Four-day school week proposals dropped

Plans for a four-day school week proposed by North Ayrshire council were dropped immediately after receiving harsh critique.

Leader of North Ayrshire Council David O’Neill said: "As part of the council's budgetary process, officers were asked to come up with some radical ideas for efficiencies which we might consider exploring in the coming years.”

However, the proposed scheme will not be pursued any further as it did not find any support from either the council members or the critics.

“The mere thought of this proposal shows you the sad state of affairs this council is in”, said Paul Arkinson, speaking for the GMB Scotland Trade Union.

Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association (SSTA) told The Journal: “Since opening the school for additional days at the end of the term would not result in any savings for the authority we have to assume North Ayrshire were suggesting a possible increase in the working day, with pupils having classes for seven hours instead of five and a half.

“Pupils are tired at the end of the school day at present and increasing the length of the day would only result in poorer retention and performance, and would be detrimental to education.”

In Scotland, the law states that children have to attend school a minimum of 190 days a year. It is up to the individual councils how they spread them throughout the year.

Another option that has been discussed by education professionals has been to start school at age six, which is already in operation in several European countries.

While this bid found more support, it is not believed to be a sustainable budget saving scheme. SSTA told The Journal: “Studies have shown this to be better for pupil learning, and to have a positive effect on literacy and numeracy.

"However, to be effective, the year of formal education would have to be replaced with high quality nursery education, which would probably not fit the money-saving agenda.”

Councillor O’Neill added that any changes in the current education system would be thoroughly investigated before they were implemented.