AIBU to presume this would be PRESCHOOL swimming

[Bathsheba]

I've just some back from a holiday staying at my Aunt's outside Edinburgh.

My 2 eldest girls love swimming so it was really important that one day we went to a swimming pool. I checked all the local pools and found that 2 had a Kids Aqua Fun Session on a Friday afternoon between 1 and 3pm. (Now, just to clarify, this is every Friday afternoon, nothering at all to do with Easter holidays etc..)

So, we get the girls ready (my girls were off last week from school and playgroup but the schools where my Aunt lives weren't), turned up at the pool only to be turned away as my girls were too young (they are 6 and 3).

It turns out that ALL the schools where my Aunt lives finish at lunchtime on a Friday, so all the community facilities have to put on activities for School aged children on a Friday afternoon as it causes so many childcare issues. So my girls were turned away because the Kids Aqua Fun session on a Friday afternoon between 1 and 3 is for over 8s.

So was I wrong to presume an activity that was scheduled for every week during conventional school time was for preschoolers - I asked them to clarify on their website for visitors to the area (quite a tourist area) that this session was for Over 8s..

And also, Am I wrong to thing that its completely weird and bizarre and must cause a huge amount of problems for all the schools to finish at lunchtime on a Friday - it must cause huge childcare issues and I thought we were wanting kids in school and getting more of an education, not less....

In the end I did a bit of phoning around to find a pool that they could go into and they had a great time swimming but I was a bit dumbstruck initially...

YANBU, I would have assumed exactly the same but no doubt lots of Scottish MNers will now come and tell this is prefectly normal north of the border but I've never heard it, seems like it would cause problems for working parents.

You are not wrong to assume that in most areas Friday afternoon would be aimed at non school age children. And yes, the website should highlight any restrictions to admission clearly ideally too.

However, it is not wrong for school children to finish at Friday lunchtime if that is the norm for that area. It is just a different system, that's all. And presumably the children still do the compulsary xxx hours per year of education that is legally required of schools.

And why should children be in school more? Do people really strive for that?

I'm from North of the border myself (lot further north than Edinburgh) and its certainly not the norm here...

From what I can gather its not the norm in Edinburth City either (thats where we ended up swimming) so it seems to be particular to this area just outside Edinburgh..

TBH I'd have thought that a descision to structure the school week like that in an entire region would have caused national controversy - its all very close to Edinburgh and a lot of parents must commute and work in the city.

In our area (SW ENgland) Kids Aqua Fun sessions are over 8s only

Hi Hulababy..

Well not really ins chool more...I knew what I meant...

I just mean that many schools are now having to provide wrap around care and things with breakfast clubs and after school clubs and keep children in the school enviroment for longer because of how many families work these days, so it seemed really bizarre for an entire region to keep schools open for less time...

Most of the locals manage perfectly fine with an early Friday finish those that are working would usually be using afterschool care clubs would be using them anyway.

The mistake you made was assuming something rather than calling ahead so YABU.

Hi Cat64...not odd at all - I assumed it was a preschool session precisely because it was on during conventional school time...I had no idea it was for older kids as all the website said was "Kids Aqua Fun"...my small kids wanted some fun involving Aqua and I thought as it was on during conventional school tiem that it would be aimed at an under school age audience...I had no idea from the website that it was aimed at older kids.

Stewie...."the traditional Wednesday afternoon" - hang on, do schools shut on a Wednesday afternoon...?? I've lived in Scotland for almost all of my life and I;ve never known schools to shut early on any days....where I grew up in Perthshire we had shops that shut on a wednesday afternoon but no schools...

Are the after school clubs not really oversubscribed for there timeslots..?

Surely if you should have checked because your 6 year old would be too old for a preschool swim

TBH you may not have been allowed the 6y in a preschool swimming session anyway. At our local pool the term time inschool "preschool" sessions are fr under 5s only. Discovered this myself when DD was n school holidays but state schools hadn't broken up yet.

The schools may offer inschool based activities and clubs in addition to the council run activities on the Friday afternoons.

The care clubs usually have the same amount of kids on a friday than any other day due to the fact is your able to pick your DC up at 3pm then your generally not working afternoons or SAHM so able to pick up at 12:30/1pm.

I do believe it was introduced in order to get rid of the Wednesday early finish.

Well DD1 is very slight and has only just turned 6 so she could have passed for 5...

I honeslt ly just thought we could take advantage all week of quieter places and activities because the schools were still in there - I was taking my 2 elder ones on my own so fancied a quiet session for them to have fun in and thought this would be it...

I am in Scotland (nearer glasgow than edinburgh) and school has never closed early on a Friday or a Wednesday.

Bathsheba - here she'd have to pass for 4y as ours are under 5 sessions.

The local secondary school closes for Friday afternoon. Out of the feeder Primary Schools ours is the only one that has Friday afternoons off.

We love it

Scotland btw

One of our local secondary schools closes early on Friday and we are in Hertfordshire!

Most of the schools in Edinburgh and Midlothian close at lunchtime on a Friday. When I was at school ours was the only one that didn't close at lunchtime on a Friday which we were all very about.

Yes - close early on Fridays, but start earlier in the mornings, so don't worry,no hours of schools lost.

We love it - makes all the more of a weekend.

And the Wednesday thing - very traditional in certain areas - intention was for pupils/ students to take part in sports.

It is standard that most primary and secondary schools in the Lothians ( East , West , Mid and City of Edinburgh )finish at lunchtime on a Friday - a few have their half day on a Wednesday instead .The other school days are adjusted accordingly so that children are still in school for the required hours .

My child is in school now and it doesn't cause a problem in terms of childcare because it is the norm here so after school clubs /chilminders etc are all set up for this situation. I can see it being a bit of a problem at the start of secondary school when I don't want my child just hanging around for the afternoon unsupervised but i'm sure there are ways around this , since thousands of Edinburgh families manage it!

I had never come across this practice until I came to teach in Edinburgh but it seems to work pretty well. Teacher use the Friday afternoon for planning / professional development courses etc. so they're not all skiving off too.

I've never heard of that either, Bath. Not on Wednesdays or Fridays. Wednesday is (was?) usually the sports time for years 4-6, so inter-school games can take place, and is same at colleges and universities. I'd have assumed same as you. But wouldn't now! Might not cause as many problems as you'd think - a lot of factories (do these still exist in the UK? ho ho) close early on Fridays, certainly my brother always has in various printers, and currently on 4 day week so Friday off.

I think most boarding schools do earlier days, i.e. finishing by 1 or 2pm and teach on Saturday mornings too, which affects day pupils too.