Longer school day and shorter holidays, proposes Gove

[Morebiscuitsplease]

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!

"Fantastic boost for working parents"
Unless of course these working parents happen to be teachers...

Wrap-around care is fair enough, I wish it was readily available for those who require it. Teaching from 730 to 530 is madness. No-one will benefit.

What a novel way of looking at any new half baked crackpot government initiative, letseatgrandma!

I already accommodate 8-6. Childcare as do many working parents
So teachers,like other workers would make adequate arrangements
Like every other working parent does

Fantastic boost to parents who work 9-5 but if, like a lot of people, you work shifts it would be a huge pain in the arse.

I think you've misunderstood Scorpionqueen - I think she means that it's not fantastic for working parent teachers because we will have far more planning/marking, etc, when most if us already work through until at least 5 and a few hours in the evening too.

But if you want childcare scottishmummy why get teachers to do it? I understand totally the difficulty in childcare as I could not get childcare to cover my teaching hours so my dp had to work part time. But there is no need for teachers to do childcare, apart from anything else it is a waste of money. I will cost a lot more per hour than a childcare provider. I also have work to do that will benefit your children .

Is this going to be another martyred teacher thread
Next the wife,wag and family of teacher will pile in.yes work sooooo hard
Teachers aren't only people who regularly o over hours or take work home
They do however have v good t&c and longer holiday.unlike other parents

All working parents strive to achieve good work life balance

IMO,doesn't need be qt doing extended hours,in fact more cost effective have CR approved activity or support worker.

There would be no need for 'martyred teacher threads' if people stopped ranting about our bloody 9-3 days and 13 weeks holiday, and accepted the fact that we work long weeks, work on Sundays, write reports in our own time, run clubs over our lunch hours..... etc, etc.
We continuously have to justify every bloody thing we do - to Ofsted, to senior management, to government ministers, to the local authority, to parents, to governors.... and, to cop it all - to MN posters.
Give us a break! I'm fed up with it.

I want it make clear that I am not moaning about my hours but explaining why I canot do anymore.

I was at my desk at 7am finishing some marking.
During morning break I was in a meeting.
During lunch I was running a revision session.
I taught every lesson between 8:30 and 3:45pn
Between 3:45 and 4:30 I was running a gifted and talented session.
Between 4:30 and 5:15pm I was in a meeting with a parent.
Between 5:15pm and 6:30
I got home at 6:45
I made tea
7:30 until 9pm I marked at the kitchen table while supervising my dd's homework.
9pm until 10:15pm I answered emails, planned lessons , wrote a few reports.

That is an average day. Yesterday I left school at 8pm so everything was shifted later by two hours .

Tomorrow I need to start earlier as I need to finish my reports. I have a big meeting after school so again I will leave work at 6:30 having started working at home at 6am. Again I will have to take work home again.

I am not moaning as I have long holidays to make up for the insane working hours in term time.

But I canot do anymore.

Oh take that big cross off your back
Your treading cliched territory and a humph face too
Teachers t&c are bloody good
No you're not the, only working parents who take work home.wake up to pressures of demanding jobs.many of us take stuff home.and 4 wk annual leave

Between 5:15 and 6:30 I was marking and phoning parents .

And how is this to be funded? Is there spare money in the system to pay for more teachers?

I agree with earlier posters that little kids need some downtime. Maybe secondary kids could cope with longer days if they then get homework to do at home.

if the summer holiday are shorter, will we be allowed term time breaks? - or will everyone take their holidays in a compressed timescale and the prices go up even more for those weeks?

I don't think this is going to happen.

I have not said our terms and conditions are not good, I am not moaning . I am just stating that I cannot do any more.

I don't care if you want to pay me more or improve other benefits, Unless they reduce my contact time I cannot do anymore.

Well that's the rub,let's see how he costs it

Who in their right minds would agree to working an extra 15 hrs a week for no pay.

It isn't going to happen because there is no money. But it does make the Tories look like they care about female voters and call teachers lazy at the same time. Win win for them

If it is not a teacher doing the extended hours we are not disagreeing . Gove has given the impression that it will be teachers and that if we refuse it is because we don't care.

Yes, the t&c look good. However, you have to appreciate that a significant percentage of teachers work beyond their directed time budget of 1265 hours. This has been pointed out many times, and people continue to think that we're being 'martyrs'.
On an average week, like many teachers, I work 50+ hours. I'm not complaining about this, but it is a fact.
I am getting slightly pissed off with the number of people I am accountable to though.

IMO,not cost effective to have teacher at after school etc
Can achieve longer day with activity or support worker
Certainly I'd like to see teachers do what they do well and train for, eg be educationalists and schools offer shorter terms with teaching input and class contact

The after school etc, activity worker

Mumbles,iPad,pc.work Email,mobile phone,etc make most of us contactable in addition to that many people take stuff home.it not unique to teaching

I don't have an issue with that although it should be available but not compulsory. I don't want my daughter in school until 6pm, dp is at home for her so there is no need, particularly at the tax payers expense. A few days a week is fine, she is there until five anyway two to three days a week.

No one has said it is unique to teaching.

Not arguing that no-one else does the hours Scottish! Just that no-one believes that we do!

The core term should be extended
Wrap round care if read,don't imagine they'll compulsorily detain children if parent chomping it bit at the gate to go. There seems to be some misconstrued fantasy of whey faced children detained at after school
Let's face it the beneficiaries are working parents not a housewife,unhindered
by school finish times

Won't happen as it will cost billions and the country is skint.