Should Michael Gove lengthen the school day? The question itself is wrong, of course, as what he wants to do is give schools the opportunity to change hours as they wish, rather than telling them what do to. This isn’t a case of ‘here is your freedom, and this is how you must use it’, but a change in the contract so that schools can do what they want. Currently, the contract for teachers in maintained schools states that they should work no more than 195 days or 1265 hours a year. The Education department has asked the independent School Teachers’ Review Body to look again at this contract so that schools are not forced to keep 195 days as a maximum.
Gove and colleagues are keen to push this idea as being a key part of the ‘global race’ that the Conservatives like to mention when they are discussing radical reforms and difficult decisions.
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