Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the number of schools in England operating on reduced hours by (a) closing schools on one day a week and (b) shortening the normal school day.

All maintained schools are required to educate pupils for at least 380 sessions each school year. They cannot reduce the length of the school week if this would take the total number of sessions below that.

The information requested is not held centrally. All schools have the autonomy to decide the structure and duration of their school day, which includes the flexibility to decide what time their school day should start and finish. Where schools use this flexibility, they should take into account local circumstances and the needs of their students and staff. The Department trusts schools to decide how best to structure their school day to support their pupils’ education.

In the event that a school decides to make changes to its school day the Department would encourage them to do this in consultation with parents. It is the Department’s expectation that the school should act reasonably when making such decisions; giving parents notice and considering the impacts on those affected.