Back to school 2024: dates, assessments, new programs… All the information

“Back to school 2024: dates, assessments, new programs… All the info”

The school year started this Monday, September 2 for the 12 million French students. New measures come into force for students.

The approximately 12 million French students have started their school year. This Monday, September 2, 2024 is accompanied by new features and the resigning Minister of Education presented them at a press conference on August 27.

For the 2024 school year, the ministry has decided to focus on basic knowledge – French and mathematics – but also on supporting students with more support or better care.

The date of the “big” school year in September has been set for Monday, September 2, 2024 for all students, from elementary school to high school. Depending on the level and the establishment, the start of the school year may, however, be spread out over the entire week. Each establishment is responsible for communicating to families the official start dates for each level. For example, a display may be provided at the entrance to the establishment.

• Assessments are becoming more widespread in primary school: they are being introduced this year in CE2 and CM2
• “The doubling of nursery school classes in the senior section continues” in priority education zones, insisted” the minister who resigned on August 27.
• The new middle school certificate”is taking shape”, indicated the minister, and the new assessment methods for the 2025 session have been revised: continuous assessment increases to 40% of the grade compared to 50% today. Obtaining the diploma will not be mandatory to enter college, as Gabriel Attal had promised.
• A “second prep” will be offered to volunteer students who have not obtained the brevet to strengthen their knowledge.
• The mobile phone is banned in middle school, first during an experiment in 200 middle schools, then in all middle schools in France, in January 2025.
• The French and math programs in primary school have been rewritten “to be clearer, more detailed and provide guidance on what students need to know by the end of each year” and will come into effect “as soon as routine proceedings end and will take effect in September 2025”.

The 2024 school year is suffering from recruitment difficulties and a lack of teachers. A complication to which the ministry has tried to respond by using contract teachers and through the “teacher pact”. This system should encourage teachers to provide replacements to limit the loss of class hours, but teachers are not convinced by these measures. The objective of placing a teacher in front of each class from the start of the school year and throughout the year could, however, be difficult to achieve. fill.

So what to do if your child doesn't have a teacher in the weeks following the start of the school year?? Your child will be taken care of and will be able to stay at school, which must provide a permanent presence. Thus, the law states that “Any child in school” in a public nursery or elementary school is welcomed during school hours to follow the lessons provided for in the programs. He benefits from a free reception service when these lessons cannot be provided to him due to the unforeseeable absence of his teacher and the impossibility of replacing him. The same applies in the event of a strike.” However, the parents' unions recommend that you notify the rectorate immediately so that a replacement can take over your child's lesson time slot.

The start of the school year has a cost, and many households receive the back-to-school allowance or back-to-school bonuses each year. The receipt of aid is based on family income. For the year 2024, for example, those of 2022 are taken into account. The back-to-school allowance (ARS) is paid during the month of August, subject to resource conditions, to families with children aged 6 to 18 enrolled in a public or private institution or in a distance learning organization such as the Cned.