School day

[Gwendolinee]

In our recent primary newsletter we were told that the school day has increased at the behest of the DofE. I’m really not onboard with this especially at primary. My son is y1 and is one of the youngest. Is this as a result of Covid?

Increased from what to what? 2 hours a day? 15 minutes?. Need more info.

earlier Start and later finish. 30 mins

It was introduced in 2022 I believe that schools had to be open a minimum amount of time by September this year.
Ours increased the day in September last year

What is the school day?

Yes, it has to be thirty two and half hours a week by this September.

Nope, it’s a good thing.

All schools should have a standard length. Not fair that some children get “more school” than others.

How short was the day before?

My nephew’s school finish at 1pm on a Friday! No idea how they manage to get enough hours in cos they don’t start or finish at a drastically different time to my daughters (and they’ve just had to increase the day by 5 mins a day to meet the requirement!)

Consider it a good thing - now your kid gets the same amount of school time as every other kid. 2 and a half hours a week is a lot to be short!

Some schools have a short lunchtime.

Not in y1! Maybe secondary. By the time he’s home he’s completely shattered. It’s unfair!

It's actually just the start and finish times that count. The lunch can be any length. I know of schools that extended the school day and just added an extra break time in the afternoon.

Yes, DfE guidance to schools ( under the previous Conservative gov.), including case studies about the benefits

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/length-of-the-school-week-minimum-expectation

I’m sure he will survive.

You want him to get 2.5 less hours of education because he's tired at the end of the school day?

Tired like all the other kids who go to school?

He'll get used to it and forget all about the old timings pretty quickly.

So 6 1/2 hours a day? 9-3.30? That's pretty normal for a school day. They're not chained to their desks - they'll have dinner time, okay time, story time etc

How is it unfair that all schooling is even in terms of time across the board?

He's learning not working at the coal face. There are huge benefits to a slightly longer day as detailed in the gov document above. I think adding time to the start of the day is better as the children are more awake and alert in the mornings which is when core lessons (maths and English) take place.

Just make sure he gets enough sleep every night so he wakes up refreshed.

Secondary?

So between year 1 and year 7 he's going to be too shattered to do any after school activities or playdates etc?

Might be time for a trip to the doctor.

You haven’t answered what time your current school hours are ?

When DD1 started school in 2005, the infants had a 10 minute afternoon playtime. The school was told to drop that because the infants weren't getting enough classroom contact time. Their school day was 9-3.15 with an hour for lunch (the canteen was too small so they needed the hour for 2 sittings) and a 15 minute morning playtime.

It’s not unfair, this is literally to make it fair. Your precious son will be fine

The Duke of Edinburgh? 🥲

It's a pain in the arse for anywhere with the infant-junior model. Infant schools usually have a slightly shorter day so you can get between the two for drop off/pick up. My children's infant school is increasing by 15 minutes. As a teacher, I'm confident that 15 minutes between 3.15 and 3.30 is going to add nothing to the learning of 4-7 year olds. They're over it by then.

Good grief, schools really can’t win can they. This isn’t something they’ve done off their own bat, it’s a national requirement.

If your son isn’t coping next year maybe look at his diet, sleeping habits and what he’s eating at lunchtime. If that doesn’t work have a word with the teacher, but chances are as he gets a bit older he’ll be fine.