Teachers will strike for five days this summer, union decides
A three-day protest will be scheduled for late June or early July after NEU members rejected the Government’s pay offer
Hmm, what’s that? You don’t work in any of August anyway? And you’d prefer not to be on strike during the longer holidays than anyone else gets is it? Thereby showing up what a sweet deal you’ve got?
Amazing. The best time for them to strike would be October (the kids are used to them and getting substitutes would be most difficult).
I mean, with this how can you tell that they’re on strike?
Good timing – it means that they can crack on with the second job: marking exam papers.
The government should offer them a big pay rise on the condition they move to 28 days statutory holiday only. Any time the schools are on holiday they’d be seconded to the local authority to do litter picking.
A smart local education authority will declare a week’s half-term holiday for the strike period.
Oh, maybe not. It would mean the buggers get paid…
I’ve never really understood why someone hasn’t come along and founded a school open 6 days a week all year round save the bank holidays. IFAIK know there’s no intrinisic still valid reason for school holidays. But if there is a proven reason that 200/365 is the max or the optimum for learning (190 is the legal uk minimum) so be it but it can’t be beyond the wit of man to have a school open for 365 and use a scheduler to distribute staff and pupils vacations taking into account requests and demand, seniority etc. Yep more complicated than current system which is not surprising because its basically medieval, but is it really more complicated than nearly all other modern businesses? Many advantages…. you could have a school that educates 1000 pupils in a facility for 800 as 200 are out at any one time. Also solves the Guardian headline problem about airlines “ripping off” peeps in the school hols.
@Hallowed Be
The (private) University of Buckingham operates with much-reduced holidays, allowing a first degree to be completed in two years, rather than three. (Although many degrees seem to be going over to four years, these days, as was the case in Scotland – I’d always assumed this was just because the Sweaties were a bit thick.)
Scottish Unis have 4-year degrees because Scottish schools only have one year of sixth form. So the first year there is effectively Upper Sixth. God, was I booooooooored as an English 18-year-old in a Scottish uni among 17-year-olds.
Independent schools tend to have even longer holidays than state schools though. Makes no sense to me.
The Public School in the village I lived in had the kids in school working until late in the evening so that they could do their “Prep” .No idea about the term lengths though, there always seemed to be loads of them wandering about the place all through the year.
@ Andrew M
Public Schools have six days of study per week instead of five. Fewer weeks, but more days.
Since costs of feeding and housing apply seven days in every week, it makes sense to people who know about it.
John77,
Boarding schools yes; but day schools only operate Monday to Friday. Day schools outnumber boarding 2:1.
Unlike state schools though, independents offer regular sporting events and occasional exam prep classes on weekends.