Parents join teachers in dates protest in France
Teachers and parents are, unusually, jointly protesting over the 2018-19 school year dates saying there is too big a gap between the spring holidays and the start of summer – and they say 2019-2020 will be worse.
Samuel Cywie of the parent federation Peep said ‘Zone B’ children will have 11 weeks between spring and summer holidays while Valérie Sipahimalani, of teacher union Snes, said the winter holiday industry was being given priority over children’s needs as the winter holidays start on February 9 and finish on March 11 for Zone C.
And, pointing to the 2019-2020 calendar she said that Zone C had five weeks of school from January to the winter holidays – when just 10% of families go skiing – then 11 weeks of school between spring and summer.
Dorothée Avet of the FCPE parent federation said the ideal rhythm was seven weeks of school and two weeks’ holiday but that this was ignored, hitting the youngest children hardest as collège and lycée students finished earlier for their exams. It has called on the Conseil Supérieur de l’Education to order a rethink on the timings.
French children have school for 144 days a year as opposed to 190 in Britain and 208 in Germany.In practise the question of choice is limited to local ones with places. The biggest tip is to get your name down on waiting lists as early as possible.
In Normandy, reader Alison Weatherhead says she opted for a crèche when her children (born in Vire and now 17 and 19) were little, dropping them off in the morning and picking them up late afternoon.
She says it was a positive experience: “You supplied lunch and nappies. The cost was means tested and was peanuts relative to anything in the UK.
“As my husband is English, this was the best option we thought to get the kids speaking French and understanding la vie à la française before school.”
