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 would not want my children to be in school for a whole day. 8.45 til 3.30 is plenty for children and teens. I also thought that most private schools finish at four and there is optional prep to stay til 5 or 6pm so it's not that dissimilar to a typical primary with after school club. Of course this is different in secondary schools but most state school parents that I know of have their Y7 and up kids seeing to themselves for an hour or two after school.

There is plenty time for them to work 9 til 6 when they are adults. Obviously, there are lots of options to working parents: for children to stay at school for wrap around care in breakfast and after school clubs (if your DCs school provides it), nurseries sometimes do before and/or after school, child minders, nanny or extended family members. Of course there is additional cost but there is much more cost to pay for a private school which is out of reach (and choice) for the majority.

There is no way LAs could afford to keep schools open for all pupils for an additional three hours a day. With additional staff costs, heating, food, I mean the list would be endless.

There are of course plenty of parents who don't work full time or work flexibly so don't need to have their children in school til 5 or 6pm.

They privately fund extra staff by charging fees. It’s not really that complicated. Would you be prepared to pay fees?

I imagine the teachers would be pulling their hair out doing an 8.30-5 day. Kids have also had enough and need downtime. Also worth baring in mind private schools have longer school holidays.

there should be more affordable wrap around care though I don’t disagree with that.

So essentially you’re saying your child should do the typical 9-5 at school? I think not

Private schools have longer school holidays too

Because private schools are businesses that fund their operating model through raising funds via fees.

State schools are currently under funded and rely on the government. They work often in much more challenging catchment areas than schools in the private sector and the brings further drain on resources and then what they can offer as wrap around. For teachers, larger classes, more challenging children.

Teachers are there until 5 (and beyond) to prepare for following days and mark classwork. If they teach until 5pm, when do the teachers prepare their lessons for the following days? Are you willing to spend your evenings preparing for your next work days?
I'm not a teacher but I come from a family of teachers (2 grandparents, both parents, aunt and uncle, MIL) and I have a DD who has recently had to quit teaching due to severe anxiety

Because kids would be absolutely shattered by then.

I think schools should only be closed for 25 days a year including bank holidays just so it fits in with the annual leave available to parents.

This plus the 8am - 5pm would suit working parents to a tee.

It might have some effect on pupils and teachers though,

After 3.20pm teachers should be able to get on with all the myriad of tasks that their SLT demand of them; as they do seem to post incessantly about it - although most problems seem to eminate from their SLT (teachers with promotion) so not really your mainstream working parents just tring to keep their own bosses happy and their dc educated, warm and fed.

No one has suggested that teachers lengthen their day working at the 'coal face' of education merely that the ordinary 3:20pm school finish doesn't co-exist so well with the widely-accepted 5-6pm finish that many employers demand.

And that's without throwing in the variations of shift workers and the restrictions on leave entitlement that many non-educational working parents endure/live with.

Now Google how many weeks holiday they have and work out how you'd cover it.

@cakeorwine 8-5pm would not have suited me or my husband to a tee.
Not everyone works traditional office hours. We never did.
We paid for a private school and extra provision.

My kids secondary school starts at 8.30 and finishes at 3. Earlier finish was decided because they appreciate that kids have extra curricular activities and homework to fit in.

Theres never going to be a one size fits all to this.

You would lose your mind in Ireland for the first three years it's 1:20 and 2:20 after that.

I work full time I rely on after-school, childminders and nanny at different times.

@80smonster i don’t want to have to pay fees but feel like I’ve got no option

But you are expecting free childcare.

The tax payer can’t fund everything for you.

I think school should be more like daycare and actual school would start when the kids are older. The daycare would be from 7-5 or whatever is deemed the best timing. There would be school like activities during core hours. The other hours would be less formal. Kids would have to be in during the core hours but otherwise could be dropped off and picked up within opening hours. And when the kids are older and start formal school then they'd have after school club to those who need it and soon enough they'll be old enough to get themselves home from school.

Don't they have longer summer holidays in Ireland as well?

So if schools carried on until 5 who is paying for that? You can’t just ask people to work an extra hour and a half and not be paid?

Yep.June 30- 1 Sept up to age 12 then three mons I. secondary.

Generally the prep school day ends at 4:15pm and extra curricular clubs run until 5pm. After school clubs vary in end time. Both extra curriculars and ASC’s are charged in addition to the fees. So might not be cheaper than a state school with the same offerings?

This.
When you decide to have children you know for an absolute fact that in 4 years time they will be starting school. If you
A, don't have the means to be a SAHM
B, don't have grandparents/family members to help out
C, can't afford childcare
D, can't change your working hours
Then don't have children.

It's also a self selecting group, in that people who don't want their DC in for longer days won't go private even if they can afford it.

whoa whoa whoa teachers already work till 5 and beyond. So they may as well teach kids. Perhaps give the kids a 2 hour lunch and teachers can do prep work then.

My private school finished at 4.00 if we wanted to stay later they had extra activities like netball club etc but these where all extra and added onto the school bill. Prep was free but only until 5.30 and you had to be a certain age I seem to remember. We also had longer holidays but there was no holiday clubs when I was off school unless our holiday dates matched the local state schools. My parents worked in London and still had to arrange childcare to pick me up.