Parents’ fury as schools plan to close at 1pm due to ‘cuts’

‘Absolutely the wrong thing to do’

DOZENS of schools have provoked anger by threatening to cut the teaching week short, blaming the decision on Government cuts.

Headteachers claimed they may have no choice but to close early on one or more days to cut down on staffing costs amid a budget squeeze.

The proposals would cause chaos for working parents, who could have to pay for extra childcare or clock off early.

It is also feared the reduced hours could have a negative effect on children’s education, as in some cases it may add up to three weeks less per year.

A primary school in Leicestershire has become the first to confirm plans to send pupils home at lunchtime on Fridays from this October. In a letter to parents, Danemill Primary School in Enderby proposed pupils finish at 1.05pm – two hours and 15 minutes early – to allow staff to prepare for lessons.

Yesterday, critics questioned whether such drastic action was necessary and accused schools of harming children’s education.

Tory MP David Morris said: ‘I am disturbed by a school withdrawing education from children in a pre-emptive move to combat cuts which have not been confirmed by the Government nor will they be as under the fair funding formula no school will lose income.’

Alan Smithers, professor of education at the University of Buckingham, said: ‘This is absolutely the wrong thing to do. The children’s education must come first. Cutting teaching hours in this arbitrary way is not justified.’ Although the Government says it has protected education funding in real terms, schools say there is still a shortfall because of rising staffing costs and pupil numbers.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies recently concluded the extra £4 billion promised in the Conservative manifesto would still lead to a real terms cut in per pupil funding between 2016 and 2022.

Danemill is believed to be the first school to create a concrete plan for such a measure. Its letter claimed the Government’s new national funding meant it would receive ‘significantly less money’.

It added: ‘In order to do this in the current economic climate we propose making the following adjustment which will have the least impact on your child’s education.’ The school said it will provide ‘enrichment’ activities for children if they cannot go home.

Paul Chamberlain, who has a ten-year-old son at Danemill said: ‘I want my boy to have as much lesson time as possible. I just don’t want any missed time at school to hold him back.’

Fellow parent Lauren Cummings said: ‘It’s hard enough to get child care at normal school closing times let alone at lunch times.’

A number of other schools have threatened to implement similar policies, including City Academy in Hackney, East London, which said it wanted to shorten the timetable by 30 minutes each day due to ‘recent cash freezes and ongoing financial pressures’.

It will mean children from one of the poorest regions will lose the equivalent of three weeks’ per year. By law, schools can reduce the number of hours they offer, but cannot take away a whole day. The Department for Education rules schools must meet for at least 190 days during any school year.

A DfE spokesman said: ‘We want to make sure all children ... have a world- class education. The core schools budget has been protected in real terms since 2010 and is set to rise from £41 billion in 2017-18 to over £42 billion in 2019-20 ... We recognise schools are facing cost pressures and will continue to provide support to help them use their funding in cost effective ways.’

Theresa May’s plan to lift the ban on new grammars has been scrapped, Justine Greening has said. In response to a written parliamentary question from Labour, the Education Secretary said the ban would ‘remain in place’.