School ends at lunchtime to stop staff ‘ burning out’

‘They should work in the real world’

A PRIMARY school is to shut early on Fridays to prevent its teachers getting too stressed.

Ashby Fields primary has announced the plan to end lessons two hours early at 1.15pm – to the fury of parents, most of whom are still at work at that time.

The school, in Daventry, Northamptonshire, said the unusual measure was needed to prevent ‘ burnout’ among staff and stop teachers quitting the profession.

They need the extra time off to ‘maintain a healthy work-life balance’, it insisted. But it means many parents will have to leave work early to collect their children or arrange extra childcare.

The controversial proposals were revealed in a letter sent to parents by the school and will be subject to a consultation ending next month.

The school explained that recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers is a national problem that has ‘a direct, major impact on not only our children’s education, but their wellbeing and confidence’.

It said this is being caused by ‘the huge workload that ensures teachers work an average of 60 hours a week during term time and through their holidays to keep up’.

It added: ‘Many teachers, despite their love of frontline teaching, cannot manage this workload and maintain a healthy work-life balance, and subsequently resign.’ The school said ‘wraparound care’ would be offered to parents who cannot collect their children at 1.15pm.

However, Emma Lennox said her twins start at the school in September and she fears the move will make returning to work difficult. She told the BBC: ‘ Not a lot of places will employ you on school hours, let alone half a day on a Friday or a whole day off on a Friday.’

Another parent added: ‘ What the school is basically saying to parents is that teachers need more time to chill. It’s ridiculous, parents work just as hard as teachers but most of us don’t have anywhere near the number of days’ holiday as teachers.

‘They should work in the real world and then they’ll realise just how lucky they are.’

The school is proposing to cut its current 27.5-hour weekly timetable to 25.5 hours. The Department for Education recommends infants receive a minimum of 21 hours of lessons a week, while junior school pupils should receive 23.5 hours.

The consultation document on the proposal says: ‘ We can offer our teachers more time out of the classroom to be able to collaborate with their peers and develop the exciting curriculum we want our children to receive, without “burning out”.’

A joint statement by the school’s chairman of governors Paul Davies and headteacher Jacqui Johnson states: ‘As part of the ongoing commitment to continuous school improvement, the senior leadership team and governors of Ashby Fields Primary School have been discussing possible ways to enhance the quality of teaching and learning at the school to ensure we meet with needs of our pupils and invest in our staff.

‘One possibility is to review the structure of the school week in relation to an earlier closure time on Friday and, as a result, access additional staff development time to enhance the quality of teaching and learning.’

The school, which has 400 boys and girls aged four to 11, received a good rating in its last Ofsted inspection.