School leaders have been “left in the dark” over how to implement a key government pledge that all schools provide a 32.5-hour minimum school week after detailed guidance failed to materialise, Tes has learned.
The Department for Education 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.
The DfE said in its Schools White Paper that it would publish the extra guidance in summer 2022. But despite repeated requests from school leader and teacher unions, these documents “have yet to see the light of day”.
The delay has emerged as members of the NASUWT teaching union prepare to debate a motion that the 32.5-hour week “is the start of extending teaching hours by stealth” at their annual conference over the Easter weekend.
Sara Tanton, deputy director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders, said it’s “now far too late for schools to plan changes to their start and finish times, and to properly consult on these changes, in time to implement them in September”.
“It is extremely disappointing that, at a time when school leaders are already under enormous pressure, they have been left in the dark as to whether this and other policies are being progressed and are unable to plan accordingly,” she added.
She said the union had “repeatedly asked for clarity over the future of various White Paper policies that were thrown into doubt after the Schools Bill was scrapped, including the 32.5-hour minimum week that has been proposed” but had not received any answers from the officials or ministers at the DfE.
The NASUWT said it has also “continually pressed the DfE about when additional advice and guidance will be made available but have yet to receive a response”.
It added that meeting the target could create problems.
Ms Tanton said that while the “vast majority” of schools either already meet or come very close to meeting the target, “it would be a significant undertaking for those that do not, including schools in rural areas, where start and finish times are influenced by transport arrangements and any extension to the school week would require careful planning”.
“There are also question marks over what the extra time would be used for and how it will be funded,” she added.
Ian Hartwright, head of policy (professional) at the NAHT school leaders’ union, said that for those that do not deliver 32.5 hours, “there’s little evidence to suggest that adding 5 to 10 minutes to the school day is likely to bring much, if any benefit”.
Echoing Ms Tanton, he said that extending the school day is “far from straightforward”.
“We’ve heard from school leaders that it could eat into already stretched budgets by forcing them to extend the hours of lunchtime supervisors and other support staff, and cause a logistical nightmare when it comes to transport, especially in rural areas where buses are carefully timetabled around the end of the school day to serve local communities.”
Schools have been asked to record whether they are delivering a 32.5-hour week as part of the spring school census.
Ofsted will play a part in flagging any concerns, according to its school inspection handbook, although it says it would only do so where it “would improve the quality of education”.
If a school is not meeting the minimum expectation, and this affects the quality of education, Ofsted said 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, it adds.
DfE guidance from last year says that as most schools already meet the target, those schools that need to increase their hours to meet the minimum expectation will be expected to do so from within their existing budget.
“There should be no additional cost to parents or pupils. We strongly encourage all schools to deliver a substantive high-quality morning and afternoon session in every school day.
“Where schools wish to finish earlier on specific days, for example to allow pupils to attend religious observances, we encourage these schools to offer longer hours on the remaining days so that they meet the minimum expectation over the course of the week,” it concludes.
A DfE spokesperson said: ”The majority of schools already deliver a 32.5-hour week - equivalent to 8.45am to 3.15pm Monday to Friday - within existing budgets and schools should be planning their budgets in line with this minimum expectation.
“We will share an update on guidance in due course.”
