Extending the school day

[LemonSherbetFancies]

What are your thoughts on this?
Many are saying it is pointless and won't achieve much if an extra half hour or so is tagged onto the end of the day. Others have said that it should be based more on sports and free choice activities but my thinking is, isn't that what after school clubs are for?

Kids are pretty restless by the end of the day, even the older teens. That’s why our school timetables all their maths/English year 11 lessons into lesson 2 of the day, so they aren’t tired in the morning and by the lesson 5 they zone out!

DC's school used to run after school support sessions for 40 minutes every day after school. They've had to stop due to Covid (staggered starts mean half the school doesn't finish until 4pm. So the extra 30 minutes would just be effectively bringing these back - although they were more targeted sessions which I think would be more beneficial than just the whole class in for 30 extra minutes.

Comparisons of my DC's state school day with their cousins private school day reveals that their day is longer but the difference is entirely explained by longer breaks (my DC have a mere 30 minutes for lunch and 15 minutes morning break compared to double that at the private school) and more sport. No more teaching time!

@UserAtRandom

DC's school used to run after school support sessions for 40 minutes every day after school. They've had to stop due to Covid (staggered starts mean half the school doesn't finish until 4pm. So the extra 30 minutes would just be effectively bringing these back - although they were more targeted sessions which I think would be more beneficial than just the whole class in for 30 extra minutes.

Comparisons of my DC's state school day with their cousins private school day reveals that their day is longer but the difference is entirely explained by longer breaks (my DC have a mere 30 minutes for lunch and 15 minutes morning break compared to double that at the private school) and more sport. No more teaching time!

Private secondary to me finishes the day at 4pm for years 7-9 and 4.30pm for years 10-13. They have 20 minute break in the morning, 1 hour 15 at lunch for years 10-13 and 1 hour for years 7-9 then years 7-9 have a 15 minute afternoon break.

Local state secondary has 15 minutes in the morning and 35 minutes for lunch, no afternoon break at all. So it's not hard to see why the private finishes later.

It depends what it is used for. Children can only learn so much in a day, in primary school PE, music etc taking part at the end of the day would be ideal, especially as primary teachers generally all teach PE etc, where as at secondary you need PE teachers, access to changing rooms etc.

Don't know who'll be doing the extra teaching - it won't be me. Not after this year of being treated like disposable waste.

@motherrunner

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-57246697

And this is what students think of it. It’s a ‘no’ from them.

Well the schoolchildren would say that, wouldn't they? More work? Oh no no, we aren't doing that. Let's get to University and waste 3 years partying and doing not much at all.

What a ridiculous thing to say. Did you read the article at all??

@MagicSummer The young people in that article seemed intelligent and switched on, unlike many of their elders

Money would be better spent on resources such as glue, exercise and text books, IT, more toilets, chairs and tables, etc, reducing time lost during the school day due to the lack of these things.

I also think extending the school day is a stupid idea. Some yr 3s start asking if it's nearly home time about half an hour after lunch. The only children who need to 'catch up' were already behind before the pandemic started and already have all the extra help possible. If it's meant to be an extra half hour of lesson time then that also has to be planned for, adding even more work for teachers. This extra time can only come out of what teachers already do so we would have to drop other work.

Well the schoolchildren would say that, wouldn't they? More work? Oh no no, we aren't doing that. Let's get to University and waste 3 years partying and doing not much at all.

When is this scheduled (perhaps) to start? September 2022?
Just about the time I could take early retirement.
Oh dear. Another one bites the dust.

Well it can't be that quick, can it, which begs big question as to the impact.

I think it’s a smoke screen - they should be reducing class sizes and keeping the number of teaching hours per week, ideally with longer and better placed breaks to allow for more clubs at lunchtime or spaces in dinner hall, and more running round time for kids . It won’t happen though.

Won't work at our secondary school. There are so many school service buses provided by First Bus. It would be a huge logistical challenge to alter it

@Piggywaspushed

The longer holiday is a red herring for private schools ; the longer lunch produces the longer day.

Nope. Our private school runs 8.15 to 4.20. Lunch is an hour. Breaks are 20 mins. No break in the afternoon unless they are staying for club. Club runs 4.40-5.40. The clubs are so fantastic that most children stay for them. All children do an hour of proper sport (where they get sweaty) every day and most do another hour of sport in club. The clubs often replace the after school activity the children would do. Therefore my children do between 8 and 10 hours of sport every day and are very fit. As the school day is so late there is a no homework rule apart from either an English or maths over the weekend. The school used to have a 6 day week but decided to get rid of Saturday school and extend the school day. They really push sport and keeping healthy. This is what state schools should be emulating instead of the crappy 30mins of PE twice a week.

Sorry, 8-10 hours of sport every week not day

I'm the last full time teacher at my primary school. The other teachers over the last 3 years have gone part time for various reasons. It's a good school to work in as well - the Head is totally anti-frivolous workload things. I think that I'd probably end up going part time too.

My class are knackered by 2:45. We haven't lost any time due to Covid either - except siblings of the first bubble to leave who miss 10 minutes of storytime at the end of the day.

That is literally twice the length of my lunch break sosad!

We also don't have the budget for all that sport. DH's school's staffing budget includes directors of every sport going, often ex professionals. Be nice perhaps if those ex pros gave time over to state schools but the money isn't there.

I know people who have already said they won't comply with this

I understand the arguments against this but how are people planning on not complying? If your school says, 'hours next year are going to be 9 - 4:30 instead of 4' then what do they plan on doing? Just rocking up at 4 to collect their child regardless? Telling their teenager to just walk out of class at 4?!

I don't see much point in an extra 30 mins really, it's neither here nor there for education and it could ruin so many extra curriculars.

I also don't think the pay would happen. It's impossible because teachers aren't paid by the hour. Different schools finish at different times. If the govt suddenly say they'll pay for an extra 30 minutes then it opens the door for schools with longer hours being expected to pay more than schools with shorter hours. Not including private in that, I know the pay scales are different there. But there are state secondaries that do 9-3:30 and others that do 8:30-4.

As others have said, it's the children who (for whatever reason) didn't engage with remote learning who might (and I stress might) be behind. And to be frank, in many cases, those children were behind already.
Now, that's no reason to write them off, of course not. But there will be reasons why some of those kids will also struggle with catch-up programs, whatever they look like.
And everyone will suffer when teacher resignations go even further through the roof and it becomes even harder to recruit good quality staff.

MY 16dd went to private school. They start at 8.35 and finish at 5.15.

@Pyewackect

MY 16dd went to private school. They start at 8.35 and finish at 5.15.

But did she do formal lessons that whole time? Or like me did she do extra-curricular activities at the end of the day? My old private school still follows my old timetable, the kids are not in lessons for the whole time. Plus on the curriculum there was far more music/art/sport etc. - which would be classed as extra-curricular in state.

@adagio

I think it’s a smoke screen - they should be reducing class sizes and keeping the number of teaching hours per week, ideally with longer and better placed breaks to allow for more clubs at lunchtime or spaces in dinner hall, and more running round time for kids . It won’t happen though.

They will never do this, despite the fact it would benefit our economy enormously as it is the single biggest positive change they could make

Just no