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Continuous schedule.
Primary schools set their own school and lesson times. More schools have a continuous schedule. What school times belong to a continuous schedule? What are the pros and cons? And how about the lunch break? Read all about it.
What is a continuous schedule?
With a continuous schedule, all children must stay at school to have lunch together. The break usually lasts half an hour, split into 15 minutes to eat and 15 minutes to play. The school day lasts from about 8:30 to somewhere between 14:00 and 14:45.
School times with a continuous schedule
Not every school with a continuous schedule uses the same school times. These are the most common school times:
- Your child has the same schedule every school day. For example, from 8:30 to 14:00. This is also called the five same days model.
- Your child has three or four longer days and one or two shorter days at school. The long days last for example from 8:30 to 14:45. On those days your child must stay at school during lunch. Your child is one or two afternoons off school before lunch, for example on Wednesday or Friday.
- A school can also choose a middle way. For example, that younger children have different school times than older children. Check well how it is arranged at your child’s (future) school. You find this in the school guide or on the school website.
Short pause
At schools with a continuous schedule the break is often half an hour. A quarter hour to eat and a quarter hour to play. There are no rules about exact break times for children, only that breaks must happen and must be spread fairly through the day.
The school is responsible for supervision during the break. Usually, this is done by school staff, parents, volunteers, and/or teachers. Sometimes the school works with a childcare organization.
Cost of mandatory staying over
Because the break during a continuous schedule is part of compulsory school time, parents can never be required to pay for the lunch break. The school can ask for a voluntary contribution. If parents can pick up their child for lunch, it is not a continuous schedule and the school can require a payment.
Break as teaching time?
Primary schools must give a minimum number of hours of teaching. Because school days are shorter, some schools count break time as teaching hours. The teacher reads a book or the class watches an educational video. The school plan explains how the school uses teaching time during lunch.
Advantages of a continuous schedule
A continuous schedule has some advantages:
- The continuous school day gives rhythm, routine and calm for children and teachers
- There is more time for activities after school
- Children travel less often through busy traffic
- Working parents no longer need to arrange care during the lunch break
Disadvantages of a continuous schedule
The continuous schedule also has some disadvantages:
- The lunch break is too short for many children to eat and drink well and calmly
- Because of the short school day, costs for after-school care are often higher
- Between 12.00 and 14.00 children find it harder to focus
Switching to the continuous schedule
Is your child’s school going to use a continuous schedule? That almost always means a change in school hours. The parents in the school participation council have the right to agree on this. There is also a required parent consultation: parents outside the council are asked for their opinion. The school can only introduce the continuous schedule if the parents in the school participation council agree and other parents have been asked for their opinion.
If you as a parent want the school to switch to a continuous schedule, you can not force it. Talk to the parents in the school participation council and to the school to hear what they think.
Related Subjects
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