Panic! Holidays lull!

[Happy dad]

Five week summer holiday - more than enough. KEFW being a state school has to be teaching for 190 days a year. The privileged private sector has no such worries

[kenyancowgirl]

You misunderstand me...I was talking about KES Stratford, which is also a state school....

[Happy dad]

In that case I'd like to know where they make the days up?

[JamesDean]

They have longer teaching days - lessons finish at 4pm.

JD

[Happy dad]

So teachers can get even more holiday by adding a few minutes to the day -think I made a wrong career choice many years ago

[wildwest]

Btw, You will be fine, 5 weeks is ages, playing in the sun is doing her the world of good, far better than staring at books. Try to just do 20 mins with her straight after brekkie, while it is still cool, before she has escaped into the garden.

SB, many thanks for your reassurance...(one I was seeking rather obviously!!)
Dd has suddenly started making rather too many silly mistakes etc. I can only imagine that as the complexity of questions increase, she is letting simple things slip-by?

Pressure is building and no matter how hard I try, I'm struggling to make it a pleasant experience, and that's worrying me.

[kenyancowgirl]

So teachers can get even more holiday by adding a few minutes to the day

That's certainly one school of thought...and then I remember, as a product of two teachers, way back when, before Ofsted went mad, and in the school I am referring to, the teachers all run lunchtime clubs and after school clubs - and I do mean ALL the teachers - and a fair proportion of them work on Saturdays and sometimes Sundays as well, every weekend during term time - and I mean every weekend, either supporting sport, art, music, drama or fundraising activities - (and Open Days - which only ever take place at weekends, when the school is closed, so that no teaching time is lost) - which often involves late nights as these concerts/plays do tend to go on Some of them have just been away for 3 weeks with the equivalent of half a year group, 24/7. And all that they do for no extra pay, on a voluntary basis - it is one thing of which the Head is rightly very proud. And, as a state school, they have no more "holiday" than any other state school as they still hit the same amount of teaching time, albeit configured differently. And then, in this holiday time they spend a fair amount planning (as is evident in the well structured lessons during the term and the amount of time they have spent preparing for extremely informative Parents Evenings) and going through the ridiculous red tape prescribed by government officials, a huge proportion of whom seems qualified by virtue of the fact they went to school once.

Certainly, in this school, I think they are worth every penny of their state school salary and deserve the holiday they get... Some school staff are cut from a very different cloth.

[Yamin151]

Teachers work ****** hard. As do nurses, doctors, dustbinmen, sales assistants, accountants, lawyers, lollipop ladies and secretaries! They all work hard, teachers work no harder than anyone else who works hard at their job. They do deserve their holidays and their salary, I wouldn't argue with that for a moment. I only get cross when people make out they work HARDER and are more put upon than other workers, its insulting. Every employed person is out there trying to make a living by working hard. I like teachers to admit that having more holidays is great and one of the perks of the job, but this doesn't mean they don't deserve the hols, or that they don't pay for them by working harder at other times.
I like teachers. Don't like 'rankings' of jobs.

[Yamin151]

Bliney, when do warwks schools break up? Mine only finished yesterday!

Btw, You will be fine, 5 weeks is ages, playing in the sun is doing her the world of good, far better than staring at books. Try to just do 20 mins with her straight after brekkie, while it is still cool, before she has escaped into the garden.

Some kids have already been off for two weeks, others broke up last Friday I.e just under a week ago. Didn't realise there was such a difference!

Was lovely, we camped in the New Forest last week, and until Thursday it was SO quiet as all the schools down there hadn't broken up, whereas we broke up on the 19th. I guess only short changed on hols if you are changing counties (say from Worcs to Warks, sorry guys! Week shorter!)

[Yamin151]

Teachers work ****** hard. As do nurses, doctors, dustbinmen, sales assistants, accountants, lawyers, lollipop ladies and secretaries! They all work hard, teachers work no harder than anyone else who works hard at their job. They do deserve their holidays and their salary, I wouldn't argue with that for a moment. I only get cross when people make out they work HARDER and are more put upon than other workers, its insulting. Every employed person is out there trying to make a living by working hard. I like teachers to admit that having more holidays is great and one of the perks of the job, but this doesn't mean they don't deserve the hols, or that they don't pay for them by working harder at other times.
I like teachers. Don't like 'rankings' of jobs.

Oooh! I got **** out! First time! Just to say, it was the mildest swear word you can imagine, not a naughty one