To think a 3:20 finish is absurd?

[Itsr]

It’s mostly mums at the school gates. Because the 3:20 finish worked well at a time when most women stayed at home.

now most women work, which means two parents working, why does school finish ar 3:20?! Yes I know there are after school classes etc but some don’t go on for too long and they also cost.

what actually is the reason why the school day isn’t aligned with a work day (like it is with most private schools!)

I think there's a strong argument for secondary schools to start at 10. Teens legitimately need more sleep, and there could be clubs/voluntary study groups beforehand.

The teachers don't finish work at 1.30 on a Friday. They will use that time for planning, resourcing, marking, assessment, meetings with other staff, phone calls and emails to parents and outside agencies, filling in pointless forms, attending training sessions, putting up displays, etc etc etc. And actually half a day a week is absolutely no where near enough time to do all that which is why teachers are routinely working 60 hour weeks. And leaving the profession.

Are you seriously so unbelievably stupid that you think they're going home to chill for the afternoon?

Extending lessons until after 3.20 would be too tiring for DC.
They are learning new things which takes more out of you than just doing something you already know back to front.
Teachers need time to mark. And prep.
Private schools offer wraparound ie breakfast club then after school prep /homework club and after school activities, not formal lessons. You will be paying for that as part of their service.
Some state schools, but not all, offer wraparound care in form of breakfast or after school clubs or you can get a child minder or you and DH could ask to adjust working patterns.
imo a working day is too long for DC especially when they are in primary and it's often longer than parents are at work due to travel time between school and work DC need time to relax and switch off.
And school is for education not childcare.
But yes it is very hard juggling it all as a working parent, especially if you have no family support

This and because kids are knackered by around 3.30pm.

So lovely to see another teacher bashing thread on Mumsnet. Now Taylor swift has finished her tour they needed someone else to bitch about.

There is no reason why men cannot do the school run, instead of women. However, the real reason is that women generally have maternity leave, and then may have a second child, so are likely to be around and not in full time employment as much as men. I know of a few cases where the men are the SAHP while the mother works full time.
As regards the day, my DGC have several after school activities (unrelated to school), but she is exhausted by it all. She would like to cut some out!.
The truth is that many children (depending on age) cannot manage a long day.
A lot of schools run their own after school clubs (which you will most likely have to pay for), and I am advised there is a long waiting list for many of them.
When my own DC were young, and when I returned to work, I worked part time, but started very early, which meant my DH took the DC to school everyday, while I collected them.
School holidays were worse, and we have had several separate holidays, as it is much harder finding care during many of the school breaks.

No one thinks it's the worst job in the world. It's just really hard to keep hearing that we only work 9 to 3.30 every day when some of us are (were) struggling with workload and expectations.

Personally I left the profession in summer 2021.

So this is just a session to bash lazy teachers then is it?

Seriously though OP, where is the extra money coming from to pay every school's teachers for 2 hours extra teaching per day? Pretty much any teacher I know would prefer a workload cut to a payrise any day, so it's not as if teachers would want to do 2 extra hours paid. In which case, where would they find extra teachers to do the hours? They wouldn't. They already can't recruit enough.

Maybe don't have kids then if you think like that?

Well they could do that now if they were so inclined.

Surely it's a given that once you bring children into your life, both parents need to work out how to manage the school pick up times. You'd know this before having children.
Because children just can't be ditched everyday from 8am till 7pm with no interaction from their parents....

Yeah, I think the staffing would be an even bigger problem than the funding.

As long as the debates around the nonsensical (in the main working world) school hours revolve around the teacher's angst and the private/state school axis, nothing good will become of it.

Just draw back and look - the 9-3:30 schoolday does not work out for most working parents.

What are you moaning about then? Don't have kids if you can't afford for their childcare. Their education is free. Their childcare is not. It's as simple as that.

When my son first started school here in Germany (nearly 30yrs ago!) I think there was a couple of days of 8-10.30, an 8-12 and a couple of 8-11.

When my daughter started a couple of years later the new headmaster changed it to 8-12 every day.

There was outrage at such a long day for the 6yr olds just starting!

School finished at 3.20 in the 1980s and my mum worked full time. So did most of my friends’ mums. The difference is that the key was left under the mat and we all went home to an empty house (and looked after younger siblings to boot). Social services would be called now!

Well said. Also very telling that OP's husband doesn't do any of the childcare.

Life worked better when most women stayed at home but sadly that shipped has sailed.
School is not childcare, if you want to work or are a single parent/in a difficult financial situation and need to work then you need to pay for childcare. There are options available to reduce costs like tax free childcare , vouchers if you signed up years ago, and UC.

What a horrible and bitter post/person.

I bet the children go home at lunch as it's the only way the school can afford to give the teachers their allocated PPA time. This is not 'catching up with work' as you so sneerily put it but dedicated time for teachers to plan, prepare and assess. Two hours a week which is nowhere near enough time to do the job that you know ensures your children get a decent education.

When I was at school I swear we started at 8:50 and finished at 4pm I may be wrong about the 8:50 start but I'm definitely right about the 4pm finish.

Yabu

school is for education

it’s not just free childcare

Oh here we go. I'm surprised it took so long. You're welcome to retrain if you think the job's so easy that you sneer at it.