Headteachers’ union leaders are urging ministers to drop or delay an expectation that schools stay open for at least 32.5 hours a week from this September.
In a letter to schools minister Nick Gibb seen by Tes, the general secretaries of England’s two main school leader unions warn that heads have waited for more than a year for guidance on the policy. Many have assumed it is not going ahead, they say.
Tes also understands that the Confederation of School Trusts is also writing to the DfE, raising similar concerns regarding a lack of clarity over the policy.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, and Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, say in their letter that they “strongly suggest” the government drops the policy.
“At the very least, the date by which schools and trusts are expected to implement it should be moved to September 2024 at the earliest,” they add.
It was announced in March last year that schools would be asked to offer at least a 32.5-hour school week by September 2023 as part of a new government White Paper on education.
However, as Tes revealed earlier this month, school leaders have been “left in the dark” over how to implement the pledge, after detailed guidance failed to materialise.
This lack of information means a delay to the September deadline is now needed, today’s letter states.
The letter says: “The DfE information note published in March 2022 included the promise that more detailed guidance and case studies to support schools in delivering this policy would be published in summer 2022. This guidance has not yet appeared. When asked about this, we are simply told that the next steps on this policy are with ministers.”
Mr Barton and Mr Whiteman add that withdrawal of the Schools Bill last year has left many school and trust leaders unclear about the status of the proposals in the White Paper.
They warn that many school leaders are under the impression that, as the bill is no longer going ahead, proposals in the White Paper have also been withdrawn.
The letter adds: “The majority of schools, as you know, already meet the 32.5-hour week expectation. But many of those which don’t have assumed this policy has been dropped, and so may not be preparing to implement it.”
The union leaders describe the policy as misguided and say they have growing concerns that the Department for Education is using non-statutory expectations to steer the actions of schools and trusts.
They add: “While this expectation may not be legally enforceable, the March 2022 information note includes the clear warning that schools which choose not to implement it may find this reflected in their Ofsted reports. We find this approach by government unhelpful.”
They also warn that schools and trusts have made careful decisions about the length and timing of their school day based on factors including staffing levels, budgets, optimum lengths of lessons and breaks, community expectations and local transport options.
The letter tells the DfE that requiring schools to meet an arbitrary number of hours in school risks disrupting these careful plans and “may lead to unintended consequences, such as worsening pupil behaviour and fewer extra-curricular opportunities”.
The union leaders also say that most schools will already have firmed up their curriculum and staffing plans for the next academic year and it will be too late for them to change these in order to accommodate a longer school day or week.
And the letter adds that most schools will have contracts with bus companies and cleaning agencies that may not be able to be negotiated for this September.
The letter concludes: “For all the reasons set out above, we would strongly suggest that you reconsider the implementation of this policy at all. At the very least, the date by which schools and trusts are expected to implement it should be moved to September 2024 at the earliest.”
The DfE was contacted for comment.
