State secondary schools in England & Wales - do they have the same start and end time each day?

[Anna8888]

Do your children from age 11 have to be at school at the same time every day and do they end their school day at the same time every day? And do all children in the school have the same start/end time?

Asking because here in France the start and end time are different every day, depending on the child's individual timetable. Which makes childcare at the beginning and end of the day horrendously complicated.

And, if the timetable is not set in stone, when do know what it will be - on the first day of term in September, or before?

They vary here (Bucks). ds's grammar finishes at 3.35pm, the high school down the road finishes at 3pm. Not sure whether the high school starts earlier, but ds needs to be in for registration by 8.35am

each school usually has consistent start and finish times (e.g. start 8.45, finish 3.45) but those times will vary from school to school.

Thanks. I meant - within the same school.

Ie my elder stepson's school day is

Monday - 9am to 4.30pm
Tuesday - 8am to 5.30pm
Wednesday - 8am to 12pm
Thursday - 8am to 3.30pm
Friday - 9am to 5.30pm

Next year my younger stepson will go to the same school and his start time will be between 8am and 10am and his end time between 2.30 and 5.30pm. Different times to his brother.

.

oh we have the same start time each day, and pretty much the same end time unless they have aftere school clubs.

8.15 - 2.45 every day for us

Yes within the same school, obviously the 6th form come and go a bit more but years 7-11 all start and finish at the same time (8.45 - 3.30 in my school)

Thanks so much.

More data?

I know some schools who have varying end times to different days of the week. Usually arranging to have an early finish one day, and do some later sessions other days.

I also know of a school that has 'twilight' sessions after the 'regular end of school', but that some students have to attend - eg. sixth formers on certain courses.

I'm quite shocked to hear about how varied your child's timetable is, no wonder it is hard for you to arrange child care! I think it is so much better for children to have a consistent timetable, it encourages them to establish a routine and as a parent its much more convenient! At our school they start at 9 and finish at 3:15 everyday!

Sarah - yes, I find it quite shocking too.

No wonder so many children spend so much time on their own after school

My school has consistent start and end times, school starts at 8.50 and finishes at 3pm except for sixth form who have a flexible period 6 which takes them up to 4pm. The school day is usually posted in individual schools websites and school term dates can be found on school website or the LEA website.

Why do they need childcare? - they are in secondary!

Yes. Except when they have study leave for exams ( but this is only for years 10 and 11)

ds finishes 3.30 every day except Friday when he finishes 3.15.

fembear - do you think an 11 year old should be alone in the house morning and evening, and be responsible for getting his/her own breakfast and to school on time and then alone again in the evening until a parent gets in (probably not before 7.30pm)?

I didn't abandon my kids in the way that you describe. Neither did I tie them to my apron strings. I found a middle way, a compromise which worked for all of us.

I wasn't asking what you did, fembear - I was asking whether the situation I described was acceptable to you.

Ours is 8.45am - 3.05pm every day apart from Wednesday which finishes at 13.50pm.

Anna: I don't think that the extreme situation you describe is advisable. Why do you ask?

You said that you didn't think that secondary school children require childcare. I don't agree - I think that secondary school children do require childcare, and the situation I describe is not extreme but bog standard here.

I don't understand how it is 'bog standard' for parents to be absent for such long periods - I thought that France operated on the 35 hour working week.

In France it is quite normal to have a long lunch break and the business day finishes later. Even in the UK though I'd say it was fairly 'bog standard' when you consider commuting time for parents not to return home until after 7.00.

"35 hour week" does not mean that everyone works for 35 hours per week.

Eh? Which story are we going with? That the French are industrious, committed workers. Or that the French are procrastinating loiterers who would rather lunch with their colleagues than dine with their children.

fembear - the only story I want to know about is how English parents manage childcare for their secondary school children at either the end of the school day. In order to understand that, I need a full picture of what the beginning and end of the day look like.