The government is considering plans to lengthen the school day to help children catch up from the disruption of the coronavirus pandemic, it has been reported. However, teaching unions have said there would be “better methods to help pupils” and the plans could be a “red herring”. 

Officials at the Department for Education (DfE) are said to be considering “multiple proposals” to help children try to recover lost learning through schools being closed to most pupils during national lockdowns.

This could include charities and volunteers running out-of-hours classes and extracurricular activities, meaning teachers may not be required to stay late, according to reports today.

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There are also suggestions that Downing Street could be considering changing the school calendar, with a longer break over Christmas, to cut the risk of new disruption at the end of the year.

DfE officials are reportedly examining the cost-effectiveness and evidence of adding extra classes at the start and end of the day.

Robert Halfon, chairman of the Commons Education Select Committee, told the Daily Telegraph: “They are definitely considering all these ideas. I think they are receptive and thinking about it seriously.”

The DfE did not comment on the proposals but a government spokesperson said: “We will invest a further £300 million in tutoring programmes, building on the existing £1 billion Covid catch-up fund, but the prime minister has been clear that extended schools closures have had a huge impact on pupils’ education, which will take more than a year to make up.

“The government will work with parents, teachers and schools to develop a long-term plan to make sure pupils have the chance to make up their lost education over the course of this Parliament - and we have just appointed Sir Kevan Collins to the role of education recovery commissioner, to specifically oversee this issue.”

It has also been reported that Downing Street could consider plans to extend the school year in response to the Covid crisis.

It has been reported that there is a proposal for schools in England to stay open for two weeks longer in the summer, when doors and windows can be left open to reduce virus transmission.

The holidays at the autumn half-term and Christmas would then be extended by a week each in a permanent shake-up of the school year.

Speaking to The Times, Mr Halfon said: “We have to reform the school year. There has to be change; things cannot carry on the way they did pre-Covid. From my discussions with No 10, everything is up for debate.”

However, Association of School and College Leaders’ general secretary Geoff Barton, said: “We are conscious that there is a great deal of speculation about lengthening the school day or altering term dates. All of this raises a myriad of questions, not only about exactly how this would be done but about how useful it would actually be.

“The biggest issue is how receptive pupils and families might be to the idea of spending hours after school in more lessons, or their holidays being rearranged at relatively short notice, when what they probably most crave is a return to a semblance of normality rather than yet more disruption.

“We understand that these ideas are well meaning but they seem to us to be something of a red herring in terms of catch-up, given that what we really need to focus on is how best to support children within the normal timetable. What schools most need from the government is sufficient funding to enable them to deliver that support, and the time and space away from the usual rigmarole of Ofsted inspections and performance targets to focus on teaching and learning.”

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “Research evidence shows that there are better methods to help pupils than lengthening the school day. The government must filter out loud calls for superficially attractive schemes and listen to the experts instead.”

The prime minister has confirmed school closures in England will be extended until at least March 8. The devolved administrations in Wales and Scotland have both announced that some primary schools year groups will return from 22 February.