Hampshire Council awards teachers an extra day off to make up for Jubilee falling over half-term
A holiday… to compensate for a holiday: Hampshire Council awards teachers an extra day off to make up for Jubilee falling over half-term break – despite pupils still trying to catch up on lost learning from the pandemic
Teachers were already on half-term holiday when the Jubilee bank holiday fellBut Hampshire County Council has decided to let them take that day later onNow the Summer term will end a day early so they can have their day offComes despite government study that pupils are still impacted by the pandemic
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Parents have revealed their disbelief after a council awarded teachers another day off – to compensate for missing the Jubilee bank holiday because they were already on half-term.
Hampshire County Council has made the unusual ruling to shorten the school year by one to 194 days after the Queen‘s historic celebrations.
Staff at the county’s schools have been told they will close for the 2022 academic term on Thursday, July 21, instead of the usual Friday spot.
It means the areas 500 plus education hubs will be able to shut down a full 24 hours early.
A memo seen by MailOnline reads: ‘School will close on Thursday July 21 ( and nor Friday, July 22).
‘This is because Hampshire have agreed that the school calendar year will be reducing to 194 days to enable school staff to benefit from the additional bank holiday as part of the Queen’s Jubilee.’
It comes despite a government study in April finding that the ‘effects of the pandemic on pupils, staff and leaders were evident’.
The research found pupils’ learning and personal development continued to be hindered by school closures during lockdowns and continued to have an impact on attendance levels.
Parents have revealed their disbelief after a council awarded teachers another day off – to compensate for missing the Jubilee bank holiday because they were already on half-term
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, Prince George of Cambridge, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge watch Paddington Bear and The Queen
Crowds gather in The Mall ahead of Platinum Party at the Palace, the live concert which took place outside Buckingham Palace
And headteachers consulted in the study cited ‘the negative impact of the pandemic on pupils’ wellbeing and behaviour.
The news has also been greeted with utter bemusement by parents who now face having to take extra time off work themselves.
One told MailOnline: ‘Hampshire County Council have agreed to give teachers the last day of term off to allow them to “benefit” from last week’s jubilee Bank holiday.
‘Despite the fact they have missed so much school and you can’t take your kids out of School for any reason’
‘I wanted to raise this as it beggars belief that School Staff need a day off to compensate them for the Bank holiday falling in half term. Let’s hope they don’t set a precedent for all Bank Holidays, that fall in school holidays, going forward.’
Hampshire County Council had not responded by the time of publication.
Hampshire County Council has let school staff take another day off in lieu of the jubilee
The news appears likely to anger many other sectors who also did not get any time off – but don’t have benevolent management to give them an alternative.
The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Pageant finale was watched by a staggering 8.7million people on Sunday, TV figures have revealed.
While much of the country were nursing their Jubilee hangovers, huge swathes of royal fans still managed to tune in for the ‘very British’ and ‘wonderfully eccentric’ spectacle.
Pomp and pageantry kicked off the finale of the four-day celebration of the Queen’s astonishing 70-year reign as a hologram of the young monarch waving at royal fans and a ceremonial military procession launched the 2½-hour pageant.
Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, their children George, Charlotte and Louis, Princess Anne, and Zara and Mike Tindall are all seated in the royal box alongside Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie, Keir Starmer and Sadiq Khan to watch the two-mile procession through central London.
It came after a star-studded Party At The Palace concert on Saturday night, which saw huge performances from Diana Ross, Sir Rod Stewart and Eurovision winner Sam Ryder.
Scores of social media users congratulated the BBC for ‘putting on a good show’.
‘I loved it all,’ one wrote, ‘I wasn’t planning on spending the whole afternoon watching the pageant yesterday, but was hooked… well done to all involved.’
Another said the pageant was ‘exceptional’ while one fan declared: ‘No one does pageantry like the British… thank you for a job well done.’
Others branded it ‘very British’ and ‘wonderfully eccentric.’
The concert on Saturday, meanwhile, was the most-watched programme of the year so far, drawing in a staggering 13.4 million viewers.
The star-studded extravaganza boasted an A-list line up, including Elton John.
However it was the Queen who really brought the house down, when she was joined for a cream tea by Paddington Bear, in which she hilariously revealed she shares the Peruvian native’s love of marmalade sandwiches.
Crowds during the Platinum Jubilee Pageant in front of Buckingham Palace, London, on day four of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations
The Queen delighted millions of viewers by appearing in a surprise comic sketch with Paddington Bear to kick-start the Jubilee concert. Pictured: Queen Elizabeth II and Paddington Bear having cream tea and a marmalade at Buckingham Palace
However in terms of all time royal events, the Platinum Jubilee received much lower figures compared to other historic moments.
The Queen’s skit with James Bond – played by Daniel Craig – at the London 2012 opening ceremony, for example, was watched by 26.9million people, while Prince Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle in 2018 attracted 18million.
Prince William’s wedding in 2011 had 26million viewers, although the advancement of streaming and catch up TV has meant lower TV ratings in general in recent years.
Figures from across the weekend show the concert on Saturday night was the most watched Jubilee event, while the lighting of the beacons ceremony on Thursday night was the least, only managing a peak of five million viewers.
Trooping the Colour performed marginally better, pulling in 7.5million.
While the Queen was unable to attend Saturday’s concert in person due to her ongoing mobility issues, Prince William, 39, and Kate Middleton, 40, brought along their two eldest children as the rest of the Royal Family turned out in force.
The glitzy affair, which also saw Queen and Adam Lambert perform, beat England’s clash with Hungary, which saw the national team lose 0-1 – with 4.5million viewers tuning it at its peak, and an average audience of just 2.7million.
