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31st July 2024
09:38am BST
While kids may not love the idea of heading back to school, parents often welcome it with open arms.
Even with expenses and the harsh reality of getting your children back into a routine, it does relieve some stress that comes with summer holidays.
However, many parents have been voicing their concerns about school start times.
Emma Jane, a mum from Wexford, spoke on Lunchtime Live about her predicament.
Her child is starting junior infants in September, but school doesn't start until 9.20am.
“It is a bit of a disaster for normal working hours from nine to five,” she said.
“And we’re in quite a rural area so we can’t walk, there’s no bus, she has to be driven.”
While she works remotely, it still poses an inconvenience as her work day is still nine to five.
“I just don't understand how it's feasible," she said in regard to parents who commute.
While many schools have a breakfast club and even after school clubs, Emma Jane's daughter was denied a place in the already full club.
She called for a standard start time for schools nationwide to solve the problem.
"It should be the Department [of Education] that just says [a time]...I think it should be 9am," she said.
However, Craig Petrie, a secondary school teacher, gave another perspective on the issue:
“Sometimes there are conditions that are laid out in planning, sometimes there are conditions that are laid out by the Department that say schools in a cluster in an area should not start at the same time,” he said.
There are concerns over increased traffic, which would also cause an inconvenience for people going to work and school.
Many people online have said that school is not a childcare facility, but that doesn't change the fact that parents will struggle with these varied start times.
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