Schools are facing demands from tens of thousands of voters to transition to four-day weeks by extending each school day by an hour. A petition gathering over 126,000 signatures has prompted MPs to consider this significant change. Despite the push, the Department for Education has indicated that they do not plan to implement this controversial shift.
Advocates argue that adopting four-day weeks could enhance teacher recruitment and retention. Conversely, the government contends that such a change would negatively impact parents who would need to make alternative childcare arrangements. The issue will be deliberated in Westminster Hall due to the substantial public support, with the petition, initiated by Steve Smith, urging the government to mandate a reduction in the school week to four days by adding an extra hour to each school day.
Joe Ryle, the director of the 4 Day Week Campaign promoting shorter working hours without salary reductions, has called on MPs to support this initiative. Ryle emphasized that a four-day week for teachers could address the pressing recruitment and retention challenges in schools, warning that without addressing teachers’ work-life balance, the government’s plan to hire 6,500 more teachers in England would lack significance.
Despite advocacy for the change, the government has dismissed the proposal. The Department for Education highlighted that state-funded mainstream schools are required to offer a minimum of 32 hours and 30 minutes per week. They explained that reducing the school week to four days while meeting the minimum requirement would necessitate extending the school day by over 8 hours and would pose challenges for parents in terms of childcare and workforce participation, potentially straining families financially and impacting the economy negatively.