What would happen if those times were suddenly changed – and done in a way you argued didn’t allow for a big enough say from parents?

That’s the reality for parents of students at Moree East Public School who have started the new term with the expectation they’ll have their children there in time for an 8am start, with a finishing time of almost two hours earlier.

It’s a nightmare scenario many of these parents are struggling to cope with, not to mention children who’ve had to come to terms with an entirely different daily routine.

The school has argued it’s for the benefit of the children’s educational outcomes – one theory being kids learn better early in the day.

They also maintain parents were widely consulted, an assertion disputed by many of those affected.

The consultation issue aside though, will such a radical measure achieve the desired outcomes, or will it just create more problems than it solves?

And is such an enormous disruption to families’ lives worth the gamble? 

When so many parents still work a 9am-to-5pm day, it works perfectly to drop your youngsters at school on the way. To have to have them there a whole hour, or more, earlier – particularly if you have to drop another child at another school (with a 9am start) – is a mind-boggling scenario.

Not to mention arrangements for after school. Few parents would want to have to deal with those complications.

Bus timetables and the transition of students – say from Year 6 to high school with different operating hours – also appear problematic.

Our schools should be applauded for innovation and fresh approaches to learning, but would it not be better to first look at new ways within the traditional school times?

Is such a radical step as the one adopted by Moree East Public a bridge too far?