School curriculum days: What are they for and why are there so many?

It’s a question many a frazzled parent has asked as they scramble to find care for kids on school curriculum days: What do teachers actually need so many pupil-free days for?

What do teachers do when they roll up to school on student-free days?

It’s a question many a frazzled parent has wondered as they scramble to find care for young children on curriculum days, which are often tacked onto a long weekend.

The pupil-free days, held four times a year in public schools, are aimed at supporting activities including planning, curriculum development, assessment of student learning, professional development and peer observation, according to the Education Department.

PARENT-TEACHER INTERVIEW SURVIVAL GUIDE

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR CHILD GETS LICE

COULD YOU PASS THE ELITE GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS TEST

Teachers say they can be invaluable when used wisely to dive deeper into the curriculum and the school’s direction, and not simply to catch up on tasks like report writing.

But parents often feel left in the dark about what they entail and are calling on schools to keep them better informed.

Berwick Lodge primary principal Henry Grossek says his school has used the days to concentrate on areas including numeracy and literacy, student wellbeing and first aid courses, with guest speakers regularly invited to address teachers.

“We will also use our own staff to profile different curriculum areas, most recently in science and technology, then hold workshops for the rest of the day around that,” he says.

“We are very big on student agency and are working with people in New Zealand in an empowering student project. It’s very valuable to get our staff together for a whole day working as a team on a particular issue. They do a lot of work after hours, like staff meetings, but the best professional development happens I believe when people are fresh from the start of the day.”

Berwick Lodge Primary School principal Henry Grossek

He understands why parents can get frustrated when they need to arrange care, but says much thought goes into scheduling to cause minimal disruption.

The dates are set by individual schools and school councils, except for day one, Term 1, which is designated by the department to allow teachers to prepare for the commencement of classes.

“Cynics say it’s just more time off for teachers, but we try and make sure the dates work as best as possible for families,” he says.

“When there’s a long weekend quite a lot of families like to go away, and actually appreciate that extra day off rather than a day in the middle of the week.”

Mr Grossek says in recent times the department has taken a “dimmer view” of schools using Melbourne Cup eve as a curriculum day, due to perceptions teachers were enjoying a four-day weekend or were less engaged.

STUDY SMARTER WITH SCIENCE

THE MATURE-AGED STUDENTS SUCCEEDING AT UNI

Berwick Lodge switched out the date several years ago as a result, but has reinstituted it in 2019 after weighing up the pros and cons.

“It’s an interesting one, a few year ago schools taking Melbourne Cup eve were pressured by the department against it, so we stopped,” he says.

“But a lot of families will take Cup weekend off, including the Monday. We had 158 kids away on that one day last year.

“At the same time there’s a big push from the department to increase student attendance — and I fully agree with that — so we thought we could kill two birds with one stone by reinstating Melbourne Cup eve as a curriculum day.”

Schools say topics depend on the school’s direction for the year, with English as another language lessons, restorative justice workshops and medical training among other focuses.

Anne-Maree Kliman says curriculum days are valuable for teacher development.

Victorian Principals Association president Anne-Maree Kliman says the days are important for developing staff and the school in line with both their strategic and annual implementation plans.

“It will depend on what they’ve got as key goals and priorities,” she says.

“It might be a focus on student wellbeing and developing a student behaviour management policy, or bringing in a consultant around the reading process, or high impact teaching strategies and upskilling teachers.

“They are extremely valuable to dive deeper into the work the school is doing, further develop teachers and ensure a consistent approach.”

Schools are encouraged by the department to “co-ordinate activities with other local schools to promote cooperative professional development and planning and maximise the use of available resources”.

Online parenting forums query why they can’t be held in school holidays, so parents don’t have to fork out more in fees for after school care, take time off work or call in babysitters.

“It’s annoying because my two kids go to different schools and have different curriculum days and both are on days I’m working,” one parent says.

“My husband is working on those days too, and the schools don’t have out of school hours care, so we need to call in family recruits to babysit.”

Gail McHardy, executive officer at Parents Victoria. Picture: Andy Drewitt

Parents Victoria executive officer Gail McHardy says it is important schools communicate effectively with parents about the dates and attempt to cater for those who have children in both primary and secondary school.

The days are useful depending on the content, she says, but she wants like schools to be more proactive in sharing the benefits, successes and outcomes of professional learning with their communities.

The organisation would also like to see more involvement of student and school council leaders in some of the days, and a strong focus on family engagement to boost “learning, social and general school outcomes”.