After the announcement that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral is to be declared a bank holiday when it is held at Westminster Abbey on Monday 19th September, parents may need to find arrangements for their children with schools set to shut.
Whilst it has not been officially confirmed, it is expected that this bank holiday – like all the others – will see schools, colleges and academies up and down the country close.
The Department of Education (DfE) originally told schools that they should remain open as normal during the period of national mourning.
It told headteachers:
“Schools and further education settings should remain open.
“While normal attendance is expected, headteachers continue to have the power to authorise leaves of absence for pupils in exceptional circumstances.”
There are usually 8 annual bank holidays for workers in England and Wales, while those in Scotland normally get 9 or 10 – depending on the timing of New Year and patron saint days.
We have already seen 1 extra bank holiday this year however with an additional day added on 3rd June this year to mark Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee.
The state funeral for Her Majesty is set to begin at 11:00 – right in the middle of the traditional school day – so the impending decision to announce their closure on this one-off day seems inevitable.
Parents and carers who work in certain sectors can also probably expect to have the day off too, whilst others in sectors like retail face an agonising decision from their bosses as to whether they will follow suit.
They should close everything. All schools, colleges & shops across all of the UK. With NO exceptions.
We are not all royalists you know. Many of us are simply not interested in this. Mourn if you want but don’t impose it on those of us who don’t care.
Nobody is ‘imposing’ anything on you. But just show a little respect and don’t use words like ‘don’t care’. OK, your not a follower of the Royals and that’s your choice, there are many like you probably. But just show some respect please!
Why don’t you follow your own advice.
I suppose Easter and Christmas holidays are ‘imposed’ on you as well being religious holidays
Yes, they are. And I don’t celebrate either date as I don’t believe in God. These days they are just a commercial thing anyway.
why? – not everyone is a royalist – people have commitments, work to do and bills to pay. Since when did it become ok to dictate to people how they conduct their day.
after all – this is the passing of a member of someone elses family and they do not really have any right to expect people to impoverish themselves and suffer further by not working for yet another day – especially given how expensive everything has become.
There is only one subject that I detest and rebel against being dictated to and that is my freedom to choose the vehicle that I want to buy, it’s my money and I do not wish to be dictated to, that I can only purchase an incredibly expensive, high carbon footprint, costly to run, not green whatsoever, rapidly depreciating electric car. Since when did the UK become a satellite dictatorship of China, Russia or North Korea??????
those voting down clearly don’t work
Where do you stop then? Buses? Trains? Hospitals? Doctors/(Wouldn’t notice any difference with them) How about the Police Force? Fire Service? Pubs? The list is endless.
It’s Sharon the dictator everyone
Don’t be silly Sharon.
King Charlie the pot head
No he’s a coke head that’s why he’s called Charlie
Oh come off it, those that be. Winchester City Council is set to close, so let’s allow schools. It’s educational, and classes can talk about it afterwards.
Respect goes along way, whether a monarchist or not if you live in the UK you live in a monarchy, Kindly respect the fact the Queen was the head of state and has died, as such whether a Royal supporter or not, the head of state will be buried, and a state funeral will be taking place, as individuals we have a right to if we choose to engage.
There are circumstances where people must work such as emergency services, I whole heartedly respect those who are not Royal supporters, however our constitution requires a certain approach to the passing of the Queen.
You are no better – demanding that people show respect. 10000 children a day die of starvation globally, that is 1 every 15 seconds… don’t recall you demanding that people show respect for the loss of their lives, after all, a life is a life, irrespective of how it was lived.
Says the bloke who wishes the RNLI would leave migrants (many of whom are children) to drown.
Why don’t we just stop the world turning for a day?
My dad passed away 28 th September and his funeral is supposed to be 19 th September, I just want that to go ahead but I also feel for the royal family, she was our queen but she was also a mother and grandmother and great grandmother.
Out of respect I would have thought everywhere would be shut for the day. What is one day of not being able to go to the pub, supermarket, for someone who served this country well for over 70 years. I would rather have the Royal Family than a President or Dictator any day. Perhaps it would be good for us to honour the Sabbath more and shut down everywhere every Sunday, would help the power grid issues currently darkening the world bar Russia and China.
God bothering idiot.
Everyone needs to be reminded how lucky they are to be British.
A constitutional Monarchy the Queen was the head of state of the first and best democracy in the world ,show some respect for one day in your self entitled and self obsessed lives.
The death of any person is sad, but it doesn’t mean the whole of the UK needs to come to a grinding halt. The millions of pounds that are having to go into paying for this funneral could be put into something more benefical to the UK population as a whole, ie heating and food, preventing further deaths of other peoples loved ones who haven’t had such a privalleaged life already.
Obviously people who haven’t lost a family member doesn’t know what it’s like to know that the one person who stuck the family together like glue isn’t coming back. Your all slating the queen off when she isn’t here to defend herself. So what you don’t support the queen no one said that you had to. But at the end of the day she is a person just like us. And it’s sad about those people who die out in the world and honestly everyone should respect the dead. Also I hope that none of you have to feel the loss of a person in your family because when you do that’s when your eyes are going to wake up. Act like adults for god sake.
I have lost 3very close family members including a parent that held us together,yes it was hard and is,but those living need more than those dead,we will all die at some point it’s fact. Don’t waste the life you have grieving over those that have gone, it’s not what they would want you to do.
Not the cost of funeral it’s also the millions that business will have to pay staff not to work or company be productive. Staff off have to still be paid by already struggling small businesses. Schools shut mean finding child care for many working parents, 70 yrs ago you had day off and not paid. This constitution thing should of been reviewed and updated year’s ago to meet modern times,all this will cause more to turn against the monarchy not to support it more. And yes we are mean selfish lot when someone dead they aren’t going to know or appreciate flowers or marmalade sandwiches,but money to save lives would be. Not just in other countries but here in UK this winter will be fatal to vulnerable and elderly. She died of old age not murder!.