Summer holidays - outdated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 🤷🏼‍♀️

and pretend we did have extra money and staff

If we are pretending we had extra money, I would spend it on smaller class sizes, improvements to buildings and more resources. I wouldn’t prioritise summer childcare.

It’s a shame most of the Sure Start centres were closed-they could have been used as a childcare base for parents that wanted to use it.

As far as I'm concerned, they spend long enough in school as it is. I don't want them there any longer. I want to spend time with my children and enjoy it. I don't want a new normal, and nor do my children.

Its not a race to the bottom. Just because some kids don't have a good holiday, doesn't mean we force all kids into more school. For some children, the holidays are the best part of their lives.

Optional free/cheap childcare with extra curricular activities taking place on a school site is fine. More actual school staffed by teachers, no way.

You talk about "shipped off to random summer clubs" like they're being packed off to the salt mines for a day of breaking rocks in the hot sun rather than being dropped off at the local community centre with a packed lunch for a day of 5-a-side, crafts, and Lego.

6 weeks is one of the shortest summer holidays in the world. Many other countries have far longer. The longer holidays make up for the lower pay teachers receive compared to other similarly-educated professionals. In a time when most schools are struggling to recruit and retain teachers, cutting off the biggest carrot the profession has to offer probably wouldn't be a wise move.

Schools should be open all year round. The summer holidays are a remnant of Britain's agricultural past when children were needed to work on farms in the summer. Teachers should still get the summer off if they want it. Summer classes should be more fun stuff like sports, art, drama, music etc. All children should be allowed 2 weeks off during the summer period, at a time of their parents choosing.

OP, you have it the wrong way round. You are entitled to 190 days free education. It's not childcare.
But any excuse to have a go at teachers.

I don't see that the OP is having a go at teachers?
She is highlighting that whilst the primary function of school is to educate children, the reality is that it is childcare for many people. And that it is harder to access (affordable) childcare over the summer holidays, for some people.

And that it is harder to access (affordable) childcare over the summer holidays, for some people.

So petition for affordable summer childcare for those that need/want it, rather than force all kids into school bar a two week break.

I think fundamentally the issue is the misalignment of work and school. Something has to give and I don’t see employers (public or private) agreeing to staff having 14 weeks off a year. Much as we would all love that. It is indeed a remnant of a bygone era when the summer holiday coincided with harvest and also when the majority of mothers tended to stay at home. This is no longer the case at all and we need a reset.

I continue to work as a teacher for the summer holidays. Even if I was paid for working more weeks a year I'd rather not do it. I cherish that time with my children. I know lots of people don't get it and I'm not saying it to rub it in anyone's face, it's just the reality of why I stay in the job.

The harvest idea is a popular misconception.

The government will never fund school staff to work more weeks of the year-they won’t even fund a 5% pay rise!

As a teacher, the holidays are the only way I feel better about everything I miss during term time. I can't do school runs and miss every single assembly, sports day, concert etc. So I feel like I make up for barely seeing them in term time by spending the holidays with them!

We have no family support in terms of childcare, so I do completely understand the absolute nightmare of finding/paying for holiday care. I am just extremely grateful that I don't have that worry, but it does come at a price the rest of the year.

And as a pp said, working when they are asleep in bed is exactly what I do! Surely that's what many working parents do!

The same thing was said about maternity leave. So I have more optimism than you. Also, the majority of mums didn’t stay home, they also worked. The SAHM has always been a position of privilege. The school summer holidays may be a remnant from a by gone era, but that doesn’t make it bad nor a reason to get rid of it. It has real benefits to the children and year round schools don’t achieve better results academically. So it would purely be a change for convenience of parents, to the detriment of the children.

Literally all you describe above is the experience shared by working parents. We can’t do school runs and show up during the school day (aka working day) for random events either. But I totally get that teachers are at breaking point, and would feel short changed if the perk they took for granted up now was under threat.
So funding and extra staff to share the burden would be needed.

I have long been in favour of a shorter school day and longer terms. I find the whole business of intensive terms then nothing in the holidays and switching between one and the other very difficult. It’s so hard to get into to a good groove.

Teachers and children would both be less stressed if terms were longer, and less intense. Maybe mornings for school, and supervised play in the afternoons if required, but longer terms? Teachers could have more time for prep and maybe parents could take them out at any time? I think work would be easier too. It’s covering holidays that makes working for me hard, not reducing weekly hours. I’ve never met anyone else who thought it was a good plan, though, so maybe it’s just me. It would be so much easier for me if I could got for a job that was just mornings, all year. Rather than a term time only one (which don’t really exist outside of schools).

The intensity wouldn't change. The government would state that children have to make even more progress than they do now.

I know it causes problems for so many families, but selfishly, I would hate for summer holidays to end. We have been able to provide our non-NT academically advanced DD with really enriching opportunities during the break. She attends camps with other kids who are fascinated by science and math and who don’t fit in well at school. Summer is when those quirky kids get to find one another and finally feel comfortable.

I realize there are parents of kids like mine who don’t have the resources to provide them with great opportunities during the break. Like I said, my desire here is selfish.

Genuinely, that sounds beautiful. I’m sure you made wonderful memories. It just doesn’t work out that way for many of us

I suppose I am just going by what I see friends being able to do...things like compressed hours so they can drop off and start after 9, applying for half a day annual leave to see an assembly or whatever. Working from home so able to nip out and collect the kids before continuing to work later.

But I completely appreciate that's not the working experience for everyone. In my old job I left for work around 7:15am due to the length of the commute, definitely not compatible with school runs!

I honestly don't know what the answer is, it's a struggle for all working parents.

I'd certainly be tempted by some extra cash in the holidays if there was a scenario where they looked for people to cover holiday clubs etc.

We also don’t get paid for the 20+ additional hours we do each week. In most other jobs when you walk out that door you are finished.
I don’t think many people go into teaching for the holidays, it’s for their love of children, but they sure need them when they come along!

Does anyone else think that as a society we’ve got it wrong and we should be prioritising children’s time with their parents instead of subsidising breakfast clubs and after school care and holiday camps? Or even expanding the school year?

It’s not the same thing though is it? We can’t change our days or hours to accommodate a Doctor appointment let alone a sports day. School hours are set so we must be in work at those times. We can’t work our lunch to leave an hour early or opt to work from home for a day. Most children have at least one parent show up for important events like fêtes or Nativity etc because they know the date in advance and can request a shift change/day off.

When you are working full time the summer holidays are very long and expensive.

Luckily I work part time so find them quite relaxing, my 2 primary kids go club 3 days a week then we still get to relax and enjoy 2 weekdays with no school routine, then the weekends.

Financially it's a bit shit, but I do think both teachers & children need that time off

In most other jobs when you walk out that door you are finished.

Not most professional level jobs that I've ever come across, and they're walking out of the door later in the day.
My parents were teachers, I know they worked hard, brought marking and lesson prep home ... but I know what other jobs are like too.

I work in a school and I think 6 weeks is too long. I’m not a teacher though, I would imagine though it has a massive impact on attainment. Another week in October would be better. It’s a long time for vulnerable students to be unmonitored too. I doubt it will change though. Especially with all of the cuts to budgets. I only get paid for 41 weeks of the year, there isn’t enough money in the budget to increase that

Most people are on an annual salary and don’t get paid for working late, working weekends, working through lunch, etc Teachers are not alone. I’m out of the house from 7:30am to 7:30pm and that’s assuming no shit has hit the fan either at work or with public transport. Unfortunately these same hours persist throughout the summer holidays which is why the long holidays are such a bloody nightmare for working parents. Come September all the working parents I know are massively relieved for the return of routine. It’s not about “free childcare” as some PPs have been super quick (on this thread and in others) to point out that school is not, it’s about structure and routine and being able to hold down a job.