Fury at school’s half day on Fridays

PARENTS are up in arms over a school’s plan to end its working week on Friday lunchtime so teachers can have a better quality of life.

The head of Ashby Fields primary in Daventry, Northants, claims staff are being driven to the edge by a lack of work-life balance.

Jacqui Johnson blamed “the huge workload that ensures teachers work an average of 60 hours a week during term time and through their holidays to keep up”.

In a letter to parents, she said: “Many teachers, despite their love of frontline teaching, cannot manage this workload and maintain a healthy work-life balance, and subsequently resign.”

The loss of high-quality teachers had “a direct, major impact on not only our children’s education, but Early finish... Ashby Fields primary could shut at 1.15pm on Friday under plans backed by head Mrs Johnson, right their well-being and said Mrs Johnson.

But Kelly Holmes, whose daughter is a pupil at Ashby Fields, said the plans would hit parents with skyrocketing childcare bills.

Mrs Holmes, who would have to take Friday afternoons off work if the idea goes ahead, added: “They’re making working parents pay for extra child care and we will have to confidence,” fight it out for places. Fourteen days our children are going to lose over the course of an academic year.

“They [teachers] have school holidays and bank holidays.

“They get more days working parents.”

Ashby Fields is proposing to end the week at 1.15pm on Friday, cutting two hours from its weekly timetable which is currently 27 hours off than and 30 minutes. The Department for Education recommends children aged five to seven receive 21 hours of lessons a week and 23 hours 30 minutes for those aged seven to 11.

In a joint statement, Mrs Johnson and the chairman of governors Paul Davies said: “The senior leadership team and governors have been discussing possible ways to enhance the quality of teaching and learning

SHOULD TEACHERS KNOCK OFF EARLY?

AS a teacher in Sheffield, it is an all too familiar situation to work with colleagues who often become ill as a result of the exhausting pressures of our job.

Teachers will push themselves beyond their body’s limits to ensure pupils can succeed.

I get up at 5am to be able to manage my workload. I don’t begrudge my hours but it is what I am forced to do to complete what is expected and to do it well.

This school is finally taking action. Although inconvenient for parents, it would be worse for their children’s much-loved teachers to be off long-term from stress.

It is a brave and commendable choice to try and take preventative methods to preserve the wellbeing of valuable teachers.

It also reinforces the importance to ensure we meet with needs of our pupils and invest in our staff.

“One possibility is to review the structure of the school week in relation to an earlier closure time on Friday and, as a result, access additional staff development time.” of a work-life balance, something many teachers forget.

Many teachers work during weekends and holidays, as terms are incredibly busy and stressful.

Meetings, compulsory training, parent evenings and extracurricular activities frequently result in 12-hour days.

The school is still acting within legal teaching time guidelines.

With mental wellbeing such a huge issue in today’s society, isn’t it right we support those in charge of educating our young people? of five to back up 16 classroom teachers?

Teacher-directed schooling that is the norm in the Asia-Pacific superstar education systems requires less generous staffing yet life is a lot easier for teachers. Such methods were once the norm here, and standards were higher.

These days our teachers have to use energy-sapping child-centred group work, backed up by an army of classroom assistants.

Not only does it not work well, it is exhausting our teachers.