would be possible.

After the stress of home school and effect on mental health I want my family to have time to recover and enjoy whatever freedoms we have in the summer. More school would cause further damage in our case.

What's all this cancelling holidays bollocks? Is everyone who wfh having holidays cancelled this year, or just school staff and kids? I'm working longer than dh. He leaves me sitting by the kitchen table, does work and 2 hour commute and I'm still there when he comes home.

No

I would do two weeks for my 5 year old but 4 weeks is too much in my opinion.

Did is in am exam year. 4 weeks out of the 7 weeks of summer holidays? both she and I would snap this offer up for her

My heart sank when I heard about it, tbh. It will come too late for my very hard-working and anxious Y13 who will have already done whatever passes for A Levels this year and may or may not have made his university offer. I will be left with a pitched battle trying to force attendance on my reluctant Y12 who sees the summer holiday as sacrosanct and is desperately missing his friends and his freedom.

So no, I don't want it.

I wouldn't.

Teachers and school staff really need a break. The way the government have chopped and changed what schools have been expected to do around school holidays this last year they haven't had a break.

I've been weekly calls from my children's form tutors after 6pm.

I'd love my year 10 DD to get some extra time in the summer to catch up on the practical work she's missed - drama, science, art etc. but in terms of the theory she's been inundated with that through distance learning.

I think 4 weeks would be too much though but maybe an extra week at either end of the holidays would be a good idea. I'd feel sorry for the teachers though.