Do you WANT longer school days and shorter school holidays?

[shadowlily]

YABU- yes I want schools to have longer school days and shorter holidays

YANBU- no I'd rather keep the hours/terms we have.

I keep seeing this is being discussed in the media today, do you think it's likely to happen? Personally I think kids would benefit more from the summer holiday and being able to catch up on the activities they've missed and socialisation with friends. They've been home schooled to keep up with the curriculum (for the most part! I know this might be a contentious statement for some!) but nothing has replaced the play dates, day trips, parties etc. they have missed.

What do you think?

No I really don’t want longer days and shorter holidays. I want politicians to accept the reality which is that kids have had a really hard year and to not try to force them to do long punishing hours, meaning they will be even further alienated from education than they have already been from doing it all remotely.

@Awalkintime

HarryLimeFoxtrot

But teachers do a lot of the marking in the holidays. If they are working, they are not marking. That is quite a problem.

Or planning.

So we won’t know which children need support because we won’t have been assessing and we won’t have time to plan interventions anyway.

We’ll just be kicking the football around outside with the kids and facilitating socialising by the sounds of it.

Parents are taking responsibility by opting out of summer lessons.

I’d be delighted with longer days and more sports etc. In the school day. I wouldn’t want the summer holiday much shorter - staggering it across the country might help reduce the cost of holidays slightly.

@notdaddycool

I’d be delighted with longer days and more sports etc. In the school day. I wouldn’t want the summer holiday much shorter - staggering it across the country might help reduce the cost of holidays slightly.

My son does plenty of sports and doesn’t need to go to school for that?

He goes to private golf lessons twice after school during the week and on a Saturday. He also attends martial arts classes. Is there nothing available in your area?

School experienced during the pandemic has been variable as is support for disadvantaged or those who have fallen behind or struggle.

My DC go to breakfast club from 745am and after school club until 6pm most nights, and spend at least half the holidays in holiday clubs (as we only get 5 weeks holiday to cover their 13) so wouldn’t make any difference to their levels of tiredness but would give them more education and save us a few quid - so yes, happy from our perspective!

If I am asked to volunteer my time, I’ll be telling people where to go.

If I have my contract suddenly changed, I’ll be striking.

If people think they can force me to work longer and for nothing, I’ll be phoning in sick.

If the change is permanent, I’ll be leaving teaching.

@twelly

Educationally the long summer holidays do not make sense. If we are truly child centred these need to be changed and now is an excellent opportunity to act.

And yet we have the shortest summer holidays in the world.

Ceeveebee my dc also go to after school club. It doesn't remotely compare with being in lessons in terms of tiredness! He does some playing, has a snack, builds or draws or plays football. Nothing like doing extra maths.

Totallyfedup I suspect many of us would follow this exactly.

The Tories are also supposed to believe in parental responsibility and individual freedom. More school is big state.

Why do people keep saying that to shift school holidays around will result in cheaper prices for going away?
You really think the travel industry won't cotton on to this and put their prices up regardless?

@DateLoaf

No I really don’t want longer days and shorter holidays. I want politicians to accept the reality which is that kids have had a really hard year and to not try to force them to do long punishing hours, meaning they will be even further alienated from education than they have already been from doing it all remotely.

Agreed. Not the time to make big changes. Let's please go back to normal and enjoy what is familiar to us, our dc and the teaching community. Worst time to disrupt what normally works well. The kids will be so tired in the next few weeks.

Like the school day length, although would be happy with 15-20 minutes longer like 8.30- 3pm.

I think the 6 weeks holidays is too much. There is a big drop in ability after that long gap. Would prefer if the terms were evened out, with 2 week holidays between.

Agreed. Not the time to make big changes. Let's please go back to normal and enjoy what is familiar to us, our dc and the teaching community. Worst time to disrupt what normally works well. The kids will be so tired in the next few weeks.

This. It is going to be so tough.

I feel apprehensive enough about the upcoming challenge. I finished uni back in 2001. I studied art and design. I finished uni and did a PGCE, where I taught art and design. I then got my job.
I have never studied mental health. I don’t know how to support children in the situation we find ourselves in. I know art. I know coursework. I know how to teach in normal circumstances, which includes pressure, nagging and discipline. I don’t think more of me is what these kids need and I don’t need more of them.
I can’t wait to spend time with my own family.

No I dont want this. If we have longer hours or Saturday school then I would expect to have longer holidays. State school already has short holidays.

Am I the only one who thinks this is not going to happen? Isn’t this just a ‘dead cat on the table’ from Williamson to stop us talking about his ineptness?

No I don't. It would benefit me, but it would not benefit ds. The only thing I could get on board with is a shorter summer holiday. Six weeks is very long.

I'd be happy for slightly longer school days but I appreciate this is for selfish reasons

Totallyfedup1979

Yep I won't be planning if I'm working in the summer. Not sure who will do it but if I don't get the time then I won't be doing it.

There is a big drop in ability after that long gap

I think you mean attainment, and do you have data for that?

andrewscampbell.com/2013/05/11/summer-learning-loss-is-it-real/

theconversation.com/debunked-links-between-term-time-holidays-and-lower-grades-59548

@deedeemegadoodoo

Am I the only one who thinks this is not going to happen? Isn’t this just a ‘dead cat on the table’ from Williamson to stop us talking about his ineptness?

Yep, they keep wheeling it out every few years, it's something everyone has an opinion on. Gav has already been told via the Education Select Committee that it's a rubbish idea but here he is, getting people talking about it instead of what a shit job he is doing.

Good to see Sophy Ridge this morning telling him that he has the lowest approval rating of all cabinet ministers from the Conservative party of -43. Even Priti Patel has a positive rating.

He's not going to be able to push a contentious policy through.

Bottom line: Gav knows that every ed minister has floated the idea of changing the structure of the school year. Many counties have played with different length terms. But there's no money for extra hours or days as teacher's are contracted to work 195 days a year, and that is to be made up of 1265 hours of directed time. We already work longer than that to jump through the hoops of paperwork and other things we are expected to do that don't make much of an impact on learning.

He knows full well that this will be pointed out by unions as not possible without massive reform - and a LOT more money.

So when he gets push back on this, it's not HIS fault, it'll be fault of the big, bad unions for refusing to allow for pupil catch up.

Not the gov for eroding staffing budgets so that classes get bigger and bigger and PPA is covered by TAs intead of qualified teachers.

Not the gov for eroding staffing budgets so that absenses are covered by TAs and cover supervisors instead of teachers.

Not the gov for eroding county budgets so that there is literally minimum to no support for subject leadership and training, behaviour, SEND provision.

Oh no. It'll be the unions and the nasty teachers.

So what if kids 'regress' academically over the summer break? There's more to life learning than sitting in a classroom. That time to socialise, play, join clubs, see family, travel is really important. Kids aren't vessels that can be 'filled up' with learning until they're done, so the idea that making them stay in school for longer will be beneficial is nonsense.