Schools closed for the Queen’s funeral

[Notme1980]

First off, Queen Elizabeth II was an amazing ruler and an inspiration, we are a forces family and my husband has served her for 30 plus years.

but - I do not want the schools to be closed for her funeral (or for any reason at all), I want us to do what I believe she would have done, press on.

Even if my school was open, I coudn't go in to teach.

The funny thing about providing childcare education to other people's children is that I need extended childcare, and my own childminder will be taking the day off, in line with guidance from her contract provider, while before- and after-school clubs do not cover the hours I need because I'd need to be in my own school to provide similar.

Why is it okay for nurses to say they couldn't go in, but teachers somehow have to find a way?

Perhaps it is time to reconsider how we see schools in society. We are taking on responsibilities way beyond what we were set up to do, and the amount we seem to be responsible for increases every year.

Maybe, here, radical change is needed.

And this wins best comment! 👏

I sort of agree. But it isn't just schools, everyone in a service industry is expected to work (I include schools as most people see it as a service provided)

We have had some very annoyed customers when we said we were closing on Monday (as we do not have a choice as suppliers are closed)

I understand to an extent but what the general public need to realise that yes schools provide a service but during school hours within term times and that contractually the staff do not work on bank holidays, whereas a lot of other services are 24/7 365 days a year with no set requirements to close for bank holidays.

NASUWT overview England

"In England, local authority-maintained schools operating according to the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) must open for 195 days.

Of these, a maximum of 190 days involve teaching children and young people. The remaining five days are non-teaching days, when teachers may be asked to undertake other duties related to their role as a teacher. These are often known as in-service training (INSET) days. These limits do not apply if you are paid on the leaders’ range.

Term dates are determined by school employers. The local authority is the employer for community, voluntary-controlled, community special or maintained nursery schools. For foundation, voluntary-aided and foundation special schools, the employer is the governing body.

Following the announcement of an additional bank holiday for Queen Elizabeth II’s State Funeral on Monday 19 September, the Department for Education (DfE) has issued advice to education settings in England which confirms the following:

‘The official date of the State Funeral will be a bank holiday. As with other bank holidays, it is at the discretion of individual settings whether they close or stay open.

‘Schools are not expected to remain open on the bank holiday. It should be treated as any normal bank holiday.’

In addition, the advice goes on to state:

‘The bank holiday announcement will not mean teachers will be required to teach an additional day. We will reduce the minimum number of sessions for this school year via regulations and change the definitions in the school teachers’ pay and conditions document for the current year.’

The NASUWT has been made aware that the DfE is in the process of amending the draft 2022 STPCD to take account of the additional bank holiday and the reduction in the number of days that teachers need to be available to work from 190 (+5 INSET days) to 189 (+5 INSET days). The total school year will therefore be 194 days.

There will also be a corresponding reduction in the number of hours a teacher can be directed for during the academic year."