Summer holidays - outdated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 🤷🏼‍♀️

Too right!

This debate was raging when I was a child and I do remember worrying about having my summer holidays cut short or eliminated completely. My DCs felt the same way as well. So many children do not want year round school, and do want a good summer holiday break. Some of my best childhood memories are from roaming around my village with the other children in the summer getting up to all kinds of games and playing.

OP do you know you have the legal right to take up to 18 weeks unpaid parental leave per child? It's 18 weeks from birth until they are 18 so won't cover everything but would help. Although obviously the Goverment actually need to sort out the shit show that is childcare in this country. Further details on .gov.uk

I’d happily more tax to pay for schools and teachers if it meant I didn’t have the intolerable stress of school holidays to deal with! My
kids’ teachers are fantastic and I think they are underpaid as is.
But as above, school holiday childcare costs me thousands anyway 🙄

The government wouldn't fund kids being in school more days a year. Teachers are burnt out enough as it is and would likely not want to teach for more hours. Quite a lot of parents like the long holidays.
Therefore subsidised childcare is a better solution.

Given the amount of health issues arising from our academic structured system you want your children to be exposed to more of it?

This... op are you going into work during your holidays??

My school is open 3 out of the 6 weeks.. one week im away on holiday booked before I knew opening times of my school as the caretaker has obviously booked his holiday.,

So my first week of the holiday I am taking my children in with me to re-do my classroom (I teach early years and so my classroom provision is more important than actual typed planning and paperwork).

I lead on the teaching of modern foreign languages at my school. I am also the early years SENCO and I lead whole school worship assemblies (church school). I lead early years in my school so I am ALWAYS working late each night and I'm in school at 7am each morning to set up for the day!

Teachers are not lazy, we are exhausted... if teaching wasn't such demanding hours we would im sure be open to having a change to the school holidays!

Who the hell votes for more school and work?!
More time off for everyone is what’s needed.

The government doesn’t find anything, we taxpayers do.
I’d much prefer kids at school a few more weeks than the scrappy summer camps that we all have to fight to get into.

I'm in the US, and my daughter's last day of school was May 18. She goes back August 11. So, 12-ish weeks.

*fund
i really must proofread

There are seasonal focused jobs which would allow that - perhaps you should look for one instead of carping about people who do take unpaid leave whilst implying they get paid for it.

What a nightmare steff13

How do you cover it?

Especially during the sunny months. Good grief!

I can't believe anyone would think a child should have less time to relax at homes.

You've missed this point... It worries me for the vulnerable children. The disadvantaged children. The neglected children.

Not all children have nice relaxing, supportive homes. Using school premises for clubs etc specifically for children who need more than their parents can, for whatever reason, provide seems logical. Sure, schools get refurbed etc during the holes but the whole school isn't out of action the whole time. Private schools seem to manage to use their premises for clubs during the summer holidays, oddly enough. Presumably some state schools do?

I don’t think private/public schools or families would want to drop from 8 weeks off in the summer, so if state school holidays were shortened, we would end up with a two-tier system where only wealthy kids had a long summer holiday. The government would never fund the additional amount that would be needed to pay state school staff those extra weeks anyway-they aren’t providing a penny to pay for the suggested pay rises!

What we need is affordable childcare for those that need it, but that doesn’t need to be in school buildings. Most of the buildings are in varying states of disrepair so need those weeks over the summer to try to maintain them

Children can’t relax at home without an adult to supervise - this isn’t difficult to understand surely?
Every working parent I know (which is most parents I know) tears their hair out trying to arrange cover for the summer holidays. Kids are not enjoying lazing about at home because there is no one at home!

It’s already a two tier system with state/private.
If anything extending the school terms for state might level things up a bit, in terms of attainment but also extra curricular.
If we take the exhausted school teacher argument out of it for the moment, and pretend we did have extra money and staff, does anyone disagree that being at school is preferable to being shipped off to random summer clubs?

You could plan to have the six weeks as unpaid parental leave and save for it this next twelve months.

i think the problem is school is free. When you make something free, you devalue it.

Extra money, optional and not staffed by teachers is fine.

I want my children at home. Why should they be forced into school?

School is not free, we all pay for it through tax. In fact people who don’t and will never have kids also pay for it. And people who use private schools also pay for state. It’s free at the point of service, like the nhs but it is not free.

Hercisback
Why should they not be forced into school ?
Presumably you do send them in today when they are expected. This would be a shift to a new normal. We are just taking about a few weeks really.

Indiscreet.

Summer clubs don't usually involve reading, writing, mathematics, or academic tasks in general. The children still get to play, to not do school work, to hang out with their peers, and to take part in fun activities.

*I disagree, not indiscreet. Not sure where that typo came from!

does anyone disagree that being at school is preferable to being shipped off to random summer clubs?

I do because the summer clubs are an opportunity for children to explore other non academic passions. My DC loved going to different camps. They got to learn how to wild camp (like Bear Grylls), to ride horses, archery, canoeing, sailing, art, Lego master building, etc.