Teachers hit out at the idea that the school day should be extended

Teachers are hitting out at the government's proposal for longer school weeks starting September 2023.

The government have issued a proposal for schools to be open a minimum of 32.5 hours a week, however, teachers have argued against this, saying that it won't make 'much difference', according to the BBC.

According to officials, this will give children ample time to take a wide range of classes, and catch up on any work missed.

Education minister Nadhim Zahawi had previously said that he wants 'strong schools with great teachers for every child'.

The proposed change is expected to impact 14 percent of schools that are currently running for less than 32 hours a week. And England isn't the first in the UK to try out longer school days, as some schools in Wales have reportedly extended their week by five hours.

So, why exactly is this change being discussed?

According to officials, a child with a school day that's 20 minutes shorter a day, will lose out on two weeks of education per year.

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For context, extending school time to 32.5 hours a week would be the equivalent of kids being in class from 8:45 am to 3:15 pm, Monday to Friday.

However, some teachers aren't convinced, as Paul Whiteman from the headteachers' union explained: "Simply adding five or 10 minutes to a day is unlikely to bring much, if any, benefit."

School governor, Carina White also wasn't convinced as she told Good Morning Britain that teachers already work 'extremely hard'.

"Yeah, but then what do those teachers do, who are also parents by extending that school day that is going to affect them as parents as well. Teachers already work extremely hard to support children in school to educate them to care for them during school hours.

ITV

"I think it's incredibly unfair to expect them to now have to extend that school day, just because we have a crisis. And it's not just since the cost of living crisis. The childcare costs here in the UK are ridiculously extortionate. Either a cap needs to be put on the amount of fees that private nurseries can charge, or even child minders."

White went on to explain that while she could see where ministers were coming from, the burden should fall on teachers: "I know at the moment, yes, we are in a cost of living crisis. So for those childcare providers, their costs are going to go up.

"So I completely understand that what the government needs to do is to put in place tangible policies and strategies to bring down those childcare costs and not expect teachers to now take on an added responsibility of looking after children."

What are your thoughts about the new proposal?