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?

[timesofchange]

I also think a longer school day would need to be balanced with less homework, especially if pupils travel to school by bus/train etc as they might be getting home quite late after leaving quite early, with very little time for eating/resting.

[Rupertpenrysmistress]

No I would not support longer days or summer holiday schooling. My DC need time of, the teachers definitely need time off. I would not send my children into school outside normal hours. Maybe the new academic year could so with adjusting making terms and breaks equal length.

[FrippEnos]

@Findahouse21

I think they should start again with the school arrangements. 6 terms of equal length, seperated by 1-2 weeks of holiday. Work out what teachers are paid now and then change it to reflect that it's a full time job.

On the bright side, you would be able to get brand new teachers for all these positions that have opened up.

Except that you wouldn't be able to as there is a crisis in actually getting and keeping teachers.

[MagpieSong]

No. I probably wouldn’t send my kids to school if days were made longer,

[SoupDragon]

It would be so good for kids to have PE every day and a good end to their day.

It would have been a shit end to my school day because I was crap at sport and hated it.

[motherrunner]

@ChameleonClara

No.

They are only doing this to distract us all and make us stressed IMO.

Why don't they actually do something to help - like fix a few leaky buildings? Answer: because they don't give a shit.

Fuck off Williamson.

Echo this. Instead of fucking about with the school year, let’s have PP funding back to what it was before the Tories cut it; money for staff to be covered to have proper inset, not just a policy thrown at us which we’re expected to implement as hoc; money for well run clubs for enrichment; money for TAs to help our most vulnerable ... the list is endless. But changing school terms, under the guise of ‘catch up’, costs nothing.

[Peanutbuttercupisyum]

@Hollyhead
“Longer school day definitely although not all taught - I would take PE out of the school teaching day and have PE for all children 3.30-4.30pm most days a week. Doesn’t all have to be delivered by a qualified teacher - just responsible adults who can get them running around and moving.”

That’s a strange idea. Most schools have loads of after school sports clubs for children anyway. Ours has football, athletics, dance, rounders, tennis (and that’s just primary!) and if they just need to run around after school surely a park trip or just a run around the garden?

Anyway no way should school holiday change. Mine have done ALOT of work during lockdown, not finishing some eves till 6pm and they need a break! And time just to go out with their friends and go on day trips

[SchrodingersUnicorn]

The idea of taking away kids' holidays is laughable. They need them to play, socialise, recharge. I need them to do all the tons of admin work I do outside the classroom. During a normal school week I can just about keep on top of pastoral, marking and that week's planning with 10 hour days every day and a day at weekends. Everything else I do when the kids are on holiday. I tend to take about 5 or 6 weeks a year actually off and one weekend day each week in termtime (less this year, it's been crazy). The rest I need to work.
So, if they want me to teach those weeks they will need to employ more teachers. It's not actually just a case of paying more even - I just don't have enough hours in the day to do more.

[Hollyhead]

@SimonJT I meant more primary - pe still taught once a week but the rest of the time focussed on fun physical activities - aerobics/tag/playground games/yoga/running a mile.

@Adrastia wouldn’t be ‘proper pe’ all at once and yoga for instance could be done in classrooms with tables pushed back. Some groups could be taken offsite for walks/runs/ use local parks. We need to be less risk averse/perfectionist in education and more open minded.

[SoupDragon]

@Findahouse21

I think they should start again with the school arrangements. 6 terms of equal length, seperated by 1-2 weeks of holiday. Work out what teachers are paid now and then change it to reflect that it's a full time job.

Dear god no.

[motherrunner]

@SoupDragon

It would be so good for kids to have PE every day and a good end to their day.

It would have been a shit end to my school day because I was crap at sport and hated it.

So was I but that’s only because the sports on offer were limited. If we could offer a range of physical activity it would be great - balance, yoga, walk and talk, cross country, dance, aerobics, x fit. Just playing outside!

[Mintjulia]

Yanbu

Ds (12) already does 9-4. Counting the bus, 7.45-4.45 plus homework every day. By the end of term he's tired so no to longer school days.
And our holidays are precious.

[PurpleWh1teGreen]

@MoreHairyThanScary

No it is difficult enough to arrange family holidays for my staff in the holidays ( healthcare so not able to close ) . How the hell I am I supposed to grant leave to staff who are parents ?

Notwithstanding the cost of those holidays if travel is limited to even fewer weeks in the summer.

This is hugely important. If holidays are compressed, all parents with school children are going to want the same weeks off.

It would have a huge effect on public services and businesses.

The Tories might at least listen to the businesses.

[Piggywaspushed]

Various governments since New Labour have floated this at various points. Quite a few MATs tried it and then reverted to the norm, as the head of Ofsted herself pointed out this morning.

Shame there is no poll on this OP!

Longer school days = a load of PE and music is a bit odd. Mine always did/do PE and music after school anyway if they want to? Maybe address issues in the curriculum that have squeezed PE, art, darma and music out (it's a ploy you know to have no core PE/art/drama teaching at all and to push it to 'after school) And it is also a threat, as someone said, to things out of school like Brownies, bands and orchestras, when they get older volunteering/working/social life.

I always feel in this country like governments want to exhaust children.

It ahs generally always been viewed as a New Right idea about workforce and economy, dressed up as concern for the socially, culturally and economically disadvantaged.

I fear that this government will use the pandemic as an excuse to bring in something they have been peddling since Gove.

[gingercat02]

YANBU x100 I love the summer holidays we had 8 weeks when I was at school in NI so I would be happier if they were longer not shorter. I don't want 2 weeks off in October and February when it's wet and cold and dark in the North East of England. Not fussed about longer days one way or the other

[Redlocks28]

I would have despised an extra hour of compulsory PE at the end of the day. That would probably have led to me school refusing, tbh.

Kids are in school enough time already. This might appeal to some parents who want cheap childcare, but I don’t for a minute think it’s in the best interests of the children.

If you compare UK school holidays to those of countries across the globe, ours are nearly always the shortest!

If a shifting of the summer holidays doesn’t happen in our private schools as well, it should not be happening in state schools. Or are periods of time off only for the rich now?

[Hertsgirl10]

What I think people don’t get it, the teachers that have worked all the way through this, need their rest. Why should they work longer days and miss out on holidays?

[MarshaBradyo]

@Piggywaspushed

Various governments since New Labour have floated this at various points. Quite a few MATs tried it and then reverted to the norm, as the head of Ofsted herself pointed out this morning.

Shame there is no poll on this OP!

Longer school days = a load of PE and music is a bit odd. Mine always did/do PE and music after school anyway if they want to? Maybe address issues in the curriculum that have squeezed PE, art, darma and music out (it's a ploy you know to have no core PE/art/drama teaching at all and to push it to 'after school) And it is also a threat, as someone said, to things out of school like Brownies, bands and orchestras, when they get older volunteering/working/social life.

I always feel in this country like governments want to exhaust children.

It ahs generally always been viewed as a New Right idea about workforce and economy, dressed up as concern for the socially, culturally and economically disadvantaged.

I fear that this government will use the pandemic as an excuse to bring in something they have been peddling since Gove.

Piggy do you think this is a Cons push?

It will cost more to do it

[ShouldHaveCouldHaveWouldHave]

No to both, my children are exhausted at the end of the school day.
I also work in a school and there’s a reason we do English and Maths in the morning and the more fun, relaxed stuff in the afternoon.
School is hard going as it is and the curriculum is jam packed, by Fridays some of them are really struggling. Increasing the time they’re at school each day won’t help this.

[RedBlackCandle]

YANBU my 6 year old already struggles with the school day length and is often asleep by 6.30pm. I feel like I hardly see her in term time as it is.

I love holidays where we can laze in bed until 9am and still get plenty of time together. Our holidays already feel really short compared to other countries due to the way their spread out through the year I wouldn't want an even shorter summer,. I struggle to get leave approved for her appointments in the summer as it is.

[Littlegoth]

@Findahouse21 I would expect salary to increase significantly, given that teachers already work ‘full time’ hours. And then some.

[AlwaysLatte]

Absolutely not. Teachers have been working hard, children have been working hard, and cooped up indoors. They need their free time and fresh air more than ever this spring/summer.

[ancientgran]

@Campervan69

If we were to change the system, we could go for what The Netherlands does, which is to stagger school holidays, so the North Province has holidays from mid June-mid August and the most Southern has a holiday from mid July to mid sept. They rotate so they take turns in when the holidays are

This would make sense. Also usually our good weather is in May and June when kids have exams. By the time the summer holidays start, the weather is open turning.

So I would be happy with staggering it like this. Mine are always bored and feral by September and desperate to return to school.

Scotland has it's summer holidays earlier than England so not much difference.

[motherrunner]

My husband’s family is Irish. They finish in June for their summer holiday. Not one of his family complain about ‘long summer holidays’.

[Reinventinganna]

Yanbu the children and teachers have worked harder than ever and deserve time off.