AZC TO OVERTURN THE 4 WEEK MID-YEAR BREAK TO PRIORITISE STUDENT WELFARE & TO ABIDE BY A PROFESSIONAL STANDARD OF COMPLAINT HANDLING

PETITION SUMMARY & BACKGROUND

Parents and carers are partners in the education process of their children, and should feel welcome, supported, and part of their school community.

Last year (2018) AZC parents were informed on the last day of term 1,  that there would be a one week break instead of two weeks, and that there would be a 4 week mid-year “TRIAL” break instead of the previous 3 weeks that used to coincide with Ramadan, which is no longer the case.

Many parents raised concerns with the school headmaster Mr Wissam Mustapha about the lack of notice, and the problematic month-long break. Mr Mustapha did not respond to many parents’ emails, and the pleas of many working mothers and fathers did not even receive a reply.

As parents, we should be given the opportunity to contribute to the well-being of our children’s schooling, and AZC must prioritise the students’ welfare.

A month-long break in the middle of the year will force many students to forget what they’ve been learning, slip away from study habits, and will be destructive to families where both parents work – leaving them with no care option and forcing them to take their children with them to work.

At a parent-meeting in February, Mr Mustapha announced the 4-week break will continue again this year, and that it was not his decision, but the “board’s decision,” because families want to travel overseas in July.

Parents were not given the opportunity to consult on this decision for a second year in a row.

We are against a whole-school shut-down to cater for a number of families who want to travel. These families are free to do so at any time of the year - without disrupting the lives of everyone else, especially parents who work full time.

The welfare of the students must be the school’s main priority.

ACTION PETITIONED FOR

We, the undersigned, want the AZC Board to act now to:

Cancel the 4-week mid-year break with the following recommendations:  

·       Have a 2 week break in July to align with other schools’, so our children can enjoy their holidays with family members and the wider community, and so they are at a time when vacation care is available for working parents

·       Reinstall the 2 week April break so it aligns with other schools’, and so our children have a sufficient break

·       OR A longer, concurrent end of year break OR

·       A maximum 3 week break - although disruptive - can be tolerated in July if the school provides vacation care with a QUALIFIED TEACHER for working parents for the additional week at no cost, since we are paying tuition for this week

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Further, we call for the headmaster to respectfully and professionally respond to parents’ difficulties, letters, and emails, and follow up with required action in a timely manner.

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AZC PARENTS COUNCIL    Contact the author of the petition