The deadline for all state-funded, mainstream schools to provide a 32.5-hour week has been pushed back by a year to September 2024, the Department for Education has announced.
It was announced in the Schools White Paper in March last year that schools would be asked to offer at least a 32.5-hour school week by September 2023.
However, the DfE said today it had delayed the expectation to meet the requirement “in recognition of the pressures facing schools”.
The department has also today published non-statutory guidance for schools on how to meet the 32.5-hour minimum school week.
The guidance says that schools planning to increase their hours “substantially” to reach the minimum target by September 2024 “should first consider prioritising an increase to lesson time”.
But for schools that only need to add a “short amount of time” - which the department defines as less than 30 minutes a day - the guidance says they may want to consider “incorporating short activities that meet school priorities into their timetable, for example, daily reading practice”.
The guidance also reinforces that if a school is not meeting the 32.5 hours, and this affects the quality of education, “inspectors will expect schools to set out a clear rationale for this and understand what impact it has on the quality of education”.
“They will also want to understand what plans are in place to meet the minimum expectation. Ofsted is mindful that some schools will be transitioning towards meeting the minimum expectation over the period to September 2024,” the guidance adds.
Schools that already meet the minimum requirement “may wish to consider increasing their school week further to provide additional opportunities for pupils, either as part of the core week or by providing activities that are optional for pupils,” the DfE document states.
While the minimum school week of 32.5 hours does not apply to specialist settings, the department says they “should share the overall ambition to increase the length of the school week, where it is beneficial for their pupils to do so”.
Delay introduced because of DfE ‘dithering’
The DfE had promised “more detailed guidance and case studies” over a year ago after it published guidance that set out its expectation that all state-funded mainstream schools meet the target by September this year.
But Tes revealed in April how heads felt they had been “left in the dark” owing to a lack of guidance on the policy, before exclusively reporting how school leaders’ unions had urged ministers to “ditch or delay” the policy.
In a statement published today, Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said that while the government had claimed it had deferred the deadline because of pressures facing schools, “in truth, they have been forced to introduce this delay as a result of their own dithering, with this guidance publishing a full year later than planned”.
He added: “This is yet another example of the lack of respect schools have, sadly, come to expect in the government’s dealings with them.
”This is petty government tinkering masquerading as meaningful policy-making.”
Mr Barton said that most schools already have a school week of at least 32.5 hours and “the majority of those that don’t are within 15 minutes a day of meeting the requirement”.
“In many cases, the only thing these schools will realistically be able to do to meet the expectation is have slightly longer break times.
“However, in order to implement these changes they will have to consult parents, notify staff and adjust transport arrangements. It is the government that is wasting time, not schools.”
James Bowen, assistant general secretary at the NAHT school leaders’ union, said it was “unacceptable” that the government had “left it so late to issue this guidance” and notify schools of the delay.
Schools had been left “uncertain whether they needed to implement changes ahead of next term”, he added.
Mr Bowen said that the policy was a “distraction” and there was “virtually no evidence to suggest adding a small amount of time to the school day will benefit pupils”.
He said: “Schools may be forced to use already stretched budgets to extend the hours of lunchtime supervisors and other support staff, while others, especially in rural areas, may face a logistical nightmare when it comes to transport where buses are carefully timetabled around the end of the school day.”
Schools minister Nick Gibb said: “As part of our ambition to give every pupil the opportunity to succeed, we announced an expectation for all mainstream state-funded schools to deliver at least a 32.5-hour week by September 2023 in the Schools White Paper.
“While the majority of schools are already delivering this commitment, schools will now have until September 2024 to meet this expectation. We have today published guidance to support them to do this.”
