Primary school enrages parents with plan to finish at lunchtime on Fridays
Primary school enrages parents with plan to finish at lunchtime on Fridays to save cash and give teachers more planning time
- Stanley Road Primary, Worcester will send pupils home 1.15pm from December
- Parents say they will lose money by having to cut their working days in half
- Measure was dubbed Poets Day, meaning ‘P*** Off Early Tomorrow’s Saturday’
A primary school has been slammed by furious parents after revealing plans to finish at lunchtime on Fridays to save cash and give teachers more planning time.
Stanley Road Primary School in Worcester sent a letter to parents suggesting their children will finish classes at 1.15pm on Fridays from December.
But the proposal has enraged parents and governors, who insisted students have already missed out on too much schooling due to the coronavirus lockdown.
Some have claimed they will lose money by having to cut their working day in half to collect their children from school earlier.
The measure has been dubbed ‘Poets Day’ – urban slang for ‘P*** Off Early Tomorrow’s Saturday’.
Stanley Road Primary School in Worcester sent a letter to parents suggesting their children will finish classes at 1.15pm on Fridays from December
It comes as Stanley Road Primary was yesterday forced to send pupils home to self-isolate after an individual at the school tested positive for Covid-19.
Children who have been in close contact with the positive case received a letter informed them they must remain at home for two weeks.
Julie Beavers, 40, whose daughter attends the school said she has ‘really missed learning and seeing her friends’ throughout lockdown.
‘When the school re-opened in September there was a chance for the kids to get back to some kind of normal routine again but this early Friday finish is a kick in the teeth,’ she said.
‘The kids are already behind in their learning with the amount they missed during the lockdown. This feels like the school is going part-time.
‘My partner and I also work full-time which means one of us will have to cut their hours to pick my daughter up at lunchtime on Fridays.’
Another father, who did not wish to be named, added: ‘I have sympathy with the teachers but why do they need more time to plan lessons?
It comes as Stanley Road Primary was yesterday forced to send pupils home to self-isolate after an individual at the school tested positive for Covid-19. Pictured: Head teacher David Brownsword
‘Aside from the lockdown, they have a lot more holiday than the rest of us.
‘It’s a joke to chip off early on Friday, especially after spending six months at home during the lockdown.
‘We’d all like to have a Poets Day on a Friday but most people understand that isn’t possible. It’s outrageous to cut the school day. Children need more teaching, not less.’
City councillor Louise Griffiths, who is also a governor at the school, blasted the plans, saying it was ‘unacceptable’ to cut children’s education to save money.
She said: ‘The main issue is citing cuts to funding.
‘I got hold of the funding for the school from the Department for Education which actually shows there hasn’t been any cuts – there’s actually been an increase to funding.
‘This is worrying that they are willing to cut children’s education time to save money, despite the fact they have had an increase in funding.
‘This is not acceptable.’
In addition to the 1.15pm finish on Fridays, parents will also be told to drop their children off at 8.45am – 15 minutes later than now.
Lunchtimes will be cut to 45 minutes for the school’s 400 pupils, with concerns raised over rushing children’s eating and socialising time.
Cllr Griffiths added: ‘The thing that worries me is not only closing the school early, but they will also reduce lunchtimes.
‘If you are expecting five, six, seven-year olds to hurry up and eat their lunch and then have socialisation within 45 minutes, it’s just not going to happen.’
Dozens of furious parents have written to Worcestershire County Council to complain about the new measures.
County councillor Paul Denham said: ‘Especially after the children have just lost six months of schooling because of Covid-19 lockdown it seems such an insensitive thing to do. The timing is so bad.
‘When the school became an academy there was a lot of opposition and objection by parents.
‘One of the reasons the school became an academy was because they would have more money to spend and be able to do a better job of educating the children.
‘But now a couple of years later they’re saying they can’t afford to keep the school open for normal hours.
‘It seems against the argument of them joining for extra money.’
Amarjit Cheema, CEO of Perry Hall Multi-Academy Trust, which the school is part of, says the extra time will be used by teaching staff to do their planning, preparation and assessment (PPA)
