Summer holidays - outdated

[Wednesdayafternoon]

So I was just scrolling through Facebook and I saw some pictures after school club/breakfast club to my sons school put up and it just got me thinking how crazy it is that schools just completely shut down for like 6-7 weeks.
They have all these facilities during term time to support working families because there is obviously a need to for it, but in the holidays... ahh f*ck it!
Obviously o know there's summer schemes but at a massive expense and also different hours and locations.
My sons school isn't offering one so he's attending some random school for 3 days over the summer mainly just so he's socialising!
I'm extremely lucky as my mum is a great help to me during the holidays. And obviously I'm very much looking forward to spending more time with my boys and no school run... hurry!!!
But I just find it crazy that schools close for such a significant period of time.
Obviously I know school isn't childcare but it school itself enables parents to work so it kind of is 🤷🏼‍♀️

A lot of professions outside of teaching work outside of working hours.

Teachers are well aware of this. Pointing out to teachers that there are other hard jobs does not change their experience of being a teacher. And it doesn't stop them wanting to quit. It just continues to prove to them that people want them to shut up complaining and continue to provide childcare. Well they won't shut up complaining, and they will leave in droves, as they already are.

Are the school holidays shortening? I didn't know school hours were increasing but my son isn't at school yet

The problem is not just paying for childcare...it's finding it

I'm not being disingenuous. There is a shortage of teachers. Working parents have a lot of stress covering the holidays. Making teaching more attractive could certainly be part of the solution? Teaching desperately needs modernising! It is so hierarchical. The HR is often woeful.

I suggested a long way upthread that making childcare for work purposes fully tax deductible would be another potential solution. I mean, why isn't it? I do a tax return and can set e.g. work equipment against my tax bill. I can set repairs made to the property I rent out against tax on that.

Why the hell does childcare, without which DH and I cannot work, have to come out of our post tax income? (I know there's that tax free childcare scheme but I suspect the take up is low partly because people who don't already do a tax return don't want the hassle when the amount saved is small).

There could still be subsidy of holiday childcare for important social reasons like vulnerable DC (there is though isn't there? I got a leaflet through the door re holiday clubs for DC on FSM locally).

@blebbleb no the holidays aren't shortening but the school day will be increasing.

I personally think that 30+ hours a week plus wraparound childcare is enough for a small child.

It is extremely hard for working parents but I don't think the solution is more hours of schooling. The poor kids will burn out.

But you only quoted part of my point didn't you.

I fee for teachers working outside their working hours. I feel for none teachers working oust side of their none working hours. It's shit and I hate it and I resent it.

But I don't think anyone on this thread has asked a teacher to work outside their pay yet the fact they work outside of their pay has been brought up multiple times.

Who said it was a teachers job????

And I think employers are being let off the hook here far too easily. There's a labour shortage. Why not become the best employer for parents? They'd receive incredible loyalty. I've stayed at a couple of schools for way longer than the jobs merited, because they were fairly nice to parents on staff.

Entitlement to unpaid parental leave is a total of 18 weeks over the whole of the first 18 years of your child's life and is limited to a max of 4 weeks per year. But it's a bit arbitrary anyway as most small businesses would struggle to manage if a proportion of their staff disappeared for 4-6 weeks in the Summer. I did try it one year but my boss wasn't happy and said he wouldn't approve it the next year as it 'didn't really work'. Not sure whether legally I could have insisted but who wants piss off their colleagues by making everyone else's life more difficult and maybe even jeopardising the business?
Nice idea for everyone to have lovely long holidays but not economically viable certainly for smaller businesses.

My friend lives in the US and there they have no statutory leave entitlement at all. I just looked it up and it says

"US workers are not legally entitled to any paid holiday at all. However, in reality, most US employers offer paid vacation time to their workers. The number of days varies from employer to employer, but on average, US workers receive around ten days of paid holiday each year." !

I certainly don't think that we should be looking to the US for any kind of how to guide to anything.

Attack? Really?
I've literally replied to you and one other person that I'm not elaborating on my leave or entitlement because it's not relevant.
You could have read that in response to the previous person but you chose not to!

This sounds like you want all children in school over summer except for two weeks. Given that we already have a problem with there being sufficient people available over the summer holidays to look after those DC whose parents are working, how is adding the DC of those of us who are able to manage without formal childcare going to help with that?

Bear in mind there's a labour shortage currently, there aren't sufficient childcare workers to meet demand now, and non-teacher school staff aren't the answer. We already know that some TAs would leave rather than lose the long unpaid holiday entitlement. It isn't simply a question of fund it, there have to be people available and willing to do the job as well. Where are they coming from? You'd be needlessly spreading the problem over even more people when we don't even have the resources to deal with the way it affects smaller numbers now.

Well what do you think should be done then op? Plenty of solutions offered to you?

The OP doesn't seem to have any suggestions other than schools should be open. Choosing to ignore the many valid reasons why this just isn't possible.

Become a teacher then.

It's rather odd that you volunteered that you only get 3 weeks holiday and when people pointed out that couldn't be correct. You got all defensive and said you're not elaborating further as it's private and not relevant.

It's hardly top secret identifying information 🤣

Might not be a top secret job but it also has nothing to do with this thread 👍🏼

But if you want to keep deflecting anyway from the topic then why don't you go and make another thread about it?

I think the summer hols can be a time for reset. Surely people know about them when they decide to have children? It's only from age 4/5 til around 14 you need childcare. I don't know many families where both parents are full time & those that are tend to be high earners.

I don't think the hols should change just for those who want two full time salaries coming in.

The idea the six-weeks holidays are to do with the harvest is a myth. Harvest is at the end of September. Schooling for the masses really only began 1870s when most children were living in urban areas so very few would be involved in harvest, fruit picking etc. anyway.

It’s most likely school holidays were designed to align roughly with university terms.

@Yorkiemum89 well I've already been to university to get a degree so in order for me to go again I would have to fund my degree which I can't afford.
I also don't have the childcare to attend university full time to retrain and then be out of work whilst I do so!
But thanks for the really useful suggestion 😀

You just won't admit that you lied.

I've given my opinion on the subject.

You haven't offered any solutions other than keep school open throughout the holidays.

I think that you should retrain as a teacher as you seem to think it's a very attractive career.

People's circumstances change so it's a bit of an immature comment.
My circumstances change but fortunately I have been able to work around it. Not everyone can.

Lol.

And can they seek unemployment benefits or a second job without second job tax for the time that they don't work?