Minister says ‘intuitive’ to look towards longer school day to make up for Covid disruption

Longer school days are “intuitive” when trying to make up for lost time in education due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to the schools minister.

Nick Gibb made the comments when asked about lengthening the school day as part of catch-up plans, which the government has said it under consideration.

When asked during the education select committee on Thursday if he had sympathy with the idea, the minister replied: “Yes, I do.”

“It’s intuitive - is it not - that if you’ve lost time in education because of the pandemic, that one way of securing catch-up is more time.”

He told MPs it is something the education recovery commissioner - appointed earlier this year to oversee the government’s catch-up programme - is “looking at very seriously”.

Gavin Williamson has previously said longer school days could be introduced in light of the disruption of the past year, which has seen pupils in England kept at home during two national lockdowns and periods of self-isolation.

Other options being considered to help children catch-up on lost learning include a five-term school year, according to the education secretary.

On Thursday, Mr Gibb said the government has been looking at how different countries do their school days, including the US, France and the Netherlands, who he said have more “instructional hours” than England.

He said England was also an “outlier” as the school day for primary and secondary schools is “broadly similar”.

“That is very different for most countries in the world, where the secondary school day is longer.”

The school minister told MPs Sir Kevan Collins, the education recovery comissioner, would reveal more about his recommendations for helping children recover learning lost due to the pandemic in the summer term.

Earlier this year, Sir Kevan Collins, the education recovery tsar, said extra hours for sports and music would also need to be considered alongside academic study to tackle the impact of Covid-19 on children.

He said teachers would be asked to “increase learning time for children” and to go over content that may have been missed.

A coalition of headteachers, parents and MP urged the government earlier this week pause formal tests for primary school pupils in England to give students time needed to catch-up amid the disruption of the coronavirus pandemic.

Experts have also called for children’s play to be prioritised instead of extra schooling, following months of restrictions on socialising.