To wonder why DS's school is closed this afternoon?

[cottonwoolbrain]

It's been in the calendar since the start of term. It does not really cause us an issue as he's 11 and in year 7 and there's usually one of us working from home anyway.

But they're being very vague as to why. Usually they tell us - teacher training, planned repairs etc. but all they've said this time is school closed. DS says someone asked in registration this morning and was just told "because it is"

I can't help wondering if the staff are having an absolutely well deserved party as they reach the end of the school year - I certainly wouldn't begrudge it I'd want a break if I had to spend all year in the company of a thousand noisy kids!!

It just seems - odd

Ha, I've never worked in a school where staff would have willingly attended a party when they could just be getting on with their work so they had less to do later. There are loads of teaching threads with angry teachers frustrated at having to do well-being staff meetings instead of just being given time to clear their to do list.

Because the people who had got into Oxford or Cambridge had already left school.

The people who got into Oxford or Cambridge had already left school and didn't benefit. They had to do a 3rd year in 6th form for the Entance exam. I wasn't one of them.

Yes, I know. It was what the previous poster called Christmas shopping day - which you said wasn't allowed. I was just pointing out it is allowed.

No I didn't, the point is that random days and late closures will result in the school being fined.
I've never heard of a closure for Christmas shopping since about 1983, but if folks claims it happens....

You're misunderstanding. The 'Christmas shopping day' is a disaggregated day.

That’s fine, just stating what your original post implied and why it was easy to misunderstand.

My kids school has a random 'school closed' day once a year - it's not an inset day, something to do with when they converted to an academy and teaching hours changed slightly, staff were due one more holiday day than usual term dates allowed for.... Maybe something like that, but seems an odd time to year for it!

A school near me has an inset day early December.

They then do the actual training early over a few evenings.

Staff then get the day off as a Christmas shopping day.

They've been doing it twenty years and still going.

I'm pretty envious to be honest.

Also - I doubt whether it's sprung on with no notice!

Its not been sprung on the OP

Is it an academy? My child's school does this at least once a term - sends the children home after registration so it still counts as a full day!

Sometimes it is for a specific reason like they have an open evening or parent's evening later, sometimes it's just because it is the end of term.

I was speaking to a teacher at a party recently and this subject came up, she said they have it at her school but maybe they call it something else. Secondary school but no idea if it's an academy

Ha, no, I'm sorry, but I agree with the others... it's clear as mud.

Presentation afternoon for the staff who are leaving is my guess.

It is likely staff related if they won't say why. Probably not a leaving do as I've never known one to be in school hours and a party wouldn't be on a Tuesday, surely, if they finish on Friday. End of academic year not a good time for training, especially if staff are leaving. Maybe putting on a show for the students?

In my experience, secondary schools often aggregate hours and have odd times off though - they seem to get away with little or no explanation, compared to primary schools where childcare is a big issue.

I assumed you meant there was a half day after they received the offer, which is in the school year. So you got a half day in honour of students from the previous year getting the grades for their Oxbridge offer? That’s just bizarre

@KateDelRick That’s not true. When the teachers co tracts we’re rewritten in the 80s and it was decided to disaggregate pay over 12 months, rather than paying teacher for just the months in school (same money spread over more months) they also took five days of paid holidays allowance to make the inset days. Schools can calendar onset as they see fit and use them for any purpose- some give staff time back. Next year my school has one at the beginning of each term yo allow us to get up and running.

obviously they don’t call it that to the parents. But it definitely happened I’m not a teacher my housemate was and he said I’m off today it’s Christmas shopping day and then they had their Christmas party in the evening. I lived there for two years and it happened both years

I doubt it’s a party. DDs school finishes early on friday, all the schools I’ve worked in finished early last day of term and we encouraged everyone to leave asap.
On a Tuesday is seems a bit random. It isn’t somewhere that’s becoming an academy or changing MAT so they can speak to all the staff?

It's called a disaggregated training day.

The context of my post was the OP about a whole school being closed for the day so I assumed people would realise I meant the whole school would close.

Looking back on it I suppose it was bizarre. But it was the 60s/very early 70s and we didn't question it.

Possibly time put aside for end of term jobs in school.whjch are far easier and faster to do when there are no children in school as you can have all hands on deck rather than just 2-3 LSAs released from normal duties. For example, doing an inventory and sort out of resources, cataloguing the library books, taking down displays, putting up fresh backing paper, organising the reading books and repairing all the ripped ones, organising classroom cupboards, putting away the new school supplies, preparing next terms exercise books with labels and tags, putting new tags on coat pegs and drawers, etc.

My kids school did this. Some parents were up in arms till they found out it was terrorism training

I think you meant anti- terrorism training!