In June, the Ombudsman's Office surveyed 3,684 parents about school start times and transport to school. "Although they show that parents are mostly satisfied with both their child's sleep duration and the start time of lessons, this does not automatically mean that this is the way it is everywhere and nothing needs to change," says Laila Grāvere, Head of the Children's Rights department at the Office.
The survey shows that parents generally approve of the start of the child's lessons at school, with 75% indicating that it is satisfactory.
At the same time, almost a quarter, or 22%, of parents are not satisfied with the start time of their child's lessons, especially the so-called 0 period (a lesson often used for extra-curricular activities or tutorials before the school day begins). According to Ombudsman Juris Jansons, this is particularly acute in Rīga, Aizkraukle, Salaspils, and Saldus, where 25% of parents say that their children usually start school between 7 am and 7:29 am.
Overall, 48% of all respondents indicated that lessons start between 8 and 8:29, and 46% between 8:30 and 8:59.
When asked what time their child gets up for school, the most common time, or 35% of parents, indicated that it is between 7 a.m. and 7:29 a.m., while 34% indicated that it is between 6:30 a.m. and 6:59 a.m. Almost half of the respondents, or 49%, indicated that getting up in the morning has affected their child's learning, while 60% indicated that it has affected their child's well-being.
The Ombudsman also highlights that some parents indicated a disproportionately early wake-up time, i.e. between 4:30 and 5 a.m. Although the survey does not give a clear answer on the reasons for this wake-up time, Jansons stresses that this needs to be investigated further.
"We will contact the education authorities of the municipalities that have disproportionately early start times and ask them to review them. And we will ask the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education and Science to set the earliest permissible start time," says Grāvere.
Parents who are dissatisfied with the start time of lessons point to the consequences: the child is sleepy, unable to concentrate, annoyed, doesn't eat breakfast, the whole family has to adjust to the lessons, and grades deteriorate.
