Commenting on the Welsh government’s announcement that it will be looking at the structure of the school day and school year, Laura Doel, Director of school leaders’ union NAHT Cymru, said: “I don’t think we can underestimate how incredibly bad the timing it is by the Welsh government to bring up now the issue of exploring reform of the school day and school year.” 

The government’s announcement came ahead of an NAHT-hosted online question and answer session for members with minister for education Jeremy Miles, on Thursday (17 June). 

Laura continued: “The challenges associated with delivering a new curriculum and new ALN legislation should not be underestimated; an education recovery plan has yet to be revealed; we don’t know what the plan is for Estyn in September – yet they’ve decided to open up this issue of time spent at school. 

“We hope the government will table any such discussions for the next academic year and allow schools to focus on Covid-19 recovery right now as that must be our priority. 

“If government intends to have this conversation with the profession, NAHT Cymru will be clear that any such proposals will have far-reaching implications beyond the school gates for learners, their families and the school workforce, not to mention the economic impact changes to school structures would have. 

“The government could end up doing more harm than good by adding more classroom hours to children’s school day, for instance. Unintended consequences must be considered and weighed against the costs, such as the impact on pupils’ mental health, reduced family time and less time for extra-curricular activities.  

 “Then there is the financial cost and staffing implications to consider. Big ideas rely on equally ambitious funding from the government and so that must be factored-in to any discussion on school day or year reform.”