Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information his Department holds on the practice of schools closing before the end of the school day on Fridays.

The information requested is not held centrally.

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.

All schools have the autonomy to make a decision about the content, structure and duration of their school day. They have the flexibility to decide when 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.

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.