Can School Extend Easter?

[EasterEvenLonger]

My kid’s school had published Easter holidays as:
Mon 7 April - Tuesday 22nd April

They have written today to extend it to:
Friday 4 April - Thursday 24 April
An additional 3 working/school days

I can’t list all the reasons this is a fucking nightmare for me. Can they just announce this without any consultation and just 3 weeks notice? They haven’t taken any subsequent days off to compensate. It’s an additional 3 days.

YABU - of course they can
YANBU - no they shouldn’t be able to do this

I'm not sure about the minimum notice period (if there is one) but it seems uk school needs to be open to pupils 190 days for the academic year.
Ours is open 195 days this year, so if they had to close for an additional few days they could (given permission by LEA).

They are allowed extra days, with LA approval if they need to move buildings. You'd hope they'd have known dates to give more notice, but if they don't allow these days staff would need to work through the holiday to make the move happen.

Friend sent me her school timetable they've added an extra week at Easter and finish a week early end of year. That's two weeks they've pinched this year at a private school.

Don't be silly.
The OP (and other parents ) will have planned time off work around the school holidays or made other arrangements like holiday clubs.
Suddenly changing the dates means arrangements now have to be made unexpectedly and that isn't exactly easy to do.

I moved a school once. They certianly weren't days off for the staff. Do you think a move happens by magic?

Academies can set their own holidays they don’t have to follow the county council

We had a move when I was a teacher, three days. I’ve never been so physically exhausted in my life, despite being (in those days) strong, fit and healthy. And then straight into teaching in new surroundings, with tech barely working and confused and unsettled kids. What fun it was.

Is this a primary or secondary school?

Oh, so only people who can give up work should become parents?
When DC were little this would have been incredibly stressful. Annual leave doesn't cover all school holidays. Unpaid leave (and pissing off the boss) would have been the only option for these 3 days and I had no spare money to afford that.

I get it's frustrating but it reads like it's just one of those things. They can't very well have kids in school with no classrooms for them to use.

I presume this is primary. My DC’s secondary state academy school added an extra training day over and about the 5 inset days already announced with less than 3 weeks notice. It was have been difficult if they had been primary age but it’s not so much of an issue when it’s secondary thankfully.
i sympathise.

If they are having to move stuff and close the school they probably don’t have a lot of choice. Is it a new building?

Maybe they will adjust the day they break up in the summer

I suppose the school would just say you’d have sort childcare at even shorter notice if child was ill

Buddy up with other parents so you cover one day and look after all the dc and the other parents do a day each so it only impacts one day.

What ages are the dc?

Do you know about work? Have you ever had a job?

This is a fucking nightmare

It's almost there weeks!

What are you meant to do about childcare?!

School is not childcare and it’s not their responsibility to arrange your childcare.

Yes if cleared by the LEA for works done. Emergency closures are also fairly common - 2 local high schools and 3 primaries shut down 3 days early at Christmas due to water issues (thankfully it was my year 11) so yes they ca

Lots of schools around here had terrible problems with RAAC-some were closed for weeks on end before alternative buildings were found. Sadly, it's just one of those things sometimes. I would either buddy up with friend at school and try to do one day each or ask work for parental leave.

well if you have plans stick to them and tell them it shouldn't be unauthorised

" I expect the SAHM’s are already cringing in anticipation of more of these messages."

Wow, I'd be offering in that situation to help my friends out not cringing.

Your frustration is understandable but schools aren't childcare facilities. They don't owe you any days

Definitely was a big fan of this - sharing the load with other working mums … plus kids loved it!