Longer school days to make up for lost learning

[StitchInLime]

Source: Various newspapers, give it a Google (admittedly with a right wing lean)

Apparently one of the options being considered, nothing set in stone of course but for the purposes of discussion...

AIBU to feel both joy and sadness at the prospect of this (joy for me so I can claw back work hours, joy for children so they can claw back some school time but sadness for my teacher friends and all teachers who will need to add more hours to already heavy workload).

I have 4 children already in childcare/ wrap around childcare. My husband and I are SEN teachers and have worked throughout. Do people really think we need to work extra hours/ weeks for free? What do we do with our own children?

‘Lost learning’ is a fallacy.

It’s about meeting government targets/ league tables. And that is all it’s about.

25 years a teacher. I hope this resets education instead of destroying the mental health of teens

Not being goady here but every time the subject of teachers working extra hours comes up it's met with 'already working full time'. I totally get teachers don't work 9-3 there's marking etc, but we are not in normal times, when something needs doing in my job I work extra as do most I assume, doctors, nurses etc are all working crazy shifts. Why are some school staff so reluctant to do that bit extra? I'm not saying do it for free but I know a few who would happily work more to catch kids up.

Teachers are working beyond capacity. Where would you suggest the extra time came from?

Lunch time? Taken
After school? Taken
Evenings? Taken
Sunday afternoon? Taken doing lesson prep.

Share your ideas for extra time?

I can't see how this will work. With all the unsettled-ness of home learning, when my class returned properly in September they were absolutely exhausted by 2pm and nothing valuable was really achieved after this time. I can't see how adding extra hours to the day is going to help. The quality of learning will be poor at best if the children are tired.

They'd be better trimming all the extra bullshit out of the curriculum and focusing on the essentials. Why do year 6 need to know how to multiply and divide fractions for goodness sake....

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

Teachers are working beyond capacity. Where would you suggest the extra time came from?

Lunch time? Taken
After school? Taken
Evenings? Taken
Sunday afternoon? Taken doing lesson prep.

Share your ideas for extra time?

See I'm not seeing that with the teaching staff I know. I don't know about lunches but I know they aren't working late into the evening or weekends. Admittedly I only know 4 well

@storminabuttercup

Not being goady here but every time the subject of teachers working extra hours comes up it's met with 'already working full time'. I totally get teachers don't work 9-3 there's marking etc, but we are not in normal times, when something needs doing in my job I work extra as do most I assume, doctors, nurses etc are all working crazy shifts. Why are some school staff so reluctant to do that bit extra? I'm not saying do it for free but I know a few who would happily work more to catch kids up.

I think you are being very goady, actually.

If you'd bothered to read other threads you would know that teachers are working extra hours already because they have to teach in school and on line or prepare work for those DCs at home. Also those in school have lost their breaks and often only get 20 minutes for lunch.

I think that's enough extra. But you know that. You just wanted to stir the shit.

@storminabuttercup

Not being goady here but every time the subject of teachers working extra hours comes up it's met with 'already working full time'. I totally get teachers don't work 9-3 there's marking etc, but we are not in normal times, when something needs doing in my job I work extra as do most I assume, doctors, nurses etc are all working crazy shifts. Why are some school staff so reluctant to do that bit extra? I'm not saying do it for free but I know a few who would happily work more to catch kids up.

It's not about doing "that bit extra." I work as many hours as I'm able. I am not able to give more hours to teaching on a regular basis, which is what is being asked here.

I worked a 15 hour day one day this week because there was an urgent issue to deal with. Just like anyone in a professional job might have to do occasionally.

That's not what would happen if the school day was extended by an hour a day. This would mean I would have to continue to work my typical hours but try to plan extra lessons, while having less time to do so. The quality of the lessons would go down. So the effect would not be what is wanted.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

Teachers are working beyond capacity. Where would you suggest the extra time came from?

Lunch time? Taken
After school? Taken
Evenings? Taken
Sunday afternoon? Taken doing lesson prep.

Share your ideas for extra time?

Hmm, well I get up at 5 to do an hour’s prep before waking my children to get them ready for breakfast club. I then collect them at 5 and they go to bed at 7.30pm where I’ll do another hour or so work. I reckon go could schedule a lesson between 10pm and midnight? Who needs sleep!

Motherunner- just get up at 4.00 am!😁. You don’t need sleep. All the teacher badgers know it.

Bashers!

The reports I've read are teachers who choose to work additional hour or summer school will be paid.

I'm an HLTA with a degree in early education and would volunteer for summer school if I was paid!

Well, if parents and the government want teachers to put in more time and effort to facilitate this, they need to start respecting the profession and stop sticking two fingers up at them.

I wouldn't support this for DS. He already spends hours every day studying and sitting at the computer. With little time to go out or take up a new hobby as all the MH bumf tells him too.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

Motherunner- just get up at 4.00 am!😁. You don’t need sleep. All the teacher badgers know it.

Admittedly I’m an insomniac so for me it may work, til I crash!

I certainly wasn't being goady. But surely not all teachers will feel the same and some may want the extra work and indeed pay.

My DS won't be doing this. He is reception and the school day is long enough.

This is again where private school children benefit and something we should be looking to replicate in state schools in my opinion.

The school day starts at 8.15 for all children. KS1 finish at 3.30 and KS2 finish at 4.20. KS1 clubs(mainly sports based and run by outside experts) run until 4.20 so if you have a child in both key stages you can pick them up at the same time. Every KS1 child with a sibling stays for this extra session of sport so they have 3 1.5 sessions of PE a week in the curriculum and a sessions after school everyday. Interestingly, there is not a single overweight child in the school.

KS2 clubs run from 4.20 to 5.40 including an extra playtime and healthy snack from 4.20-4.40. These are clubs, again mainly active ones run by professionals.

By doing the longer day, the children do an equivalent of an extra day a week at school. They all cope with these hours fine and they have more time for the creative side of the curriculum. And the way that the clubs are run encourages lots of extra sport.

I honestly think that an extended school day like this would give the teacher more time to cover the maths and English basics in the day and more time for active and creative learning after school.

Children haven't just lost education time, they have lost time to socialise and do sports and activities. They need to get back to doing this not longer school hours.

@CrackOpenTheGin and yet they have far longer holidays.

My 2 eldest are already out the house from 7.30 until nearly 5 every day. Any longer and they really would have no time for anything except school and it would be miserable. I wouldn't want it, work life balance for everyone, students and teachers.

Isn't it going to be exhausting for children, especially after having led such little, quiet lives for months? There's only so much they can take in during a day before they get to overwhelm.

If its not going to be staffed by teachers, its not extra learning, its supervision.

Fizzypepsi

The unions in Ireland have forced schools to close full stop. No one in.

Be grateful for what you have instead of having a go at the unions for protecting their members. Evil unions eh?!

Why are some school staff so reluctant to do that bit extra? I'm not saying do it for free but I know a few who would happily work more to catch kids up.
Because I rarely finish before 7 on a good day, having started at 7. I teach from 9-3.30. If I now have to teach until 5.30, those two hours get added at the end so I'm working til 9. But I'm also planning for two more hours and marking for two more hours. It's not "a bit extra"
It's also inevitable that the students who volunteer to do it will be the ones who don't need it, and the ones who do will either not attend, or make it difficult for everyone.
We had invited intervention sessions in October for y11. Some uninvited kids were worried that they were missing out. Some invited ones didn't bother. Some invited ones had to be removed by the senior team because of their behaviour.