Schools ordered to make school week a minimum 32.5 hours in England

Schools across England will have to provide a minimum 32.5 hours of teaching a week under a new government plan.

Aim to reach 90% numeracy and literacy

The Department of Education (Dfe) published, on Monday, the Schools White Paper which stipulates the new minimum requirement as well as other changes. The changes are part of Boris Johnson’s levelling-up plan, which aims for 90% of pupils leaving primary school achieving expected standards in numeracy and literacy.

The much-anticipated Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Review will also be published on Tuesday, which will suggest ways for mainstream schools to better accommodate disabled students, followed by an open public consultation.

Ministers say there are 'discrepancies' in the length of the school day, which is currently decided by headteachers with the governing body in England. Education secretary Nadhim Zahawi said that a pupil who receives 20 minutes less teaching time a day could ultimately end up missing around two weeks of schooling a year. Ministers want these 'discrepancies' abolished by 2023.

The rule—which begins September 2023—will target the 14% of schools thought to be open less than 32 hours per week. The new minimum is the equivalent of an 8.45am to 3.15pm day, Monday to Friday.

Plans criticised

Labour highlighted that 75% of schools already met the average length of between six hours 15 minutes and six hours 35 minutes per day. Headteachers and teaching unions are also not convinced.

General secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, Geoff Barton, said:

We are unconvinced by the benefits of introducing a minimum expectation on the length of the school week of 32.5 hours.

Headteachers union, the NAHT, member Paul Whiteman said:

Simply adding five or 10 minutes to a day is unlikely to bring much, if any, benefit.

Joint general secretary of the NEU teaching union, Kevin Courtney, said that:

The expectation of a 32.5 hour week for pupils is a classic example of Government trying to hit a target but missing the point. The vast majority of schools’ days are of this length or a little more or less. We are looking for much more sophisticated change.

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The White Paper is also anticipated to include ways to make apprenticeship and vocational pathways more aspirational for young people. The Mail on Sunday reported that T-levels will be made as prestigious as A-levels.

The impact of Covid

Zahawi also said he would consider including the effect of lockdown on children in the terms of reference for the forthcoming government Covid inquiry, which at the moment, makes no mention of schools or children.

He said:

I would be open. I think it's important to learn the lessons... the impact on education and on health and wellbeing has been substantial, which is why I think it was a mistake to close schools —and we have to learn from those mistakes.

A survey by the charity Action for Children has found that childhoods are getting worse in the UK, with children’s futures disrupted by the Covid pandemic, the climate crisis, declining levels of mental health linked to school and social media, and financial hardship.