For/against -longer school days?

[Tasha]

Awful idea. My youngest (five) really struggles with being at school full time as it is, and by the time we get to an end of the term, you just look around the playground and see all the exhausted children. I thought school be about quality not quantity.

 

[lau86]

This isn't much of a debate is it
I agree with you all, bad idea. I think its awful of the Tories to suggest this and one of the main reasons (if not the main) is that parents can work full time!!
Starting to feel like a bit of a slave to the system!

 

[pinkpolkadot]

I am going with the general consensus here, it's a terrible idea! Kids are going to get home, eat then go to bed, no time to relax, play, spend with the family, it just seems so wrong.

Seems the Tories are dead set on having us all work every hour god sent at whatever cost. How about working on evening things out a little so people don't have to work themselves to death just to get by!

 

[dgirllamius]

Kids here finish school at 1, sometimes earlier. I often wonder how its going to be when my LO goes to school and how it will be for me work wise. I have no idea what kind of job I can get that's 8-12. Not to mention school holidays and such.

I dont think making them longer will help at all - bad idea. But making the shorter would surely affect how parents can work.

 

[LittleBoo]

Absolutely against. I already think the amount of time my eldest spends in school is too much! Let alone adding more hours.

 

[kwood]

What a stupid idea. Yeah lets come up with an unpopular idea that is going to cost the tax payers lots of money. Why can't they focus on the real problem that childcare for working families is extortionate and leave the people that don't need extra childcare alone.

 

[OmarsMum]

Bad idea! Omar goes for 5 hrs full time & I hate it. He complains about the long hours, I dont feel we have enough time together. Here some schools are until 4.30 pm which is way too long IMO. As for holidays we get 3 weeks Dec-Jan, another 2 weeks in April & 8 weeks July-August. I chose his school for the shorter hours, next year he will go for 6.5 hrs, I think it's still too long but we dont have other options.

 

[Abigailly]

Kids here finish school at 1, sometimes earlier. I often wonder how its going to be when my LO goes to school and how it will be for me work wise. I have no idea what kind of job I can get that's 8-12. Not to mention school holidays and such.

I dont think making them longer will help at all - bad idea. But making the shorter would surely affect how parents can work.

School, education as a whole, isn't a childcare service though. I accept that it's useful having your child at school so people can work and not have to pay for childcare in that time, but it's not education's job to work around parent's hours.


I think our current school days are too long for 5 years olds. 6 hours is an awfully long time for a young child to be expected to behave and concentrate.

 

[Natsku]

Kids here finish school at 1, sometimes earlier. I often wonder how its going to be when my LO goes to school and how it will be for me work wise. I have no idea what kind of job I can get that's 8-12. Not to mention school holidays and such.

I dont think making them longer will help at all - bad idea. But making the shorter would surely affect how parents can work.

School, education as a whole, isn't a childcare service though. I accept that it's useful having your child at school so people can work and not have to pay for childcare in that time, but it's not education's job to work around parent's hours.


I think our current school days are too long for 5 years olds. 6 hours is an awfully long time for a young child to be expected to behave and concentrate.

Agree with this. School days are short here (the first couple grades finish between 12 and 2) and parents figure out the childcare themselves, either after school clubs, working part time, or the kids stay home by themselves.

 

[BigLegEmma]

They are expecting way to much of children. The government just want to take parents role away.

+1

 

[hayz_baby]

Originally this was a Tory advisor who was saying this.. Apparently now Michael gove to pledging it.. Not that I was going to vote Tory come 2015 but this will ensure I won't vote Tory whilst he is in the cabinet....
https://news.sky.com/story/1205596/michael-gove-pledges-10-hour-school-days

 

[Rachel_C]

I would home school if that was in place. Most schools around here seem to already have pretty good before and after school provision so I see no need for compulsory long days at school, if parents working is the issue they're trying to address. At LO's school, you can drop your kids off at 7.45am and collect them at 6pm but they're not 'in school' all that time. There is a completely separate play centre which is staffed by play workers not teachers before and after school. If some schools can do it, I'm sure most could with the right support/money and then they're only targeting the families that need it.

 

[Tiff]

When I went to kindergarten here (aged 4 and 5), if you were in Junior Kindergarten you went for the morning, from 9-12. If you were in senior kindergarten you would go from 1-3. I remember being nervous for grade 1 because it'd be the first time I was in school for a "full" day.

For awhile they did alternating full days, so kids would go Monday and Wednesday one week, Tuesdays and Thursdays the next with alternating Fridays. They've now scrapped that and the kids do full day kindergarten. So Claire goes Monday to Friday, leaves the house at 8:30am and gets home around 3:15pm.

Even that is hard for her. She's exhausted when she gets home from school. I don't actually think she'd make it if she were in school until 6pm. It may make more sense for older kiddos perhaps... but I don't see them really wanting to do that either. I'm glad this isn't a thought over here.

 

[kerrie24]

Tiff,over here they do 9-3.15 With the option of breakfast/after school club which if attending both,kids do 8.15-4.30.That is very long in my eyes without any more.I dont underdtand the point.People have been managing for years with juggling work and childcare.It should be a choice.

 

[Tasha]

Here breakfast club runs from 7.30am and after school club goes until 5.30pm, so that seems similar to the hours they want and yet it's optional. I think that's the best of both worlds tbh, lots of care for the kids but they play, they have fun and allow kids to be kids outside the school hours.

Also my children's school starts at 8.45 for year three (7-8 year olds) and 8.50 for below that but the year threes, four, five and six can be dropped into the playground any time from 8am and there is a sports coach there organising activities. This is fully funded, so completely free. I imagine that helps working parents. It makes me wonder how our school can do this and others can't though

 

[kerrie24]

That sounds really handy Tasha.Sometimes,apart from working parents just being able to drop them in and make it to an early doctors appointment would make things easier.

 

[sue_88]

He was on This Morning, today. Worth a watch on YouTube / itv player

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

Im almost certain im going to homeschool Jade. Ruby seems happy atm and I have good hopes for maths secondary but wouldnt hesitate to pull them x

 

[Tiff]

That does sound handy, Tasha. Here there are daycare options for before/after school for working parents at the school but you have to pay for them if needed.

 

[Tasha]

It is good, like when Kaysie Blossom was poorly the other week, she and I stayed home in bed and DH dropped the older two at 8am, so he wasnt late for work.