A significant majority of parents of school aged children are against extending the school day to help pupils catch up after the Covid crisis, new polling suggests.
However the YouGov survey also shows the wider public are much more evenly split on a longer day, which the government’s education recovery commissioner Sir Kevan Collins has suggested may be a key part of a catch-up plan expected to be announced in the next few weeks.
The news comes after Tes revealed that ministers are weighing up whether they should opt to pay for a compulsory half hour extension to the school day with an academic focus or fund a longer 8am-6pm school day, which would be voluntary.
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The YouGov poll found that 59 per cent of parents of school aged children opposed extending the length of the school day, with only 31 per cent backing it.
But the survey, carried out for The Times, also found that less than half (43 per cent) of adult in England opposed the idea, with almost as many (39 per cent) supporting it.
On Saturday, Tes reported that two dramatically different approaches to boosting learning time are being considered by the government for its post-Covid education recovery plan.
Sources say ministers will either opt for a compulsory half hour academic extension or a broader but voluntary 8am-6pm day.
The catch-up tsar Sir Kevan Collins has previously said that teachers will be asked to increase learning time for pupils as part of the catch-up effort.
And last week he said that any plans to extend the school day should be compulsory - in order to “guarantee” disadvantaged pupils attend.
Focus groups have suggested that extra formal lessons might face resistance from some parents concerned about pupils’ mental health.
The YouGov survey also found that more than half (54 per cent) of adults in England are opposed to scrapping GCSEs while a quarter want to see them go.
