By Sheila Mckenzie-
School pupils and staff will face massive disruption due to the Christmas timing of the December elections.
Academic researchers that monitor the effects external activities have on schools told The Eye Of Media.Com that the timing of the elections will be bad for schools in many ways. Pupils preparing for nativity plays are expected to face obstructions, although some Mps believe the advance notice should give them more time to prepare.
Schools used as polling stations are expected to be heavily disrupted by the elections, potentially ruining their Christmas week. Schools have already had to close twice this year for council and European Parliament elections in the spring, with the effects during both occasions observed.
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About 50% of primary schools were reportedly affected during those local elections, disrupting a total of about 330,000 pupils in May because they were used as polling stations .It usually means parents who would normally be at work may have to take time off or hire a baby sitter to look after their children.
The pr- Christmas elections this year will fall in the last week of term, when schools are expected to be preparing to stage their annual nativity plays and carol concerts. Schools used as polling stations are being forced to make sudden adjustments or cancel their plans altogether.
Anne Main, the Conservative MP for St Albans, told the Commons last night she supported plans for an election, but that the public deserved an apology.
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“All of us should be saying sorry to the public for putting them through it again,” she said.
“We should be saying sorry for the dark streets, the cold nights, and the cancelled Christmas decorations or whatever else was going on in halls that are now going to be having election proceedings.”
During the pre-election period, the government will be unable to make any academy orders or make any decisions about movement of academies between academy trusts. Consultation responses and other expected policy decisions will also be delayed until after the election.
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