Former Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw has urged headteachers to lay on extra hours to help those struggling at school
A former Ofsted chief has hit out at state schools that send children home early on a Friday – suggesting they should be adding weekend classes instead.
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”.
Forest Gate Community School, a top-performing comprehensive in East London, announced it would cut Fridays to a half-day to create a 'happier, more productive' environment
‘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:
