By Robert Long

4 August 2023 The School Day and Year

Summary
1 How many days must schools be open each year?
2 Who determines the length of a school day?
3 Rules in the rest of the UK
4 Variations in the school day and year internationally
5 Discussion in Parliament
6 Do longer school days and terms benefit children?

commonslibrary.parliament.uk
Number 07148 The School Day and Year

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2 Commons Library Research Briefing, 4 August 2023

The School Day and Year

Contents

Summary 4

1 How many days must schools be open each year? 5

Minimum expectation on length of the school week 5

2 Who determines the length of a school day? 7

3 Rules in the rest of the UK 8

3.1 Scotland 8
3.2 Wales 8
3.3 Northern Ireland 9

4 Variations in the school day and year internationally 10

5 Discussion in Parliament 11

5.1 Debates and Parliamentary Questions 11

Possible extension of school day as part of Covid recovery 11
Schools closing early due to financial pressures 12
Debates under the Coalition Government 13
5.2 Education Committee report on white working class children and
Government response (2014) 15

6 Do longer school days and terms benefit children? 17

6.1 Department for Education review of time in school (2021) 17

6.2 Department for Education research (2017) 18
6.3 Commission on Ethnic Disparities recommendations (2021) 19
6.4 School Teachers Review Body report (2014) 20
6.5 Education Endowment Foundation research 20
6.6 Policy Exchange report 21
6.7 Other articles and press comment 21

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The School Day and Year

Summary

In England, local authority maintained schools must open for at least 380
sessions (190 days) during a school year.

The Government expects that, where not already doing so, state-funded
mainstream schools should deliver a school week of at least 32.5 hours by
September 2024.

Term dates are determined by school employers. The local authority is the
employer for community, voluntary-controlled, community special or
maintained nursery schools. For foundation, voluntary-aided and foundation
special schools, the employer is the governing body.

The Deregulation Act 2015 provides for the responsibility for determining term
dates to pass to school governing bodies at community, voluntary controlled,
community special and maintained nursery schools in England. However, this
provision is not yet in force.

School session times in local authority maintained schools are determined by

the governing body. Academies, including free schools, set their own term
dates and school day.

This briefing provides information on the rules relating to the setting of school
hours and term times. As schools is a devolved subject, the note focuses on
the position in England, but the position in the rest of the UK is also provided.

The paper also provides an introduction to the debate and research on

whether longer school days and terms are of benefit to children.

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 The School Day and Year

1 How many days must schools be open

each year?

Local authority maintained schools must open for at least 380 sessions (190
days) during a school year. 1 The school year must begin after July. If a school
is prevented from meeting and it is not reasonably practicable for
arrangements to be made for it to make up the lost session(s), it can be
deemed to have been open for the required 380 sessions. 2

Term dates are determined by school employers. 3 The local authority is the
employer for community, voluntary-controlled, community special or
maintained nursery schools. 4 For foundation, voluntary-aided and
foundation special schools, the employer is the governing body. 5

Schedule 16 of the Deregulation Act 2015 amends section 32 of the Education

Act 2002 to give responsibility for determining term dates at community,
voluntary controlled, community special schools and maintained nursery
schools in England to school governing bodies. However, this provision is not
yet in force. Section 11.3 of the Library research paper prepared for the
Second Reading of the original Bill, RP 14/6, provides information.

Academies, including free schools, set their own term dates. 6

Minimum expectation on length of the school week

In March 2022, the Department for Education published Length of the school
week: minimum expectation guidance. This set out the expectation that state-
funded mainstream schools should deliver a school week of at least 32.5
hours by September 2023. This expectation was part of the March 2022 white
paper Opportunity for all: strong schools with great teachers for your child.

1
Education (School Day and School Year) (England) Regulations 1999. Teacher training days are
additional to this number; teachers in maintained schools must be available for work for 195 days,
the additional five days per year being for other duties. See Department for Education, School
teachers’ pay and conditions document 2015 and guidance on school teachers’ pay and conditions,
September 2015, p51
2
Department for Education, Governance Handbook, October 2020, p118
3
Section 32 of the Education Act 2002
4
Section 35 of the Education Act 2002
5
Section 36 of the Education Act 2002
6
Department for Education, Governance Handbook, October 2020, p118

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The School Day and Year

In July 2023, this guidance was revised with the expectation that schools
should deliver a school week of at least 32.5 hours deferred to September
2024, “in recognition of the pressures facing schools.” 7

The 32.5 hour minimum includes breaks and lunch times as well as teaching
time and any extra-curricular activities that all pupils are expected to attend.

The Department for Education strongly encourages all schools to deliver “a

substantive high-quality morning and afternoon session in every school day.” 8

7
Department for Education, Length of the school day: minimum expectation, July 2023, p3
8
Department for Education, Length of the school day: minimum expectation, July 2023, p4

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 The School Day and Year

2 Who determines the length of a school

day?

School session times in local authority maintained schools are determined by

the governing body. 9

As with term dates, academies set their own school day. 10

9
Section 32 of the Education Act 2002
10
Department for Education, Governance Handbook, October 2020, p118

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 The School Day and Year

3 Rules in the rest of the UK

3.1 Scotland

The Schools General (Scotland) Regulations 1975, as amended, require

schools under education authority management in Scotland to be open for
190 days per year.

They do not define, however, the length of the school week for pupils, which is
a matter for the discretion of education authorities within their responsibility
for the day-to-day organisation of schools. There is, however, a widely
accepted norm of 25 hours and 27.5 hours for primary schools and secondary
schools, respectively. 11

School holiday dates are set by local authorities. The Scottish Government
website provides links to the website of local authorities detailing the term
dates set in each region.

Attempts by some local authorities to alter the length of the school week have
proved controversial. For instance, proposals from Fife council to reduce the
length of the school week by half a day to save costs 12 were abandoned after
opposition from parents. 13

3.2 Wales

The Changing of School Session Times (Wales) Regulations 2009 set out who
is responsible for determining the dates of school terms and school holidays.
It also sets out the rules on setting the times of school sessions. The
Explanatory Note states:

For foundation, voluntary aided and foundation special schools, the governing
body determines all these, and for community, voluntary controlled,
community special schools and maintained nursery schools, the governing
body determines the times of school sessions (with the local education
authority determining the dates of the school terms and holidays). However
where a local education authority considers that a change in any
maintained school's session times is necessary or expedient to promote the use
of sustainable modes of travel or to improve the efficiency or effectiveness of
its travel arrangements, it can determine the time

11
Scottish Executive, Circular No 4/2002
12
Fife Council, Budget Savings 2014-17: Realignment of School Day
13
STV News, Plans to shorten Fife school week by half a day "off the table", 12 February 2015

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 The School Day and Year

the school's first session begins and its second session ends (or if there is only
one session, its start and end).

The Welsh Assembly Government website provides available term dates for
local authorities in Wales.

The Education (Wales) Act 2014 made some alterations to the existing
provisions. The Act enables Ministers to direct local authorities and schools to
set specified term dates. The Welsh Government has argued that variations in
term dates cause inconvenience and additional childcare costs, and this
power has been used when local authorities do not themselves agree
common term dates. 14

3.3 Northern Ireland

School holiday dates are agreed annually by a group representing all school
sectors. However, there can be variations between schools, as Principals and
Boards of Governors can decide to use some of their optional closure days to
extend agreed holidays.

Schools are open for 200 days per year, less five days when they are closed
for staff training and five optional closure days.

The NI Direct website further notes:

Full-time teachers work 195 days in any year and should be teaching children
in a classroom for no more than 190 days. This may be reduced to 185 days if a
school uses all its School Development Days.

Regarding the length of the school day, the Department of Education

Northern Ireland circular 2013/09 makes clear that the structure of a school
day should be attendance on any day under instruction (other than in
religious education):

• Three hours (minimum) in the case of a pupil enrolled in a class

composed mainly of pupils who, at the beginning of the school year, had
not reached the age of eight years.

• Four and a half hours (minimum) in the case of any other pupil.

14
See Senedd Research, Minister uses new powers to harmonise school term dates in 2016/17, 9
September 2015, for further information

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 The School Day and Year

4 Variations in the school day and year

internationally

Information is available on the organisation of the school year and the length
of teaching hours in other countries. As this information is extensive, owing to
the number of countries and variations involved, this note provides the
following sources rather than direct information:

• Eurydice – Organisation of school time in Europe: primary and secondary

general education, 2022/23 school year

• OECD – Education at a Glance 2020 – How does time spent by students in

the classroom vary over the years?

• InfoPlease (part of Pearson Group) – School years around the world

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 The School Day and Year

5 Discussion in Parliament

5.1 Debates and Parliamentary Questions

Possible extension of school day as part of Covid

recovery
The idea of extended school days, as well as shortened school holidays, to
help pupils catch-up with the education lost due to school closures during the
coronavirus pandemic has frequently been discussed. 15

In response to a Parliamentary Question in March 2021, the School Standards

Minister stated that the Government had appointed an Education Recovery
Commissioner to consider options on Covid recovery:

Nick Gibb: The Government recognises that COVID-19 and associated

education restrictions have had an impact on children and young people’s
education.

In February 2021, the Department appointed Sir Kevan Collins as Education

Recovery Commissioner to advise how to help pupils make up their lost
education over the course of this Parliament.

As an immediate step, we have invested a further £700 million to support

education recovery measures (bringing total investment in catch up to over
£1.7 billion), including for tutoring, summer schools in 2021 and additional
support for schools.

The Education Recovery Commissioner will engage with parents, pupils and
teachers in the development of this broader approach which will examine a
range of options to help schools use evidence-based interventions to support
their pupils to make up lost learning. We will share further details in due
course. 16

Information about education recovery support was published in June 2021.

This did not include any provision for an extended school day.

The Education Recovery Commissioner, Sir Kevan Collins, resigned in the wake
of the Government’s announcements. In his resignation letter to the Prime
Minister, Sir Kevan stated that he had proposed extending the school day to
“offer children opportunities to re-engage with sport, music, and the rich

15
See, for example, BBC News, Covid: Gavin Williamson 'looking at' longer school day and shorter
holidays, 7 March 2021
16
PQ 157325, 23 February 2021

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The School Day and Year

range of activities that define a great education,” while ensuring these

activities were not squeezed out by additional academic support. 17

Schools closing early due to financial pressures

It has been reported widely in the media that some schools are reducing their
opening hours, some for instance switching to four and a half day weeks,
citing funding pressures. 18

This issue has been raised in several Parliamentary Questions, see for
example the following, responded to by the Schools Minister:

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate has
he made of the number of schools closing early as a result of a lack of
resources.

Nick Gibb: Information on when schools finish their school day is not held
centrally.

All maintained schools are required to educate pupils for at least 380 sessions
each school year. They cannot reduce the length of the school week if this
would take the total number of sessions below that.

All schools have the autonomy to decide the structure and duration of their
school day, which includes the flexibility to decide when their school day
should start and finish. Where schools use this flexibility, they should take into
account local circumstances and the needs of their students and staff.

In the event that a school decides to make changes to its school day the
Department would encourage them to do this in consultation with parents. It is
the Department’s expectation that the school should act reasonably when
making such decisions; giving parents notice and considering the impacts on
those affected. 19

The issue has also been raised at Prime Minister’s Questions, under the then
Prime Minister Theresa May:

Meg Hillier: Q7. Because of funding pressures, many schools are cutting short
the school week, so what is the Prime Minister’s message to parents whose
children will be out of school for half a day a week? [906687]

The Prime Minister: First, I think we should all pay tribute to the work that our
teachers and headteachers do across the country. I am pleased that 1.9 million
more children are now in good or outstanding schools. We are backing schools
with an extra £1.3 billion over the next two years. Per-pupil funding is being
protected in real terms. But we are doing more than that. The Department for
Education is working with schools to help reduce their non-staffing costs—that

17
TES, Exclusive: Sir Kevan Collins resigns over catch-up plan, 2 June 2021
18
See, for example, Schools Week, More schools could be forced to cut teaching hours, union warns, 8
March 2019
19
PQ 234119, 22 March 2019

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The School Day and Year

includes up to £1 billion through better procurement—so teachers will be able

to do what they do best, which is carry on teaching. 20

Debates under the Coalition Government

The Coalition Government’s position on the length of the school day was set
out by the then Education Secretary, Michael Gove, in an exchange on the
floor of the House in February 2014:

1. Damian Collins (Folkestone and Hythe) (Con): What his policy is on the
length of the school day; and if he will make a statement. [902468]

16. Mr Dominic Raab (Esher and Walton) (Con): What plans he has to extend
the school day. [902484]

The Secretary of State for Education (Michael Gove): I would like to see state
schools offer a school day that is nine or even 10 hours long, enabling schools
to provide character building, extra-curricular activities and homework
sessions. I look forward to working with schools to ensure that they have
access to the resources necessary to provide these activities.

Damian Collins: Does the Secretary of State agree that lengthening the school
day in this way will give more children the chance to benefit from a greater
breadth of studies—an opportunity that too often has fallen only to those who
can afford to pay for it?

Michael Gove: My hon. Friend is absolutely right. What we need to do is close

the unacceptable gap in attainment between those who are fortunate enough
to have parents who can pay for them to be educated privately and those in
the state sector. The very best state schools recognise that a longer school day
with additional extra-curricular activities is just one way of ensuring that all
our children can succeed.

Mr Raab: These plans would strengthen children’s education, ensure time for
music, sport and other extra-curricular activities, ease the time pressure on
teachers and help out working parents. I urge the Secretary of State not to
allow the narrow vested interests of the unions to block the delivery of these
plans.

Michael Gove: My hon. Friend is absolutely right. These plans will ensure that
a broader range of culturally enriching activities are available to young
people. I am sure that the teaching unions will recognise that this is in their
interests, and I hope they will embrace and support these changes. 21

Several questions were asked in the House during the 2010-15, largely related
to the Deregulation Bill, relating to the potential impact of amendments to
the school year of allowing all schools to vary their term dates, and concerns
raised by teachers and parents:

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the
expected benefits of allowing schools to vary term dates are. [163716]

20
HC Deb 5 Sep 2018 c160-161
21
HC Deb 10 Feb 2014 c539-540

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The School Day and Year

Elizabeth Truss: This freedom will enable all schools to organise the school
year in a way that best suits the education of their pupils. It will also allow
them to be more responsive to parents' needs.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what

representations he has received regarding concerns over proposals to allow
schools to vary term dates. [163718]

Elizabeth Truss: The Department consulted informally with head teachers,

local authorities and head teacher unions. There was support for the
proposals, but recognition that schools will need to act reasonably. This
included considering parents' views before making any changes, giving
sufficient notice of those changes, and putting local co-ordination
arrangements in place. 22

Questions were also raised about the impact of the changes on tourism and
the wider economy:

Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

(1) what assessment his Department has made of the economic effects
of deregulating school holidays on

(a) tourism-related jobs in seaside and coastal areas and

(b) seaside economies in general; [199378]

(2) what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the Government’s
proposed Deregulation Bill on tourism employment in England. [199379]

Mr Vaizey: At present, local authorities set term and holiday dates for about
30% of secondary schools and 70% of primary schools (around half of all
registered pupils). The Deregulation Bill gives more schools the flexibility to
make changes should they wish to, although the experience of the academies
programme and voluntary aided (church) schools, suggests that only a small
percentage of schools are likely to vary their term dates.

The Department for Education has produced an assessment of the impact of

the changes. While there will be greater flexibility, we expect that sensible
conversations between the local authority and schools on co-ordination will
take place. Variations to term dates could also help businesses and
employers, for example, in areas of high-seasonal employment where
employees may welcome the chance to holiday outside of peak tourist periods.
For example, Bishop Bronescombe school in St Austell has a two-week half
term in May/June to accommodate parents’ seasonal employment patterns.

A separate assessment of the specific impact on tourism-related jobs in

seaside towns or seaside economies has not been carried out. 23

And:

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what

assessment he has made of the economic effects of deregulating school

22
HC Deb 9 Jul 2013 c228W
23
HC Deb 10 Jun 2014 c66-67W

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 The School Day and Year

holidays on (a) tourism jobs in seaside areas and (b) seaside economies.
[201861]

Matthew Hancock: The Government are giving more schools greater flexibility
to adapt the shape of the school year in the interests of their pupils’ education.

While this will extend an existing flexibility to a greater number of schools, our
advice will continue to include a clear expectation of schools working with
each other and the local authority to coordinate dates to avoid unnecessary
disruption to parents and their employers.

The Department has consulted with representatives of the tourist industry.

Where schools choose to change their holiday dates, following discussion
locally with parents and local businesses, there may well be a positive impact
on seaside economies. In areas of high-seasonal employment, for example,
small variations to term dates agreed locally may help parents to holiday
outside of peak periods. 24

5.2 Education Committee report on white working

class children and Government response
(2014)

In June 2014 the Education Select Committee published a report on

Underachievement in Education by White Working Class Children, which
stated that longer school days could be of particular benefit in reversing this
problem:

109. The current trend towards longer school days presents an opportunity for
schools to provide space and time for students from lower socio-economic
backgrounds to complete homework, which may particularly benefit white
working class children. We recommend that Ofsted publish a best practice
report on this subject to provide guidance for schools. 25

In the Government’s response to the report, the Department for Education

advocated the use of longer school days as an “innovative reform” that could
help to raise standards:

The government is grateful to the Committee for highlighting the potential

benefits of longer school days. The Committee’s conclusion concurs with
evidence cited in the EEF Toolkit, which suggests that disadvantaged pupils
may benefit more than their peers from such innovative reforms.

It is our view that all schools should plan the structure, content and duration of
their school day based on what works in the best interests of their pupils’
education, and not simply on tradition. In 2011, we removed the prescriptive

24
HC Deb 30 Jun 2014 c348W
25
Education Committee, Underachievement in Education by White Working Class Children, 18 June
2014, HC 142 2013-14, para 109

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The School Day and Year

process that schools had to go through when changing their school day. All
schools in England can now set their school day as they see fit.

Longer days can mean schools have more time to work with pupils who need
additional help, and can open up opportunities for pupils to access purposeful,
character building activities that help them build the confidence to succeed
when they leave school.

Some schools, including some in disadvantaged areas, are already

recognising the benefits of longer days and are re-organising their timetables
to ensure a good balance of teaching, extracurricular activities and supervised
self-directed work. Those schools report that just having a dedicated time of
the school day to complete work in a calm and supportive environment can
make a big difference to pupils; increasing confidence and engagement in
schoolwork.

Although no specific survey on the impact of the length of the school day is
planned, Ofsted will look to identify successful practice in this area as part of
its inspection and wider good practice work, and will publish these examples
as case studies within the good practice section of its website. 26

26
Education Committee, Underachievement in Education by White Working Class Children:
Government Response to the Committee's First Report of Session 2014–15, 15 September 2014, HC
647, p11-12

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 The School Day and Year

6 Do longer school days and terms benefit

children?

6.1 Department for Education review of time in

school (2021)

In November 2021, the Department for Education published a Review of time

in school and 16 to 19 settings.

The review included an overview of the length of the school day in England:

Pre-pandemic the average mainstream school day in England (for primary and
secondary settings) was around 6 hours 30 minutes a day.

This is tightly distributed, with 75% of schools having a day that lasted
between 6 hours and 15 minutes and 6 hours and 35 minutes. However, some
schools have a day that is well below the average (8% of primaries and 5% of
secondaries have a school day that lasted 6 hours and 10 minutes or shorter),
or well above the average (2% of primaries and 22% of secondaries have a
school day longer than 6 hours 50 minutes).

The difference in average between primary and secondary is minimal (9

minutes a day).

Initial analysis suggests little or no difference in length of school day in

England across other school characteristics in England such as:

• proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals within settings

• urban versus rural settings

• maintained schools versus academies

This does not include special school settings and alternative provision, where
particular considerations may affect timetabling and the length of the school
day. 27

The review highlighted studies that have indicated a positive relationship

between the quantity of instructional time and outcomes, but said the
evidence varies in scale, quality and applicability.

27
Department for Education, Review of time in school and 16 to 19 settings, November 2021, p2

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 The School Day and Year

The review said the additional time needed to be used well to be effective and
that evidence on the role of instruction time in reducing the attainment gap
was mixed.

The review also said:

Any universal change to the length of the school day would involve significant
delivery considerations, particularly how to realise the additional teaching
capacity required in order to facilitate delivery within existing legislative,
contractual and workforce supply constraints. 28

6.2 Department for Education research (2017)

In August 2017 the DfE published a research report on Extended activity

provision in secondary schools. This focused on activities offered outside of
the usual school timetable, but offered insight into how staff, parents, and
pupils thought of an extended timetable.

Staff reactions to a longer day were mainly negative, with pupil choice a key
concern:

The majority of school leaders held a predominantly negative view of

compulsory extension, both in principle and in practice. […]

A common theme to emerge from the school leader interviews in this respect
was the importance of choice. A compulsory extension would require the buy in
of all parties and would require a restructuring of the wider system and
context to account for the substantial changes. […]

These views were largely echoed by teachers in the case studies. Concerns
focused on the impact on the work-life balance of pupils, the extent to which
participation should be intrinsically motivated or imposed, the impact on
teachers and practicalities of staffing, and the potential of disruption to family
schedules. 29

Parents and pupils raised concerns about choice and overwork, while the
chance to engage in more activities at school was cited alongside concerns
that out-of-school activities would have to be given up. Pupils also raised
safety concerns about travelling home later in the day:

Reactions from parents were also mixed. Some parents thought it would be
helpful because it would allow children to engage in activities they might not
otherwise be able to in a structured way, or allow some parents to increase
their working hours. However, parents saw issues with their children’s
decision-making capacity, if the school day extension was compulsory and
their child had to participate in activities. Any compulsory engagement with
activities was also seen as removing the element of fun as it was more like
regular class time. Parents were concerned that their children would be

28
Department for Education, Review of time in school and 16 to 19 settings, November 2021, p4
29
Department for Education, Extended Activity Provision in Secondary Schools, August 2017, p66

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 The School Day and Year

overworked if the extension focused on academic support, or if homework was

still given. […]

This view was shared by the pupils in focus groups, who believed they would
need to give up activities outside of school if the school day was extended. This
would mean that he range of activities they were engaged in would decline
(i.e. in cases where those activities were not offered by the school or where the
activity clashed with another activity preferred by the student). The pupils
were also concerned about the effects on their safety and how they would get
home if the school day was extended. This applied particularly during the
winter months, with many pupils expressing discomfort at returning home in
the dark. 30

The costs involved in accessing services, and staff costs, were also cited as
one of the main barriers to extended provision. 31

6.3 Commission on Ethnic Disparities

recommendations (2021)

The report of the Commission on Ethnic Disparities, chaired by Dr Tony Sewell,

published its report in March 2021. It included recommendations on education
and training, and in particular on the school day. One of the
recommendations was that the Government “urgently considers phasing in an
extended school day.”

The principal aim of the recommendation was to improve pupils’ social and
cultural capital, and that extra time for after school clubs, holiday revision
sessions and extracurricular activities “should be a core offer for all, instead
of an unequal opportunity dependent on school and funding choices.”

The report recommended that:

Led by evidence showing the positive impact of an extended school day for
disadvantaged pupils, the phasing of the extended school day should, in the
first instance, prioritise the most disadvantaged areas and communities.

The additional hours must provide all pupils with the opportunity to engage in
physical and cultural activities, including working with local activity clubs.
Participation in such activities will improve pupils’ health and social capital.
Further, such pursuits should be made more accessible to the most
disadvantaged students. 32

30
As above, p66-67
31
Department for Education, Extended Activity Provision in Secondary Schools, August 2017, p67
32
The Report of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, March 2021

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 The School Day and Year

6.4 School Teachers Review Body report (2014)

In February 2014, the School Teachers Review Body (STRB) published a report
which recommended that existing working days and hours for teachers
remain as they are:

We endorse the current provisions of 195 working days and 1265 hours. We
note that teachers currently work additional hours beyond directed classroom
sessions and there is already flexibility for heads to deploy teachers according
to the needs of their pupils. 33

It was reported that this endorsement was welcomed by teaching unions. 34

6.5 Education Endowment Foundation research

The Education Endowment Foundation has published research on extending

school time, which it describes as a policy of “low impact for moderate cost,
based on moderate evidence.” It stated that:

The evidence indicates that, on average, pupils make two additional months'
progress per year from extended school time and in particular through the
targeted use of before and after school programmes. There is some evidence
that disadvantaged pupils benefit more, making closer to three months’
additional progress. There are also often wider benefits for low-income
students, such as increased attendance at school, improved behaviour, and
better relationships with peers.

In addition to providing academic support, some school programmes aim to

provide stimulating environments and activities or develop additional personal
and social skills. These programmes are more likely to have an impact on
attainment than those that are solely academic in focus. However, it is not
clear whether this is due to the additional activities or to improved attendance
and better engagement.

The research also indicates that attracting and retaining pupils in before and
after school programmes is harder at secondary level than at primary level. To
be successful, any increases in school time should be supported by both
parents and staff, and extreme increases (for example more than nine hours of
schooling per day in total) do not appear to be additionally beneficial. 35

33
School Teachers’ Review Body, Twenty-Third Report – 2014, February 2014, pg xi
34
Politics.co.uk, Michael Gove's plans for longer school days rejected, 13 February 2014; Telegraph,
Michael Gove’s plans for longer school day dealt 'huge blow’, 13 February 2014
35
Education Endowment Foundation, Extending school time: Low impact for moderate cost, based on
moderate evidence [accessed 23 March 2021]

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 The School Day and Year

6.6 Policy Exchange report

In August 2014, Policy Exchange published Only A Matter of Time? A

framework for the most effective way to lengthen the school day in England, a
report analysing the potential impact of a longer school day. It published the
following conclusions:

• between a third and a half of state schools already offer a longer day
(and 70-80% of private schools).

• but extending time isn’t automatically going to lead to better outcomes.

In fact, international evidence shows no necessary correlation between
length of the day, and performance on international league tables. This
makes it really important to have a well designed and planned extended
day, to maximise the chances of any potential benefits.

• the greatest gains are likely to come in improving broad educational

outcomes when thinking about 'the whole child' – including growing their
cultural and social capital by offering a range of extra curricular activities

• compulsory schemes are much less popular than voluntary schemes

amongst parents and school staff. But voluntary schemes can struggle to
run economically and there are also adverse selection issues where those
who may benefit the most – often the most deprived – would not attend.
We suggest that it does so via an extended day premium, distributed on a
per pupil basis, which schools can opt into receiving on the condition that
they then run a longer day and which is mandatory for pupils within that
school. Such a decision, with associated funding, would be analogous to
opting in to Academy status.

• running extended days at scale will cost government money – anywhere

from £500m up to several billion – even if parents are charged for some
services. One way to reduce costs would be for schools to offer services in
clusters. But for this to work, pupils need safe and reliable transport
between school sites – for example on a fleet of yellow buses 36

6.7 Other articles and press comment

A TES article on longer school days, published in February 2021 in light of

discussions about extending the school day as a means of catching-up after
school closures during the Covid-19 pandemic, 37 drew together relevant
research from Argentina, Indonesia, Germany, and the USA. The research was
mixed and in several cases old, but drew attention to some evidence of
improved results from extended schooling. The article however noted the

36
Policy Exchange, Only A Matter of Time? A framework for the most effective way to lengthen the
school day in England, 12 August 2014
37
See, for example, BBC News, Covid: Gavin Williamson 'looking at' longer school day and shorter
holidays, 7 March 2021

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The School Day and Year

importance of quality in extended schooling, and also the lack of research on

other issues where it was applied, such as pupil well-being. 38

Dr Suzanne Cogswell, a researcher at the University of Kent, has raised

concerns about pupil fatigue during a longer school day, and also for
teachers if school holidays were shortened. 39

Vaughan Connolly, a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge, published

a study in 2021 that considered teaching time and secondary school
attainment, and emphasised the importance of “the range and quality of
activities provided [by schools], as opposed to the quantity.” 40

It was reported in April 2013 that the then Education Secretary, Michael Gove,
favoured longer school days and shorter holidays:

Speaking at an education conference in London, Mr Gove said: "It is already

the case that some of the best schools in the country recognise the need to
change the structure of the school term.

"It's also the case that some of the best schools in the country recognise that
we need to have a longer school day as well."

He argued that a longer school day would also be more family-friendly and
"consistent with the pressures of a modern society".

"I remember half term in October when I was at school in Aberdeen was called
the tattie holiday, the period when kids would go to the fields to pick potatoes.

"It was also at a time when the majority of mums stayed home. That world no
longer exists, and we can't afford to have an education system that was
essentially, set in the 19th Century." 41

The issue subsequently became a topic of discussion in the media, and

regular articles have been published on the topic in the period since.

A Channel 4 News ‘FactCheck’ article stated that:

Meta-analyses of the data tend to show a small positive correlation between

increasing school hours and achievement, particularly for pupils at risk of
failing. It’s unclear whether the improvements would be worth the money we
would have to spend on extending school hours. 42

38
TES, Do longer school days work? Lessons from history, 11 February 2021
39
University of Kent, Why longer school days and shorter holidays will not make up for lost learning
time, 19 February 2021
40
London Review of Education, Can less be more? Instruction time and attainment in English
secondary schools: Evidence from panel data, May 2021
41
BBC News Online, Gove urges longer days and shorter holidays for pupils, 19 April 2013
42
Channel 4 News, FactCheck: Should we make the school day longer?, 19 April 2013

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The School Day and Year

The Conservative MP Margot James argued for a longer school day in an

article in the Telegraph, focusing on the benefits of the longer school day
common in the independent sector, despite a frequently shorter school year. 43

Paul Kirby, former Head of the Number 10 Policy Unit, argued in January 2014
in favour of reforms requiring all state funded schools to provide 45 hours of
education per week for 45 weeks of the year, which could give children “the
equivalent of an extra 7 years of compulsory education between the ages of 5
and 16 and giving teachers almost no time constraints.” 44

Russell Hobby, the General Secretary for the National Union of Head
Teachers, published an article in the Guardian in February 2015 which
suggested that longer school hours, effectively used, could be beneficial for
pupils and teachers. He stated that:

There is not a strong educational argument in favour of a large extension of

academic lesson time delivered by the same staff working longer hours. We
should, however, encourage all schools to offer a wide range of extra-
curricular activities, homework clubs and catch up lessons. We should make
full use of the social and physical capital invested in a school. 45

The US website Learning Lab published an article in December 2014

advocating a longer school day to provide broader opportunities for pupils,
prompted by extensions to the school day in Boston. 46 A Huffington Post
article in January 2015 was critical of schools in New York which have shorter
hours and longer summer breaks, arguing that it in particular affected
children from low-income families adversely. 47

An April 2013 article in the Economist argued that a longer school day might
benefit lower achieving pupils, although it was more sceptical of the impact
on others. 48

A more critical view was provided by a May 2013 article in the Telegraph,
which stated that Asian schoolteachers believed the success of their pupils
was created “by focusing on plenty of homework and a ‘meritocratic’
approach… [rather than] longer hours in the classroom.” 49

A Financial Times article published in March 2014 stated that there was “no
significant correlation” between the performance of 15-year-olds in reading,
maths and science in OECD international comparisons and the number of
hours’ schooling received. 50

43
Telegraph, Shorter school days only thwart the young, 21 April 2013
44
Paul Kirby, Is this the perfect Election 2015 promise?, 26 January 2014
45
Guardian, Teachers could benefit from a longer school day – discuss, 3 February 2014
46
Learning Lab (US), Why have a longer school day?, 30 December 2014
47
Huffington Post, New York's School Schedule Wastes Billions Of Dollars: Report, 6 January 2015
48
Economist, School’s not out: Extended hours would suit weaker pupils—and irk the rest, 27 April
2013
49
Telegraph, Asia's teachers say copying their school hours won't help Britain, 21 May 2013
50
Financial Times, The debate over longer school days, 21 March 2014

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The School Day and Year

24 Commons Library Research Briefing, 4 August 2023

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