Should schools be allowed to shorten their hours?

I AM annoyed about the teachers’ plans to curtail school hours. They are quick enough to condemn parents for taking children out of school for holidays in term time. I qualified as a teacher in 1951, choosing this path after flying with RAF Bomber Command in World War II, thinking it would be a satisfying career. During my 40 years teaching at primary schools in Essex, Norfolk and Sussex, I thought the pay was too low, but carried on. There has never been enough money given to schools, but how can an earlier closing time save much? Teachers will still get their salary. I discovered during my career that there were always politically biased teachers who, somehow, managed to get into union posts, determined to cause trouble. Mr H. A. SPENCER, Eastbourne, East Sussex.

THESE head teachers seem to think that making the school day shorter (by the equivalent of three weeks’ worth of lessons) is acceptable. Yet the policy of prosecuting parents for unauthorised absences, usually for holidays in term time, argues that children cannot afford to miss any lesson time. Is it just another case of ‘Do as I say, not as I do’? ANNE RANDLE, Kidderminster, Worcs.

IF SCHOOLS want to save money, there is an easy solution: lose the role of teaching assistants. During my schooling and that of my children and grandchildren, there was no such position, so why do we need them now? E. LAWRENCE, Hampton, Middx.