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Longer school day and shorter holidays, proposes Gove

409 replies

Morebiscuitsplease · 14/01/2012 10:24

I cannot understand this man. Children need time out, teachers also need time to prepare and mark work, when do either get this with such proposals? We complain our children are obese yet suggest more time in school. I do not want any child of mine going to school for 7.30 and finishing at 5. They need time to play, pursue other activities and do homework. Your thoughts please!

OP posts:
Blu · 15/01/2012 20:36

heswall - I know - but I think the gvt are looking at it the wrong way round, and it makes no sense.

Parenting needs to be improved. Young people do apply themselves if given the oportunity, given chances to discover that they do enjoy learning and achieving. My organisation works with loads and loads of S London youth who have utterly chaotic and inadequate home lives, and they take the chance to come to out of school activities and work hard. I think investment in schools to ensure that vulnerable children have intense mentoring and support pays off - I have seen it happen.

Feenie · 15/01/2012 20:37

Heswall, you appear to have fallen for the myth that teachers in state school stop work at half past three. (Can't really blame you, I guess - after all, it's the Education Secretary who is peddling it this week).

I stay at school until 5 p.m., marking, planning, assessing, in meetings, etc, etc. Then I go home, put my son to bed and do more work in the evening.

So you would have me teach longer and take homework clubs every day until 5p.m. - when would you like me to do the work that I previously did after school then?

In the evenings? Oh no, hang on........

ScorpionQueen · 15/01/2012 20:47

I already drop my children at the childminders at 7 to be in school for 730 to prep for the day. If I have to start teaching at 730, what on earth will happen to my kids?

ssd · 15/01/2012 20:53

"As a primary teacher, my main concern is educating children, not to making childcare easier for working parents"

well said Feenie, totally true

GetDownNesbitt · 15/01/2012 20:56

I start making toast and tea for children in my school at 8am (a colleague is there from 7.30, but I can't drop my sons off any earlier to get there by then). I teach, supervise break and lunchtimes and manage to get out by 4.30pm three nights a week to see my own kids. The other two nights I am there til 6pm so get twenty minutes with my kids before bedtime.

Next week I will be back for sports competition and a rehearsal, so only one 'home by 5' and in school play week I will be there til 9pm all three performance nights.

All of the activities we offer are free. So is breakfast. It is an ordinary comp, serving a deprived area. We are doing everything we can. My work life balance is precarious as it is. Gove can sod off.

EdlessAllenPoe · 15/01/2012 20:59

IIRC the shorter school hols thing was mooted under the last govt as well, and got nowhere..(2003 ?)

longer school days - well, the basic school day is shorter than it was when i was at school (3.30-3.45 finish) - but again i think in essence many schools are offering the before and after school activities already..

so nothing new under the sun.

ssd · 15/01/2012 20:59

sorry for all the copying and pasting but Heswell:

"This is all a bit worrying for me as I've given notice to the prep school and been assured on other threads the kids will be fine in the local state, seems that's not necessarily true at all :-("

are you for real? why do you base what you do with your kids what you read on a few threads?

wierd, surely I'm reading your post wrong???

TheHumancatapult · 15/01/2012 20:59

No way would mine be stating till 5pm

Ds 3 is 6 and already has to leave at 7.20 for school not home till 4,30 ( Sn so transport ) he is worn out at that and is often asleep in school or way home already to tired for a life after school

So 7,30-5pm school day for home be 6am leave home and 6.30 ish home time I think not Angry

PiedWagtail · 15/01/2012 21:03

Completely bonkers!!! I don't want to have children only for them to be at school for their entire lives, so I never see them. School is not a nanny - it is a place for learning. They need time out, time to chill out and play and relax and watch tv and see me and their dad. I want to be involved with them! Can't imagine any teachers being happy with this, either! Bonkers.

Feenie · 15/01/2012 21:04

This is all a bit worrying for me as I've given notice to the prep school and been assured on other threads the kids will be fine in the local state, seems that's not necessarily true at all :-(

Heswall they will - unless you equate 'fine' as 'childminded by teachers from 3.30 till 5', for some strange reason, Confused

soverylucky · 15/01/2012 21:05

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Feenie · 15/01/2012 21:07

A lunch hour? What's that? Confused

ColourfulSmilies · 15/01/2012 21:11

At the moment I get into school at 7.30am to prepare for the day, so if the children get to school at 7.30, I'll have to get there at 6.30am to do the same level of prep.

I then stay until 5pm to do marking, etc so if the children don't leave the classroom until 5pm, I'll have to stay until 6.30pm to do the same level of prep.

And this is all done with me never taking a lunch break so in theory I will need to work 12 straight hours without a break every single day (not to count the hours I do in the evening and weekends!)

Oh well....it's not like I want to see my own children at all or live to a ripe old age.....Angry

ScorpionQueen · 15/01/2012 21:35

Feenie, a lunch break is when you eat a sandwich while marking and setting up for the afternoon. I have heard some people actually get to stop working for an hour in some jobs. Some even get to leave their place of work!
:)

Feenie · 15/01/2012 21:40
Grin
EdlessAllenPoe · 15/01/2012 21:42

ah, yes, it was 2003, the teaching unions threatened industrial action, and Tony Blairs government backed down

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1553664/Top-marks-to-shorter-summer-holiday.html

looked for an article from 2003 but couldn't find..

letseatgrandma · 15/01/2012 21:49

God, I have joked that Gove was such a crackpot that he would bring this one in, but I didn't really think he would try it! Do people have such a low opinion of teachers that they think he's right-do we really just arse about in our own very special workshy way from 9-3 counting down the days to the next holiday!?

I pity the kids who would end up in this situation. I absolutely loved every second of our school holidays and spent hours doing Brownies, ballet, dancing and all other activities after school (many of the cub/Brownie leaders were actually primary school teachers-would that all stop anyway as there would be nobody to volunteer as a leader as they'll be working themselves into the ground at school!?) This government seem to need everyone to be out at work every second just so that we can employ more people to look after our own kids. Goodness knows why as there aren't any jobs anyway. Where is the evidence that children will learn more-they aren't machines. Surely forcing people do to something they don't want to do hasn't had great proven results in the past?! When did we stop being teachers and become babysitters...

I take it the MPs will be just taking a 2 week holiday in the summer.

Feenie · 15/01/2012 21:54

When did we stop being teachers and become babysitters...

When the Education Secretary started assuming it and telling everyone else.

A huge proportion of the public think we are workshy and only work until half 3. One look at the eejits in the Mail comments section confirms that. Sad

soverylucky · 15/01/2012 21:57

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

echt · 15/01/2012 21:58

The school day was longer when I was a lass; 9.00- 3.50. BUT there was a full assembly with prayers every day, and over an hour for lunch.

Most schools in the have assembly once a week, and I can't remember when I taught in a school that had an hour for lunch; sadly,mostly because of discipline problems.

Tip, if you're looking at schools, check the length of lunch and if it's under an hour, ask why. You can find out a lot about pupil behaviour in this way. Oh, and check out the lavatories, another giveaway.

Feenie · 15/01/2012 21:59

soverylucky I know, I know!

Heswall · 15/01/2012 22:08

Just to be clear I'm not making decisions about my children's education based on threads on mumnet, more having made the decision asking for other people who might know more about the system than me for reassurance.
Have got the willies again about moving them based on other threads. Maybe I'll just do the job myself and then the blame/thanks is all on my head/in my hands.

And half my family are teachers, i'm under no illusions as to what teachers do in terms of planning at home, saturdays spent sourcing materials etc but what the teachers in my family refuse point blank to believe is that they are not the only ones who do it. Another debate altogether though.

Feenie · 15/01/2012 22:13

half my family are teachers, i'm under no illusions as to what teachers do in terms of planning at home, saturdays spent sourcing materials etc

How strange then that you thought there should be extra time for childminding/homework clubs after school run by teachers!

Kellogg · 15/01/2012 22:25

Where has any teacher said that they are the only ones who work long hours?

I am still working now and will be for about another two hours. I am sure there are other parents still working now. Me saying that I work hard does not mean that others are not working hard.

ScorpionQueen · 15/01/2012 22:30

I know teachers aren't the only ones to work long hours. My husband works long hours too. This is why I physically could not work any more than I already do.

My children have a long enough day as it it. If I had to babysit teach until 5pm then do my marking etc. I wouldn't see them from about 530am until 7pm. Impossible. I would have to quit.