how would you feel about year round schooling in order to reduce numbers?

[elmouno]

I see a lot of people bring up part time schooling, with a couple days on or reduced time, but I haven't seen any threads about shifting holiday.

Basically in a year round system, there are Tracks. Each student is assigned a Track (and families can choose to stay on the same Track). The Tracks are divided (Track A, B, C, D) so that the students and teachers assigned to that specific Track are allocated holiday. It's two months off, one month off continually with the one month off shifting according to the Track.

For example

Track A goes to school January, February and is off in March, then goes back April, May, and is off in June, then goes again July, August, then off in September, and back in October, November and off in December.

Track B, C, D is the same but the month off shifts throughout the year so that it reduces the number of students. Holidays for Easter, Christmas, and New Year's are still given, but are shorter.

This might help with the space in buildings.

What purpose does it serve though?

When would teachers get a break?

How are the DC looked after for the 4 months off? You'd need childminders/holiday clubs etc so they'd still be mingling with others.

You'd also need for teachers to be in the same tracks as their DC and you'd need siblings to be in the same tracks despite being in different schools. A logistical nightmare.

Tbh I would be willing to fit in with almost any system that allowed for social distancing in secondaries, I am pretty willing to be flexible and my kids seem fine with whatever.

I don't see this as being as easy for me as one week in one week home, but I would do it if it suited more people.

My least-preferred school.option is what is currently proposed in England (chuck em in, who gives a fuck if it spreads ).

How would that work at secondary and college level when there's difficult classes etc? What if to many families want the same track?

I dont understand the point or how it would work. If my kids weren't on the same "track" it would be impossible. Also I am a teacher too so how would that work? I wouldn't be allowed 4 months off a year to look after my kids

It sounds an interesting idea.
I can see a few of problems though -
What about parents who have children at different schools and unable to sync their tracks?
What about holiday clubs? Many families rely on them for childcare but they clubs wouldn't be financially viable 12 months a year.

What about teachers who are parents?

@Artesia

Teachers would be off according to the Track they are on. They would be tied to their students.

It wouldn’t work, sorry, especially not at secondary when so many groups are mixed due to options. I’m a teacher and have kids in different schools-how would be be on the same track (x by number of families in the same situation).

There are far better ways of organising schooling than the current system. The OP's idea is one of many. Unfortunately, like most things that appear good in theory, they're impractical. To change from what we have now to anything fundamentally different would be an administrative nightmare. Huge numbers of people live their lives around existing school terms, not just teachers (which is obvious), but also parents, other school staff, firms that provide building/maintenance/equipment to schools, etc, exam boards, etc. How long would it take to literally change the employment contracts of everyone working in around schools - you can't just tell a teacher they're working different terms. How long would it take to re-arrange school bus services from a 40 week model to a different 52 week model - would the bus/coach firms even have buses available during July and August for schools when they're likely to be used for tourism instead over Summer. Without long breaks, when would new classrooms be built or existing buildings renovated/developed?

It's pretty obvious that if we had a clean sheet of paper we'd do things differently, but that's not just schools, it's also the entire public sector, NHS, HMRC/tax, emergency services, etc etc. All these services were set up decades ago in a different era so really are no longer fit for purpose, but you just can't change things so fundamentally. It's why we get so many minor/incremental changes and even those are highly disruptive and provide very low levels of benefit.

How would you time exams?

Sounds a horrendously complicated upheaval for what is hopefully a short term problem that will hopefully only impact this academic year. What happens when everyone wants the track with the best holidays? Kids at different schools? Teachers and their children on different tracks? How on earth do you schedule exams under this plan? Move to secondary? Run an admissions system? Plus there’s no point having more space if no teachers to teach in it.

I’m all in favour of a more even distribution of school holidays over the year but I’d prefer week in/out, blended learning, moving the school year to a calendar year, even just repeating a whole academic year, over this.

I'd prefer online / blended learning with distancing and pupils without exemptions wearing face coverings.

The year round system would be preferable though to the current chuck em all in (with some handwashing and one way corridors!!) approach.

I'm not sure I understand, you'd still have the same class sizes but fewer classes? So might save costs where a school can downsize, or up capacity of existing schools, but you'd still have 30 per class?

Plus what happens when teachers have children? They all have to be on the same 'track'. Already issues is you teach across a county boundary and end up with different half terms to your child.

They do this where my are sister goes to school in America. Something to do with reducing costs re a/c and heating.

Anyway none of the tracks are in school they are all virtual school and will be for some time so it hasn't worked there.

Also a royal pain in the arse if you have kids in different track when do you go on holiday?

I think the only way of fundamental change in schools would be to completely scrap any kind of "streaming", "classes", "tracks", "setting" and the year by year system completely. Go straight to the University model of modules. That way you have a lot more flexibility. Obviously for some modules, you'd have to take in a particular order, i.e. basic algebra before trigonometry, etc and some would have to be compulsory at least at the lower level modules (literacy and numeracy). Scrap GCSEs and move to a school leavers' certificate where your grade is based on the points/marks accumulated from all the modules you've done. You could have some modules only available at certain times of the year so it could lead to flexibility as to when teachers & pupils have time off.

I also think repeating the year would be ideal. If there is no vaccine or really effective treatments by then, then consider other options.

I think it's a disgrace that fining, prosecuting, or losing places for non attendance is even being considered in these circumstances. It should be about better choices than that.

Already issues is you teach across a county boundary and end up with different half terms to your child.

Not even across a county boundary. In our city we have schools within the same city who have different holiday dates.

Buying more school buildings would have the same effect with less coordination.

While it might also be useful for more holiday adjustments than currently exist to reduce the school holiday rush, that would affect secondary school exam seasons so it's impractical.

Holidays would cost a bomb all year round because there would no longer be peak times essentially.

@Badbadbunny is correct in saying that there is just too much intertwined together to change the school year. Holiday clubs would need to run all year round, which in some ways could be a great business opportunity, but in reality, many of them are based in school buildings. Many are done in sports centres - which may not have the space all year round, because it’s essentially traditional for normal fitness classes to stop during school holidays. It also sounds like we would now need many more teachers /TAs to cover all tracks in an industry that’s already struggling to hold people in.

When would exams be? Not really fair if they’re all in May for example - a quarter of students had the previous month off to relax and revise, another quarter have been at school solidly for two months and are loosing their month off for exams so are shattered, another quarter get a month off as soon as they’re done but the rest have to jump straight to the next thing. Two sets of exams would give unfair advantage to the second group - they can see what came up in the first and use that as a basis of working out what might be asked in theirs.

Plus who wants to have November off and be stuck in the classroom for all the Christmas fun in December?

It’s not a bad idea in theory and I don’t disagree that the school year could do with adjusting. I think England should bump the summer holidays forward in line with Scotland and have all of July off as this seems to be the hottest month these days, and then have two week half term to break up the long autumn term.

I'm not sure I understand, you'd still have the same class sizes but fewer classes? So might save costs where a school can downsize, or up capacity of existing schools, but you'd still have 30 per class?

The goal would be that you would have smaller class sizes, because the whole school would be divided in Tracks with one of the Tracks always on holiday.

Right, but where are the staff coming from for these smaller classes?

But if you have smaller classes where do all the new teachers come from?

Teachers with children at other schools?
Funding to pay for teachers and TAs etc losing unpaid holiday time?

When do exams fit in?
How would it work with colleges, FE, universities, apprenticeships, etc?

When would school building maintenance and building works take place?
This summer we have had quite a lot of building work happen. It was delayed, due to a contractor issue last summer. It could not happen when the school was in use.
Painting and larger scale general maintenance takes place in most school holidays.

I also think repeating the year would be ideal.

Where do the new year groups fit in, if the old ones don't leave?
Who will fund the additional child benefit for children being in school longer?

Also, what about siblings within the school? If they are in a different track, how does that work? How could you ensure that this NEVER happens?