Private schools are breaking up early for Easter

[Wafflewife]

Several private schools have just announced they are breaking up a week early for Easter on 19 March and going back a week sooner than planned (and a week sooner than state schools) on 12 April. They hope that by doing this they will maximise face-to-face teaching time as they are gambling on schools being more fully open after Easter than before it.

What do you think? Should state schools do the same? Is this just one more way that private school children are going to be advantaged over state schools because their leadership teams are able to be innovative and independent?

Not all private schools are doing this. Not all private schools have longer holidays and not all private schools break up at the begining of July for summer. Some follow state school holidays.

We have a fixed Easter break here so our school (state, Lea maintained) doesn't start Easter holidays until the first week in April.

Her have another week to go til half term.
Then 2 weeks of remote learning before 8 March.

We are an infant school so quite likely to be back in full from the start - whether or not that is a good idea is another issue, it didn't work well in the Autumn term, but it's irrelevant as we have no say regardless. We already have around 40% in each day, sometimes up to 50%

We'd then have 5 weeks to go before Easter holidays (well 4 weeks, 4 days - Friday is a bank holiday for Easter weekend.)

Our local independent schools keep the same dates as the local state schools, though have 3 weeks at Easter. None have announced any changes to their dates as yet. As some families have children in both sectors, or some of their staff have children in the local state schools, they try to avoid having them at totally different times generally.

Private schools tend to have longer days when they are in and that is why they have longer holidays.

Not all private schools do longer days and few have Saturday schools, at least locally. Their hours are pretty much the same as the local state schools.

Private prep here. Don't break up until 26th March and back 20th April. They've just published all the term dates and no changes so not expecting any movement. Would have loved an extra week of half term and a shorter Easter break.

Local private school has moved one week of 3 week easter break to create a two week feb half term.

My DCs private school has already extended the summer term. Instead of breaking up at the beginning of July, they break up mid July this year. They have also reduced October half term to one week instead of two.

Local private school here moving to two week half term and then a two week Easter holiday

There may be some limited term date shifting in some independent schools.

It is wrong to say they are all doing it though.

Most of the big ones have CRs that are strong enough to prevent that kind of late term meddling with the dates. It’s unlikely to be widespread.

By this point there’s no real ‘advantage’ to be gained. Independent school pupils are already well ahead of their state peers because remote learning policies and procedures were in place last year and have been updated and refined this time around. Also, virtually all pupils have WiFi and their own device.

Out local school is also moving to the 3 week feb half term and two weeks at Easter rather than 3. Good idea I think.

Wow. I do wish our state school and 2 week half term and 2 week easter. And finished early July!

Problem is, it's a gamble/guess.

I'm in a private school and we are breaking up a week later for Easter because we delayed the start of term for most year groups in January when it was first decided to close schools. We thought this would give us less online learning in Jan and more face to face in March.

Hasn't worked out that way and now we've just got a short Easter holiday.

I'd be pissed off if they moved the term dates - we have holiday provision already in place which is immoveable.

@manicinsomniac

Problem is, it's a gamble/guess.

I'm in a private school and we are breaking up a week later for Easter because we delayed the start of term for most year groups in January when it was first decided to close schools. We thought this would give us less online learning in Jan and more face to face in March.

Hasn't worked out that way and now we've just got a short Easter holiday.

How has it not worked out? Obviously 8th March is a ? but some of March should be face to face and Jan obviously wasn't. So there was less online learning and there will be more face to face?

Local private school moving to two week half term and then break up on 1 April and back on 19 April. That sounds different from the others?

I'd be pissed off if they moved the term dates - we have holiday provision already in place which is immoveable.

What sort of holiday?! Are you betting all restrictions will be lifted?

notevenat20

No. As in childcare organised for the school holidays.

No. As in childcare organised for the school holidays.

Ah, your children must actually be in school. I can only dream.

notevenat20

Well yeah, I run our hospital based covid vaccination hub and DH is contracted out by his company for IT to the NHS procurement team.

But also 2 of our kids are foster kids so need the stability of school/ nursery (recently lost both parents).

pommedeterre Yes, if we go back, that's true. When I wrote that, I had no faith that we would. Even now, I think it's likely to be EYFS and KS1 only. So it may well have worked for that end of the school. I only teach from Y3-Y8 so I don't think I'll be getting face to face teaching before Easter (hope I'm wrong!) We also have a very cautious head who is more likely to bring back fewer than allowed than find ways to push the maximum. We only have 15% (at the most, some days 8-10%) in at the moment because the criteria was applied so strictly.