The British Government is looking into lengthening the school day in its efforts to help students recover from the Covid crisis. Educators across the country had indicated that a significant number of pupils appeared to struggle to catch up with their studies after two scholastic years were largely thrown into confusion with the onset of the pandemic.
It has been suggested an extension to the school day will help children catch-up on lost learning and prosper after the pandemic.
Education secretary Nadhim Zahawi has confirmed that authorities are looking into implementing longer hours in England.
In an address in Parliament during education questions, the newly appointed education secretary highlighted some “excellent examples” of schools which have implemented longer teaching hours and urged all institutions to ensure they are operating for the average school day length of 6.5 hours.
His comments came as Conservative MP and chairman of the Commons Education Select Committee Robert Halfon pressed Zahawi to continue to make the case for lengthening the school day. “We know from the Education Policy Institute that it increases educational attainment from two to three months, especially amongst disadvantaged pupils. We know that a longer school day, according to the department for culture, media, sports, increases numeracy by 29%. So, this increases educational attainment,” Mr Halfon said.
The Education Secretary re-iterated that such a plan was on the cards: “I think the priority has to be for those children and students, who have the least time available to them to recover, which is why the £800 million for the 16 to 19-year-olds additional 40 hours of education is so important. Plus the £1 billion going into secondary and primary, making the total £5 billion of recovery money. “There are some excellent examples… of a longer school day which I’m going to look at. The average school day now is 6.5 hours and I would like to see everybody move towards that average.”
via SKY UK/Independent
