It's just over 2 weeks left now until the long Summer break.
Summer productions, trips out, arts day, sports events and lessons still running. Its busy! But we are all enjoying it.
There is sometimes talk of shortening this break and extending the October break instead.
I have never been a fan of this for a few reasons.
Firstly, there is so much work carried out by the teachers throughout the year to ensure children make progress and enjoy coming to school, that it's quite a normal thing to see a teacher sitting in their garden on a Sunday and planning or marking work.
They then usually squint their eyes for a few minutes, try it with sunglasses or without and eventually give up and have to go and work indoors as they just cannot see their computer screen or book page out there. Teachers who have tried this for many years are dab hands and just work indoors to start with!
Then there are the reports. 1 report will take a teacher a good 2 hours. So if there are 26 children in a class then that makes 52 hours. 39 hours is a full time working week. Hmmm...? Where do the reports fit in? This year the teachers have not used a report programme. They have written every child's report individually, to make sure it is personal and informative.
So what about the marking? Every Friday a child completes a piece of Big Writing. In Y1 this will take 10 minutes to mark per child, increasing to 20 minutes by Y6 ( they write more and have more targets to meet) Teachers are expected to mark every book, including handwriting, put up bright and helpful classroom displays, keep their classrooms and the rest of the school tidy, keep a record of reading and assessments for every child and the list goes on.
So when I think about my teachers getting 6 weeks off teaching, I think it's a good thing.
They will be able to recharge their batteries, rest, catch up on doctors appointments and dental checks, get their hair done, maybe have a holiday somewhere.
Oh yes and of course, they can get their new books ready for their new classes. Sort out tray and coat peg labels, plan the first terms topics and write their first weeks lesson plans. Set up their new classroom, sort out the new equipment, put away all the resources used this year and start to gather next years, whilst tidying the store rooms of course.
They can set up their computers and their class webpage for the school website and for FRONTER. Classroom display boards need backing and ready for new displays to go up in the first two weeks of term.
They also must make sure they know every child they are having in their classroom and will already be writing action plans for the children who have not made as much progress as they should have done in previous classes.
They will be setting up groups of targets for every child to have in their English, maths and science books before the end of September, preparing word prompts and maths supports to go in the middle of the tables. Posters need to be made and printed so their new children know the classroom routines and expectations.
So, yes its a long break but its not an empty one.
Most teachers I know, and remember I am one, enjoys this preparation and appreciates the fact that they have a few weeks to do it, whilst having a very well earned holiday and rest alongside.
I really appreciate our teachers. I hope you do. :-)
My other main reason for keeping the break where it is, is the sunshine. How much would it cost to keep a child entertained in a long cold October break when compared to free summer walks and jam sandwiches in August?
However... there is reasoning behind the idea of a shorter break.
The concern that we have as educators, and it is a real problem, is that children forget certain skills over the long break BECAUSE they stop using them. In fact some children go backwards. They stop reading and writing and counting, and for some of our children, they don't do very much at all.
So do us, and your children a favour this holiday. Keep reading to your child, take them to the library, its free. Count with your child and ask them their numbers and their tables. Look at the time together, work out how long it is until a certain event or how many minutes they have just slept. Find excuses to write with your child. A postcard to granny, a competition in a magazine. A shopping list. Look at the school website or FRONTER with your child. EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS. We can always tell the children who HAVE been keeping up with things in the holidays, they dont take as long to settle back in and catch up.
Limit the time your child spends in front of a screen and double the time you talk to them. Talk helps to raise standards.Children love to talk and be listened to.
Enjoy the Summer, we've all earnt some sunshine!
I can't wait to have time with my family! (My other family!) x
