Ofsted has made no mention of schools failing to stay open for at least 32.5 hours a week in any inspection reports published this term, according to a new analysis, despite the government saying the watchdog would be highlighting the issue.
The Department for Education created a new expectation in the Schools White Paper, published in March, for schools to be open for a minimum of 32.5 hours a week by next September.
Schools have been told to expect government guidance on this, and were also told that Ofsted would highlight where schools that are not meeting this expectation would benefit from staying open longer if inspectors thought it would improve the quality of education.
Ofsted’s handbook for school inspections was updated in July ahead of the current academic year to reflect this (see box, below).
However, an analysis of more than 1,000 published school inspection reports from September to December shows that the phrase “32.5 hours” has not been used at all.
SchoolDash, who carried out this analysis, also did not find any school inspection reports published since September that mentioned the phrases “minimum hours” or “length of school week”.
The findings come as school leaders’ unions warned that heads cannot wait any longer for detailed guidance setting out what ministers expect schools to do from September to achieve a 32.5-hour week.
The DfE has said this will be coming in the new year.
James Bowen, the NAHT’s director of policy, said: “The decision to ask Ofsted to highlight where schools were not staying open for 32.5 hours was always a bad policy that was going to be in trouble once it was in collision with reality and I think it is one that puts Ofsted in a particularly difficult position.”
He told Tes it might bet that inspectors are not highlighting the issue yet because the government expectation is for schools to be open for at least 32.5 hours a week from September next year.
However, he added: “Is Ofsted really going to find a school and decide that the quality of education requires improvement and the thing that will really shift the dial is for the school to stay open for 10 or 15 minutes longer? Is that what is going to make the difference? I think that is hugely unlikely.”
‘State of limbo’
The NAHT and the Association of School and College Leaders have also raised concerns about the fact that schools are still waiting for more government guidance on what is expected in terms of a 32.5-hour week.
Julie McCulloch, ASCL’s director of policy, said the plans “appeared to have been in a state of limbo” having been mentioned in the Schools White Paper back in March.
She added: “The vast majority of schools either already meet or come very close to meeting the 32.5-hour minimum week that has been proposed, and the length of the school week appears not to be something that has been flagged as an issue by Ofsted in their recent inspection reports.
“Schools that do not have a 32.5-hour week include those in rural areas where start and finish times are influenced by transport arrangements. For these schools, extending the week would be a significant undertaking that required careful planning.
“It is not something that can be easily accommodated at the last minute and numerous questions remain over how an extended week would be funded and what the extra time would be used for. The DfE promised that they would publish more detailed guidance and case studies to support schools in delivering this policy in summer 2022, but this has not been forthcoming.”
Ms McCulloch said that it was not helpful that at a time when schools were under enormous pressure, they have not been told if the policy was being progressed and are therefore unable to plan accordingly.
The DfE has indicated to Tes that the plan for a 32.5-hour minimum week is still in place.
A spokesperson said: “We want every pupil to have a fair opportunity to achieve their potential, which is why all schools should offer at least a 32.5-hour week.
“The majority of schools are already delivering this, and we are planning to publish fuller guidance on the minimum-length school week in the new year to support those who are not currently meeting this expectation.”
The department estimates that around one in seven schools will need to significantly increase their school week by more than 30 minutes to meet this.
Mr Bowen said schools in this situation needed guidance now.
“There is a need for clarity here. If this change is expected to be brought in from September, schools will need to start planning for this now.
“For some schools, it might affect their staggered start and finish times and school transport - and it could also affect, for example, a teaching assistant’s working hours. This would mean schools will have to make a decision about whether to find funding to extend this or decide that, for a proportion of the day, pupils won’t have TAs.
“There are lots of things that schools need to consider and if these changes are expected from September, schools need clarity now.”
The DfE produced initial guidance in March when the Schools White Paper announced the government plan for a minimum 32.5-hour week.
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