All Comunidad Valenciana schools to vote on radical change in hours

OVER 200 primary schools in the Comunidad Valenciana are set to vote on whether to change lesson hours for good into a more northern European-style day.

At present, schools in most of Spain and in particular the east-coast region comprising the provinces of Alicante, Valencia and Castellón operate from 09.00 to 17.00 with a two-hour lunch break from noon to 14.00, although in recent years, this has been dramatically overhauled.

For parents who work standard office or retail hours, their own lunch breaks are typically between about 14.00 and 17.00, meaning they are returning home to eat and relax just as their children are due back at school, and the kids come home for the evening just as the parents are going back to work for the afternoon shift which typically finishes around 20.00 or 20.30.

As a result, parents and children pass like the proverbial ships in the night, not seeing each other between around 08.00 in the morning and 21.00 at night, and it is usually grandparents who have to collect the kids to take them home for lunch, drop them back afterwards and pick them up at the end of the day – unless the parents work from home and have flexible enough practices that they can stagger their breaks to accommodate school hours.

Spanish society continues to have a tradition of the main meal being eaten at lunchtime, partly because the workforce does not clock off at night until around 20.30, meaning a very long spell without a hot meal, for children in particular.

To this end, parents who cannot collect their kids at lunchtime to take them home for a meal have to leave them at school to dine in the canteen – and, although the food offered is generally high-quality, tasty and nutritious, it can prove expensive for families trying to watch their budget.

In the past five years or so, nearly 45% of primary schools in the Comunidad Valenciana have moved to more northern European hours, from approximately 09.00 to 14.00 with a couple of short breaks, and those which have done so generally report higher performance, motivation and alertness among pupils.

For parents who are not available in the afternoons to look after their children, most schools run free-of-charge extra-curricular activities, ranging from academic remedial or reinforcement classes to 'fun stuff' such as music, art and sports, normally until around 17.00 with fee-paying 'extras' continuing until around 18.00 or 19.00.

Before changing their hours, all schools to have done so to date have called a referendum among parents, normally stipulating a minimum turnout of around 55-70% and a threshold of 55-60% in favour of any changes.

The majority of those schools which now operate from approximately 09.00 to 14.00 are in the province of Alicante – seven in 10 – whilst in the other two provinces, seven in 10 still run according to traditional timetables.

Regional education authorities have now announced that the remaining 204 will be voting the Monday after next – April 11 – on whether or not to adopt the new timetable.

In practice, 203 will be voting on that day, with the fourth, in the Valencia-province village of Alberic (Ribera Alta district) casting their ballots on Tuesday, April 12, given that the Monday is a local bank holiday.

Those still on nine-to-five with a two-hour lunch break total 24 primary schools in the province of Alicante, 42 in that of Castellón and 138 in that of Valencia.

All parents or legal guardians of children from infants up to their final year – pupils aged 11 – have the right to a vote, although one-parent families get two votes.

Parents who cannot attend in person can make their views known by sending their ballot via recorded delivery, or correo certificado, to arrive between April 4 and 8.

A minimum of 55% have to vote in favour of changing the timetable for this to go ahead, and it will be permanent – at least for the foreseeable future unless and until regional education authorities decide to call another referendum.

The reason for the cut-off dates is that the intake process for the forthcoming academic year starts on April 26, when all families, even those of existing pupils, reapply, or formally announce their intention to keep their child in the school.

This way, all parents in the region will know which schools operate which hours, and can plan their lives and work around them.

As for working hours, all companies are required by law to offer a certain amount of flexibility to accommodate childcare, although where this involves having to leave early, arrive late or take longer lunch breaks, the lost time may have to be made up or be deducted from the parents' wages.