BACK TO SCHOOL. Pupils return to school benches at the beginning of September. Latest news, new measures to come and new version of the health protocol, next school holiday dates… Here is all the key information for the “big” back to school.
[Mis à jour le 22 août 2022 à 11h25] THE LATEST NEWS. Thousands of children with intellectual or cognitive disabilities will only go to school at the start of the school year “a few hours a week, or not at all”, warned Unapei, one of the main associations in the sector, in a press release Monday, August 22, specifying that “18% of disabled children have no hours of schooling per week” and that “only 27% benefit from at least 12 hours of teaching per week.” The federation denounces “dramatic consequences” for families, often “exhausted”.
If Unapei considers that students with disabilities “are invisible and forgotten”, the government points to the increase in the number of disabled children admitted to school each year: there are more than 430,000 for this start of the 2022 school year, compared to nearly 410,000 last year, according to figures from the ministries concerned communicated at the beginning of August. According to Unapei, the measures decided by the government are “without focusing on the quality of schooling” which requires sufficient teaching time and personalized support.
Other information at the moment, “Back-to-school cells” were activated on Monday August 22 in each rectorate, in order to ensure that the 12.2 million French students will have teachers at the start of the school year, reports France Blue, in particular through the use of contract teachers. France is currently facing a shortage of teachers: more than 4,000 teaching positions have not been filled following teacher competitions.
Only a few days left before students return to class! The start of the school year takes place next week, after two long months of well-deserved vacation. Whether they are in kindergarten, elementary school, college or high school, the only date to remember and note in your diary for the return to the school benches is that of IThursday, September 1, 2022. Discover our additional information on the date of the start of the 2022 school year at the national level.
If we place ourselves more in a local than national context, it is however good to know that the date of the start of the school year can differ according to the establishments. A case that can be found in particular in college or high school, where the start of the school year can be adjusted according to the courses or sections.
In this special page, find the key information of this new school year, between amount, increase and date of payment of the back-to-school allowance; health protocol implemented in establishments against Covid-19; or even the annual calendar of school holiday dates by zone.
What measures are planned for the start of the school year in September?
- At the start of the school year, the academies will have the challenge an improvement in the student-staff ratio in primary, with a further reduction in the number of pupils per class. As detailed by the Minister of Education Pap Ndiaye, “the average number of students per class, which fell from 23 at the start of the 2017 school year to 21.8 at the start of the 2021 school year will decrease further at the start of the next school year”.
- A large consultation on the school must also be launched on September 8, following the promise made by Emmanuel Macron during his electoral campaign, and will last until the end of 2022 according to the announcements of the Minister of Education on June 14. Still according to Pap Ndiaye, “It will really be a debate, decentralized exchanges, in all schools, so that teachers, parents of students, administrative and management staff and other players in local life can reflect on their school” and feed the outlines of a reform that will be done “over time”.
- A “collective commitment for a fully inclusive school” was also mentioned by the Minister of Education in mid-June, via “the creation of 4,000 additional full-time equivalents of carers for children with disabilities.”
- A new increase in teacher salaries? This issue is also on the executive’s table. For the tenant of the rue de Grenelle, “the continuation of the revaluation of teachers, engaged in the second part of the previous five-year term, and the revaluation to come within the framework of the pact with teachers, will be the subject of consultation” . Stated goal: “To strengthen the attractiveness of teaching professions and better recognize the commitment of each and every teacher, but also to rethink the dynamics and career development”. For Sophie Vénétitay, secretary general of Snes-FSU (National Union of Secondary Education), the phenomenon is “essentially linked to the question of salaries”. The representative recalls that today, “when a teacher starts, he earns 1.14 times the Smic. In the 1980s, he earned 2.2 times the Smic.”
The start of the school year will take place on Thursday, September 1, 2022 for all students from primary school (nursery and elementary school) to high school, including middle school. The teachers resume their work in class on Wednesday, August 31, for a preparation session. These dates are harmonized in all the academies of metropolitan France, except for Corsica. On the Island of Beauty, teachers will return to school on Thursday September 1, 2022, and students will follow suit on Friday September 2, 2022 in schools, colleges and high schools. The start of the academic year generally takes place during the month of September.
► Consult the start dates for the Overseas departments and the Overseas communities, by clicking here
Three levels of measures are provided for in the new health protocol. The Ministry of National Education “maintains a strategy based on face-to-face teaching, for the success and well-being of students, while limiting the circulation of the virus within schools and educational establishments”, a-t- he said in a statement issued on July 19. “Coherence with the rules applicable outside the school environment is also sought for this school year”, it is added. The previous anti-covid school health protocol, implemented in September 2021, included four levels of measures (green, yellow, orange and red).
The levels of measures are therefore broken down as follows, depending on the overall health situation observed at the end of August in France (nature of the variants, hospital situation, etc.):
- Base level
- Face-to-face welcome for all students
- Physical and sporting activities allowed indoors and outdoors without restriction
- No restriction on mixing between groups of students
- Level 1 Green: moderate alertness
- 100% face-to-face courses in schools, colleges, high schools
- No restrictions on physical and sports activities
- Reminder of barrier gestures
- Disinfection of surfaces once a day and tables in the canteen after each service
- Limited material combinations
- Level 2 Orange: heightened vigilance
- 100% face-to-face courses in schools, colleges, high schools
- Reinforcement of barrier gestures
- Adaptation of indoor sports practice to ensure appropriate distancing
- Taking meals by class in the first degree, in order to limit mixing
- Disinfection of surfaces several times a day and tables in the refectory after each service
- Level 3 Red: maximum alertness
- Hybridization of courses in high school (alternation of face-to-face and distance courses according to the local health context)
- Restriction of physical education activities to respect distances
- Restriction of brewing
- Disinfection of surfaces several times a day and tables in the refectory after each service
The Ministry of Education has undertaken to respect a period of ten days to move from one level to another, in conjunction with the health authorities. Worn full-time by students until February 28, the mask should be imposed or not at the rate of what is happening for the general population. Positive students will a priori be asked to isolate themselves, but contact case students should no longer have to test themselves or isolate themselves. Saliva testing campaigns are not planned either.
Back to school in September, holidays in October
After the start of the school year, many students are thinking about the next vacation. These will take place at the end of October with the All Saints holidays, then in mid-December with the end-of-year holiday period. In 2023, the holidays are spread over several weeks, since they are regulated and organized by zone.
The return to school has a cost and many households benefit each year from the back-to-school allowance or back-to-school bonuses. The receipt of aid is based on family income. For the year 2022, it is for example those of 2020 that are taken into account. LThe back-to-school allowance (ARS) will be paid on Tuesday August 16, 2022, subject to resources, to families with children aged 6 to 18 attending school in a public or private establishment or in a remote organization such as the Cned. The amount of the 2022 back-to-school allowance has been increased. A second payment of the back-to-school allowance must therefore be made in September. Here are the amounts paid for the start of the 2022 school year, including the 4% increases provided for by the government:
- 392.05 euros per child aged 6 to 10
- 413.69 euros per child aged 11 to 14
- 428.02 euros per child aged 15 to 18
Resource caps are imposed. It is income dating back two years that is taken into account, and not that of the current year (income for the year 2020 is studied for the year 2022) according to the family situation on July 31. Here are the resource ceilings for the back-to-school bonus for the year 2022:
- A dependent child: €25,370
- Two dependent children: 31,225 euros
- Three dependent children: 37,080 euros
- Per additional dependent child: 5,852 euros