Ministers at Holyrood should consider rolling out a Wales-style pilot that would see pupils given additional hours of schooling, according to a top expert.
Henry Maitles, Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of the West of Scotland, said any scheme that provides a mix of social, sporting, cultural and learning activity could be beneficial during the Covid recovery period.
His remarks come after the Welsh Government officially launched a trial that will guarantee five hours of extra school sessions every week for 1,800 individuals. Thirteen schools and one college are participating.
The ten-week initiative - which is being backed with funding of up to £2 million - is focused on supporting disadvantaged pupils and schools that were particularly affected by the pandemic. It draws on international models and proposals from the Education Policy Institute (EPI).
Welsh Government officials said the scheme would offer sports, arts, and social activities, as well as wellbeing support and academic programmes. They stressed that design of the sessions had been led by schools and, in many cases, learners themselves.
The pilot is part of a commitment to explore how the structure of school time could be reformed. In a recent statement, Jeremy Miles MS, Minister for Education and the Welsh Language, said: “We have gone too long without having a proper discussion on this issue. In fact, we have a school calendar virtually unchanged for 150 years, when the expectation on young people to combine studying with working on farms, in factories or supporting at home was far different to now.”
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Prof Maitles said: “I think that the proposal from the Welsh government to investigate the structure of the school day and year has merit.
“As always, though, the devil will be in the detail. My initial response to school improvement and closing the attainment gap is to suggest that we need to spend money on more teachers and smaller classes. But if these Welsh proposals are about improving social interactions and sporting, cultural or fun activities – as opposed solely or mainly to testing -- and the government is willing and able to pay for it, then I think there is benefit. If a glorified homework club, measured by exam results, then doubtful if money or time well spent."
Prof Maitles said it would be "worthwhile" for ministers and educationists north of the Border to follow the Welsh pilot and "perhaps consider examining it" for Scotland.
“It will mean genuine consultation with teachers’ trade unions, parents and students,” he added. “Some questions we might ask are: Who is it targeted at? If at schools in disadvantaged areas, what about kids from disadvantaged households in the schools in non-disadvantaged areas? Will it be compulsory for both teachers and students? How will it be structured? Will pilot level funding be available for roll-out if the pilot is successful? How are the unions, parents and students being consulted?”
Luke Sibieta, EPI research fellow, said: "Establishing a trial in Wales to see how extended school hours could work in practice is the right approach. It will allow us to learn about the merits of different approaches led by schools, the resources required and any barriers to good implementation.
“If successful, there could be significant benefits, including helping disadvantaged pupils to catch up on their educational progress and providing more time for the arts and sports.”
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A Scottish Government spokesman said it was up to local authorities to determine the make-up of the school week, “taking into account their obligations to provide 190 days of school education per annum”.
He added: “We are investing £1bn over the course of this Parliament to improve the attainment of our pupils. Our refreshed Scottish Attainment Challenge empowers schools and councils to drive education recovery accelerate progress in tackling the attainment gap, while allowing teachers the choice of providing additional mentoring and tutoring support for disadvantaged pupils who need it.
“All school pupils experiencing poverty will benefit from targeted funding in 2022-23 to help close the attainment gap. Our new fairer funding model was agreed with [council umbrella body] Cosla and directly measures household income, providing a precise count of children impacted by poverty.”
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