Ex-Ofsted boss blasts schools that shut early on Fridays
Sir Michael Wilshaw said many children need ‘more time in school, not less’ and even urged headteachers to lay on extra hours in the week and on Saturdays to help those struggling.
Last year it emerged 24 schools across the UK had scrapped Friday afternoon lessons, with another 200 threatening the same drastic move.
Some adopted the half-day to boost the morale of overworked staff, while others said it is necessary to cut teaching costs – for example by employing fewer classroom assistants – amid a squeeze on budgets.
But Sir Michael, who was head of Ofsted until 2016, said the move would damage pupils’ education and called on inspectors to be ‘critical’ of such schools.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘ No good head wants a shortened school day. I feel this is a mistake – it is the thin end of the wedge and would give encouragement to weak heads to do this sort of thing.
‘They should be saying, “We have got budget constraints, but our job is to make sure we’ve got good outcomes for students, and the only way we can do it is to lengthen the school day and give these youngsters enrichment”.
‘I cannot believe anyone would condone sending children home and closing the school early. That is not the way to get good results.’
His intervention comes amid warnings that ‘ county lines’ drugs gangs are recruiting young children to be runners, prompting calls from charities for Ofsted and school heads to do more to protect vulnerable pupils.
Sir Michael said: ‘ Particularly in areas where there may be gang crime, you do not want children being on the street, possibly getting into trouble.’
Many private schools and ‘outstanding’comprehensives run longer hours in the week and open on Saturdays for extra tuition and sports, the ex-Ofsted chief added.
‘They do it in the independent sector, why shouldn’t we do it in the state sector? If you go into a really great school they will be open during the twilight hours, offering their facilities to the local community,’ he said. ‘They will be running homework clubs well into the evening and bringing youngsters in at weekends and holiday periods.’
Sir Michael is the former head of Mossbourne Academy in East London, which he turned from being one of Britain’s worst-performing schools into one of its best, despite it serving a deprived community. He
‘Not the way to get good results’
said the success was partly down to keeping children late after school to help with homework and bringing them in on Saturdays.
He added that while he paid teachers for the extra work, he thought staff in ‘good schools’ would want to put in the added hours regardless of remuneration, because they ‘want to see the children doing well’.
Last week, Forest Gate Community School, a top-performing comway prehensive in East London, announced it would cut Fridays to a half-day to create a ‘happier, more productive’ environment.
Head Simon Elliott said the shorter week would lift the burden on overworked teachers – who will receive the same pay – and could boost students’ productivity.
However, Mark Lehain, director of Parents and Teachers for Excellence, agreed with Sir Michael. He said: ‘We know children from more vulnerable backgrounds are the ones who most benefit from being in school longer, as the additional time allows a chance for them to catch up with more affluent peers.
‘As such, we will have to see if the gap between students widens in schools that shorten their week.’
But Barnaby Lenon, the former head of Harrow School and chief of the Independent Schools Council, disagreed, saying: ‘I don’t believe there is a correlation between time spent in school and results. It’s about effective teaching. The quality of teachers is much more important than time spent in lessons.’