Priestlands School in Pennington announces shake-up of its timetable and autumn half-term holiday
PARENTS have given a mixed reaction to Priestlands School’s shake-up of its timetable and autumn half-term holiday.
From the academic year starting in September, the school day will be extended by 10 minutes and the autumn half-term will be two weeks long.
Each lesson will last an hour, and the day will include two 30-minute breaks in the morning and at lunchtime.
In a letter to parents, Priestlands’ headteacher Peter Main said similar changes at other schools have been shown to “improve” pupils’ educational experiences and support attendance.
He said: “After a great deal of research and looking at other schools I firmly believe these changes will benefit all our students.
“A new tutor period in the morning will focus on important skills such as reading, literacy, oracy, personal development and careers.
“Each day will finish at 3.15pm from September, each lesson will be an hour long and we will be introducing a two-week timetable. There will be a net gain in teaching time.
“The two 30-minute breaks will allow students to eat earlier in the day if they want to, and the necessary changes will be made to further enhance the food offering in the school caféteria.”
Parents have been giving their response to the school’s plans.
One told the A&T: “I can understand that the new two-week October half-term may be problematic for some parents – particularly if they need to organise child care and have siblings at other schools. However, for the students themselves I think this will be a positive change allowing them the opportunity to recharge and rest during the very long autumn term.
“It also offers an opportunity for parents who struggle with the enormous cost of taking a holiday in the summer holidays to travel/ make plans at a low peak time of the year when costs are significantly less.”
In a social media post, one parent said: “Our children have a longer day and benefit from a two-week half-term every autumn. They need the rest.”
But another added: “Half an hour for lunch… that's ridiculous. That’s silly – it takes half an hour to stand in a line just to get into the canteen.”
Another wrote: “The extra week of half-term is very inconvenient to working families, but the worst part is two insanely timed 30-minute breaks with an already chaotic canteen. Most don’t get served in the first 25 minutes and there is no student focused solution being thrown out here – it’s all attendance-focused which is not going to be beneficial to the students’ well-being whatsoever.”
Mr Main said the autumn term is “significantly longer” than the others, with a higher number of teacher and student absences due to illness in that time.
His letter continued: “Having an extended half-term has many benefits with studies showing attention spans and engagement levels are boosted by having a proper break.
“It will also enable Year 11 students time for revision ahead of their mock exams.
“All these changes will reduce stress, improve mental health, boost learning and benefit the whole school and we might well see more schools move to this model.
“Furthermore, the move will help us attract and retain the very best teachers.”
Mr Main added: “We understand that some parents will be concerned about childcare arrangements for the longer half-term, and we are in discussions with providers to explore options available.
“For those parents who have concerns, we are very happy to answer questions and we will be offering a presentation to give greater clarity.
“These decisions have been made following 12 months of detailed research and deliberation and will enhance the educational provision for students at Priestlands.”