School 'winding down' before hols and half terms

[MrsTruper]

My daughter's school seems to do a lot of winding down prior to every holiday and half term i.e. one week before each hol or h/t. In this time they do lots of colouring/"activity village" sheets etc and none of the usual numeracy/literacy classes. This is in addition to the usual mufti/sports/celebrate this and that days, which again are, as my daughter says 'just playing'. My dd says she wants to do more learning.

She has just completed year 2 at (state) school.

Are all schools like this? Is it just the state sector? Does it get less as they get to older primary.

Please do not tell me that "children learn from everything that they do blah blah" as I know that. She does lots of puzzzles, colouring etc at home - I expect her to be TAUGHT at school.

The week before they break up is fun week isn't it?

before half terms too?

I might be a bit out of date. Mine are 13 and 10 and at Middle and High School. I think at First School the last day before half term was spent doing fun stuff not the whole week.

Christmas, Easter and Summer it was generally a week before.

Winding down? I wish! We've done maths and science assessments with our Y1's today. Business as usual

DD finished last week and they did nothing for the last two weeks. Even DD mentioned that she hadn't had sound or number time for a long time.

My year 3's are doing numeracy and literacy, guided reading etc as normal all week, but the afternoons are a bit more relaxed than normal with lots of PSHe about moving years and sorting old books etc

This week has been normal until today, tomorrow is normal morning apart from a Year 6 show and then sports day in the afternoon, Thursday is church service for the first couple of hours, an hours "fun" and awards ceremony in the afternoon.
Half terms are full on all the week

Clearing out and new books takes place during the holidays!

My dd's school is a bit like that she comes home with piled of drawings and books barely get changed for up to two or three weeks before.

Define winding down. DS class are having a more relaxed week in terms of work - they are finishing work but not starting new stuff.

We have an Olympic themed week. We are doing lot's of 'fun' activities related to sport and healthy eating. Fun but educational. We are a SN Ed school and do these weeks once a term anyway. We have done some more structured lessons as well in between but our pupils needs the routine because they are autistic.

We have shows, end of year/end of school assemblies/films/colouring for what seems like forever!!!! At the end of each FULL term we have a week of this! And at the end of half term probably 2 or 3 days... It cheeses me off continually.. NO maths this WEEK - WHY?

Hi Mrs. Truper:

I don't think half-terms are a real problem - it's mainly in the run down to end of term that there seems to be sports days/ performances/ special parties or picnics.

I'd say the run into Christmas and end of Year there's easily 2 weeks of school with not a lot getting done. This past few weeks its been Olympics, Olympics, Olympics. However, the school has been responding to increasing rumblings about this and the appearance that school work has stopped by sending home worksheets with Olympics, Easter or Christmas maths/ spellings/ reading/ etc...

So in general there is a shift to holiday/ theme weeks toward the end of term, but at our school at least they seem to be trying to demonstrate that although its different from usual, the learning is still going on, just in a more relaxed way. They have also made an effort to explain to parents its about reviewing that terms work in a fun way and also celebrating various things (Jubilee & Olympics this year being unusually added in, but the Royal wedding last year, Easter and Christmas). End of year is always full of sports day, leaver's service, talent shows.

To be fair my children are so wound up by the end of term that I doubt they could settle well to 'normal workload'. I also fondly remember holidays and special events from my own school days - so wouldn't want to deprive them of all the fun of arts and craft projects, performances and parties.

HTH

My teaching partner and I have attempted to get "normal" work out of our Year 4s in the last week - it's been a nightmare. They're just not in the mood with all the other distractions.

Your child may see sports days and celebration days as playing because it is different from her normal routine of 9am Literacy, 10 am Numeracy, 11.30Assembly etc. Sports day is, erm, sport. The last sport days we did we spent some time making afternoon tea, researching sports in the ICT suite, writing newspaper articles about sports and reading sporting results grids (aka data handling) oh and, actually playing sports of course! so ICT, Maths, Literacy, PE...just in different packaging.

Children find the end of term difficult, we teachers have to find ways to keep them engaged. If you are concerned I suggested you ask to go in to help out the week before the next half term and actually see.

My thoughts exactly, Mrs. Truper! DD (yr 1) has not had the usual reading this week and no spelling tests for last two weeks. In fact, spelling note book was retained at school 2 weeks back. DD too came back with colouring sheets, self made story book and scrap book which she made apparently in her 'choosing time'. Just made me wonder how long was this choosing time?
I have noticed this winding down starts a week before half term and holidays.

Your child will be busy meeting their new teacher, meeting their new class if they are mixed each year like ours are. They will be going to various end of term things, investigating their new classroom, end of year assemblies etc. all important transitional activities to help them settle in next year.

Lighten up, do some work at home if you are stressed about it!

We are still reading, doing phonics etc but not so strictly. TAs are helping sort out all the children's stuff to go up to their next class and sorting out all their assessments etc........Colouring is good for fine motor control, crosswords and word searches are good for spelling patterns and letter recognition and the children are just winding down, I don't see that as a negative thing at a time when lots of them, especially the little ones, are worried about what the next year has in store for them.

Had a change of reading book today so literacy is still happening.

Mine have mufti day tomorrow and a party, Thurs is DVD day (DS will be reading Harry Potter somewhere quiet as he never likes the choice of film!)and various assemblies.

The children are tired, the teachers are tired.

Lighten up a little...and pretty similar happens in juniors, so best get used to it!

DS1's school are having a whole week of wind down and he's in year 4, and this is after spending several weeks mainly rehearsing for the school show. Not ideal and tbh I think he's already getting bored of films and drawing, but there you go, the school have decided to do this for a reason and I respect that although I have evil plans to make him do some work during the holidays. And the children are very tired and unproductive by now!

It's the same at my DC's schools. And my DP's DCs are all at private school and they are just the same - despite the longer holidays they've been winding down for weeks and not really doing any work from what I can gather.

Not sure it's a great thing - don't they reckon kids forget quite a bit of stuff over the summer holiday? - but it's not just the six weeks they've been off, it's the month or so before than since they last did any maths when they go back in the autumn.

Secondary seems a bit less like that though.

Tired? Why? How long has it been since the half term. A few weeks. All these holidays and the weekends to recharge the batteries should be sufficient in my view. Just because it happens in schools does not make it acceptable. Children go to school to study, to be taught and educated and this is what should be happening most of the time, if not all the time. And why is it that some schools and teachers manage to do it but others need more time to 'wind down'. This is what makes one school better than the other.

Cockpark, I do not think setting is an issue as children already know each other well. They are not moving to another school just another class room. In my experience, I have not seen any one (parents and children included) being worried about moving to next class. On the contrary, my DD and her friends are feeling very grown up and proud to be moving to year 2.

I don't understand why people are saying children find the end of term difficult (unless that are moving schools), or that they struggle to stick to the usual routine at the end if term?

Surely they only struggle and get distracted because the school has moved away from the usual routine? The very routine that is deemed so important for the rest of the year.

IMO schools should aim to fit all the special end of term stuff into the final week. There's no need to wind down weeks and weeks before the end of term.

Is it just the state sector? In my experience independent schools have far more time "off timetable" than state schools.

Mind, neither dd's school nor my school have wind dwn before half term. At Christmas and Easter we still teach to the end, but may have Christmas party, bat invite show, etc. this week we are doing a fair bit of transition stuff, an open afternoon and a special assembly. We had end of year assemblies or parents last week too. But we are still doing class work too, inc literacy, numeracy and phonics. Friday is treat day as th classes have all worked towards a treat. For y1 this is toy and cinema day.

DC's (independent) school does a lot more "off timetable" stuff in the last week or so, including trips, sports days, concerts, visiting new classroom, etc and the older ones wander further from "core" curriculum once exams are done, but core English/maths etc still get done and I certainly don't have an issue with it. My DC were certainly tired, even if it hasn't been long since half term - they have been sleeping 12 - 13 hours a night since they broke up.

So your response when teachers have come on to try and answer the question is 'You're wrong, children are NOT tired at the end of term'?

I agree with whoever said that the events at the end of term (sports days, non-uniform, science days etc) can add to children's tiredness and upset their routine but there great benefits to these days, we dont do them BECAUSE its the end of term, its just the end of term is the most convinient time.

What people are trying to say, and basically just being ignored, that 2 weeks of wind down time is not what is happening and just because it appears that way does not make it so. A couple of times this term my children have not had spellings or homework because we had trips or events on the day we usually do spellings and it knocked the timetable out. I still did literacy all the other days. Not doing their spellings or not changing their book does not indicate that no learning is going on.

Why dont you go and ask your child's teacher? This kind of attitude really makes me feel 'I go to all this effort to make the curriculum fun and relevant (which is what ofsted and headteachers are pushing for)...and them I'm told by parents there isnt enough learning because the actually BELIEVE their children when they say 'I played all day'. Why do we bother? (Oh I remember, for the good and education of the children, not to keep the parents happy.)'

I'll probably get flamed now but this makes me really angry.

My dcs' school are winding down, and o think it's great. School show last week, music workshops, class parties, sorting out next years classrooms. My boys are also individually thinking about their school reports, and making great plans for next year.

They've all worked hard this year, teachers and children. IMO, this winding down period gives them a chance to reflect, relax, and look forward to next year.

I had a lovely chat with one of the teachers this morning. She looks as though she's just run a marathon - happy, but drained. She told me how much she loves just spending time with her class

OP, does your dd's school not do lots of extra events prior to half-term or school holidays?

My dds have just had a school fair, a sports day, an Egyptian Day (dd1), a play/special Assembly (dd2), a Seaside Day (dd2), optional SATS (dd1), an awards evening, a Y6 evening show to watch, and endless other creative, social, interesting moments.

They are exhausted in a happy sort of way. Wellthen, hats off to teachers - ours all looked knackered, but the kids will never forget this year, which has been stuffed with learning up until the last two weeks, and then stuffed with creativity and fun!