To think a 5 term school year is a shit idea

[Edenspirits]

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.heart.co.uk/news/school-years-could-be-split-into-five-terms/

Honestly, I actually think the kids need time out of school in normal times where there is so much bloody pressure.

I know this year has been awful but honestly, what do they need to ‘catch up’ on apart from playing with their friends?

This endless pressure drives me insane. Kids don’t even start school in some countries until age 7 yet we have ours doing SATS and all kinds of nonsense. There’s literally no joy in our education system.

Aibu?

@Todayissunny

I'm not in the uk. We have 5 terms. As a teacher I like it. In the 2 week breaks you get a week to rest and a week to prepare. It works for the kids too. Holidays are - 2 weeks in October, 2 weeks Christmas, 2 weeks February, 2 April weeks, 5 weeks July/August.

What a terrible idea, weeks and weeks off when it's cold and horrible. Why would anyone want more time off in February?? or October?? what can you do with the kids then? If they were making the May/June half term longer I'd be all for it, but more time off in February - no thanks. So glad mine's only got a few more years.

I would like, just once, to have a week where none of the media poke a big fucking stick at us.

We're going back. On Monday. We've have been working our arses off and are about to walk into yet more chaos, even with the best laid plans. Just leave us alone!

@mnhq, can we please ban school threads on Friday nights?

@Edenspirits

My primary age DD who is 9 has hated the boring repetitive maths & grammar that has been sent home. She’s demoralised, uninspired and the last thing she needs is to be told she’s behind and has to catch up on some grammar bollocks. She’s 9 ffs

I think the seemingly endless rhetoric about how behind they are, they'll never catch up, their futures are ruined blah blah blah is far more damaging than the disruption itself.

They need to catch up whatever education they missed.

They don't. This is bullshit. The curriculum isn't magic. The standards are arbitrary. Not all of what is taught or learned has value.

We've all been through a massive collective trauma (some more comfortably and with less tragedy than others) but the world has changed. Children and young people need time to process that, to play, to be free, to work out how relationships work with others, to heal. Not the pressure of catching up on a curriculum designed to monitor teachers based on out of date ideas.

@Tal45

What a terrible idea, weeks and weeks off when it's cold and horrible. Why would anyone want more time off in February?? or October?? what can you do with the kids then?

I get what you are saying about February - but in Scotland we already have 2 weeks at October. Most years we go abroad then as its cheaper than summer. But many don't and there are plenty of things to do locally.

Apart from that the only change for us in the 5 terms the previous poster mentioned would be switching a week from summer to February so its not really terribly radical.

You may think this about 5/6 years olds, and you may have a point but what about 11-18 yr olds...education need to be a national priority, however it will never happen, the unions would never ever let it

Catching up on lost education need not be just over a year, certainly for primary school children. The idea smacks of trying to do it over a short period of time.

Five weeks in the summer does cause issues if everyone has the same five weeks. Especially for employers and teachers.

@Ihatemyseleffordoingthis exactly. And a normal 6 week summer holiday playing, visiting family (my kids haven’t seen their Nanni for a year) and having fun.

Not doing bollocks school work about times tables and fronted adverbials.

It’s no surprise to me that kids generally have so many more mental health issues now than ever before- I genuinely think the system is broken and has failed them.

And I have a 13 year old who has had a shit time too - I am not talking about really little kids.

@Todayissunny

I'm not in the uk. We have 5 terms. As a teacher I like it. In the 2 week breaks you get a week to rest and a week to prepare. It works for the kids too. Holidays are - 2 weeks in October, 2 weeks Christmas, 2 weeks February, 2 April weeks, 5 weeks July/August.

This sounds ideal. I’d really like this. The half-term breaks are too short so I’d be happy for the summer holidays to be reduced by a couple of weeks and the weeks added onto half terms. I think it would be lovelier for the kids, lovelier for the teachers and nicer for the parents. It also encourages time for lots of different types of holidays and experiences. It may even reduce competition for the traditional 2 week family holiday away in the summer and bring down prices as people can do them at other times of the year.

The 6 week holidays have always been too long. I remember being a child and after 3 weeks I was bored.
I honestly think this would be a great idea.

@peak2021

Catching up on lost education need not be just over a year, certainly for primary school children. The idea smacks of trying to do it over a short period of time.

Five weeks in the summer does cause issues if everyone has the same five weeks. Especially for employers and teachers.

I agree. I’m cynical about what the government might mean by children ‘catching up’. For younger children there should be plenty of time for them to catch up with what is missed or for the curriculum to be adapted to prioritise the most essential learning.

Harder for older children no doubt.

[quote Edenspirits]@Ihatemyseleffordoingthis exactly. And a normal 6 week summer holiday playing, visiting family (my kids haven’t seen their Nanni for a year) and having fun.

Not doing bollocks school work about times tables and fronted adverbials.

It’s no surprise to me that kids generally have so many more mental health issues now than ever before- I genuinely think the system is broken and has failed them.[/quote]
Why is school work bollocks though? The workplace is becoming more and more competitive nowadays and will continue to do so. A good education facilitates good working opportunities. Why is there this constant race to the bottom regarding children actually receiving an education? Do we not want them to have bright futures and achieve something with their lives?

@Todayissunny those holidays sound ideal! Summer this year is 7 weeks long at our state primary, its just too long. On the other hand half terms can be too short, especially if you want to go away.

@TheMoth

I would like, just once, to have a week where none of the media poke a big fucking stick at us.

We're going back. On Monday. We've have been working our arses off and are about to walk into yet more chaos, even with the best laid plans. Just leave us alone!

@mnhq, can we please ban school threads on Friday nights?

Oh, Christ, this.

Am sick of it all. I absolutely love, love, love teaching but this last year has finished me off. Am fed up of hearing the profession I love, and am monumentally proud of, being rubbished, undermined and tinkered with at every turn.

I bet nurses and hospital staff are feeling great too - all that work, stress and trauma for a 1% pay rise.

@peboh

The 6 week holidays have always been too long. I remember being a child and after 3 weeks I was bored. I honestly think this would be a great idea.

Argh, of course they are not too long! Some of us love them and have lots to do.

Surely those who can't entertain themselves can go to holiday clubs, not ruin things for the rest of us!

Why is school work bollocks though? The workplace is becoming more and more competitive nowadays and will continue to do so

God this is depressing ☝️ - children aren’t sausages in a giant economic machine learning only what the government wants and removing all the fun and joy from their lives as little kids.

@Armi sorry, this post is government bashing and not teacher bashing. I think you do a marvellous job and if anything, should be given way more freedom & trust in your curriculum

I would love to see the school holidays more evenly spread. More regular breaks would help combat burn out; quite a few schools near us have already started using all their inset days in one go to create a two week October half term as the slog from September to Christmas was too much for everyone.

The six week holiday is too long; my lot are bored by the end of it, we are scrabbling to cover it with leave/take the expense of a lot of additional childcare PLUS pay for a summer holiday. And there's a shedload of evidence that it causes regression of learning, particularly in kids who don't get any support or reinforcement at home, so it contributes towards inequality of outcomes.

It shouldn't be framed around catching up post-Covid IMO. It should be done because it's the more humane way for kids (and teachers) to spend the year.

I’d at least love a longer October half-term break and take one off summer. Autumn is a gorgeous time of year and October seems to be getting warmer so you have that lovely sharp but not freezing temperature. Nature looks beautiful, lots of lovely Halloween and bonfire things to do, autumnal fairs and food stalls. I think it would be lovely for children to experience it a bit more. It’s also a nicer time to frequent city centres and restaurants and cafes as conditions aren’t sweltering and they aren’t all swamped and crowded with sweaty summer people out and about.

City breaks in Europe can be lovely in Autumn and reasonably affordable as it’s out of season but still not too cold.

@Todayissunny

I'm not in the uk. We have 5 terms. As a teacher I like it. In the 2 week breaks you get a week to rest and a week to prepare. It works for the kids too. Holidays are - 2 weeks in October, 2 weeks Christmas, 2 weeks February, 2 April weeks, 5 weeks July/August.

Problem is that we only get decent weather in the UK May-August. At the moment we get 7 weeks off during the summer half term and summer hols. With this plan there would only be 5 weeks in the summer. The extra weeks off would be in October and Feb when the weather is rubbish.

Argh, of course they are not too long! Some of us love them and have lots to do

Surely those who can't entertain themselves can go to holiday clubs, not ruin things for the rest of us

🙄

I think the seemingly endless rhetoric about how behind they are, they'll never catch up, their futures are ruined blah blah blah is far more damaging than the disruption itself.

Totally agree. I've been saying for months that the worst thing our kids keep being told is their futures are doomed. What all 4-18yo? Seriously?

There is absolutely no denying the impact will have an effect on a small minority. Those who couldn't access remote learning for whatever reason and fell under the radar with regards school places.

But to tell a whole generation they've been written off is so damaging.

Where's the positivity about how well they've learning gaining the skills required to learn remotely? Where's the reminding them they've faced the hardest thing they are likely to face in their lifetime with regards national problems and with the right attitude it'll make them more resilient?

My holidays go like this:
Week off to see the kids I actually live with and catch up with friends.
Few days faffing/ sorting work.
Week away. Niggling fear about a level.
Back. Work. A level day. Results analysis.
Gcse day. Good for nothing day before. Results analysis .
Final week: wish I'd done more work over the summer.
Back on the treadmill.

I think people forget all the admin that goes into gcse and a level.