School is taking an extra inservice day that they shouldn't be.

[ElizabethWakefield]

At the start of the school year, DD's school always sends home a list of holidays for the full year ahead. It looked like it had an extra inservice day on it, but i presumed it was a mistake.

Fast forward to friday and a letter comes home saying that as well as having the whole of next week off, the school is also closed the following Monday (18th)

When looking on the coucil website, it clearly shows all the inservice days by area for the full year. For our area it was the day last week, for another area it is the 18, nowhere gets both, it is either one of the other.

Phoned school to query, but have been told they are definatly shut, have explained that no other school in the area is closed and that the council website states they should be opened, they are sure they are closed!

It is so annoying as there are already so many holidays to cover (working single parent) without having to add in an extra pretend one! Grrrrr!

What did the school say when you said that you thought school were only supposed to be shut on one of those days?

They spoke to me like a very small child and repeated over and over, that no, the school would be shut on the Monday, but re-opened again on the Tuesday.

This was repeated over and over until I gave up!

If you have been on the council website there should be a phone number for you to contact them.

If you are in Scotland, an 'extra' in service was added for the intorduction of the new curriculum. It was not listed anywhere as it had been added at a national level after the in service list had been produced (don't know if that makes any sense!)

If you are in England I am sure a quick call to the council will solve the mystery.

HTH

introduction - I must learn to preview!!!

You have the full year's inset days already?
I cannot express enough how jealous I am of you ...

Yes, I am in Scotland, the extra day as far as I can see for the CFE is 11th of Feb.

It is laid out as follows

Day 3
Thursday 23 September 2010
North and West

Tuesday 28 September 2010
East

Friday 8 October 2010
South West

Monday 18 October 2010
South East

Being West we had the day on the 23rd, it should only be SE closed on the 18th. Might try ringing the council.

DreamteamGirl, I thought that was fairly normal, we always get them on the first day back after summer!

I'm sure schools in England get an extra inset day this year as well, something to do with the Rose Review.

Assuming that the school should not have taken this inset day, what do you hope to achieve? An explanation of why the inset day is valid or to force the school to open when it should?
The way I see it, its lose-lose for you.
If you query and the school is really supposed to be closed, then the best you cna hope fro is that the school doesn't get to hear that you checked up on them with the council.
If it turns out that the school is supposed to be open, then they'll either carry on with their plans and hate you for trying to stop them, or change their plans and hate you for stopping them.

I hope I am not about to confuse the issue further but there was a CfE day added and then the Scottish govt gave the local councils more money around the summer holidays time of this year. Therefore schools did not find out about it until possibly June/July at the earliest.

In essence that means that there are now 2 extra CfE days with the latest one being fairly hastily arranged.

However, I am sure the council will clear it up for you.

LublieAva

Why should the OP be afraid of the school though? If people did not query them sometimes, then they could do as they pleased in all kinds of things.

it just my personal experience Anenome: I asked a reasonable question that I had every right to ask once last year, and now I seem to be faced with a brick wall whenever i talk to the school.

I don't know how it works in England but in Scotland a school absolutely could not close without the agreement of the Education Dept and local authority ie. the council, not unless it was a private school.

I'm in Scotland, different area from you op and our extra inservice day has been tacked onto the long weekend we get in November, so instead of just being off the Thursday Friday they are now also off on the Wednesday.

Do you only get one weeks holiday in October? We get two weeks finish on the 8th and go back on the 25th.

I'm in Scotland and also have the 18th off as an extra in-service day - something to do with the new Curriculum for Excellence. My sisters kids got extra days at the September weekend that we didnt get i.e. they were off Fri, Mon, Tue, Wed and we were just off Fri and Mon.

we've had two, one extra over the sep weekend, and we're off on the 18th as well.

Thanks all for your replies.

Looks like it could be an extra day then, I won't bother phoning up.

What I was really hoping to achieve was to not have to take a day unpaid leave if it was not necessary, but it looks like it might be!

There are more and more every year! I really need a term time job

Thanks everyone for your help!

As I posted earlier Euphemia I do think it is the extra CfE in service day. The school does not control these particular days as local councils in Scotland have been given money by the government for extra training. They may have some control on the actual date though.

I have never heard of a school 'making up' an in service day.