In March 2022, the Government set a non-statutory expectation for schools to provide a minimum 32.5-hour core week by September 2023. However, in July 2023, recognising the challenges schools face, the deadline was extended to September 2024. But how might the additional time contribute to improved student success, and what insights does the latest data provide?
Positive Yet Modest Impact
A recent report by the Education Policy Institute has identified a modest positive link between the weekly time pupils spend in school and their academic achievement in England. This research draws on new data collected by the Department for Education on school week lengths.
The report found that 80% of primary schools and 75% of secondary schools already had school weeks of 32.5 hours or more, meeting the previous government expectation.
Academically selective secondary schools average nearly an hour more per week than non-selective schools. Free schools provide, on average, almost an extra hour at the primary level and over an hour at the secondary level compared to the typical school week. Additionally, schools rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted have school weeks that are, on average, 10 to 20 minutes longer.
The Value of Additional Time
The impact of additional school time on academic attainment, while positive, is modest. An extra hour per week in secondary school correlates with a 0.17 grade increase in one GCSE subject. This effect is more pronounced in language-based subjects, showing a 0.063 grade improvement in language GCSEs, compared to smaller gains of 0.018 in English, 0.014 in maths, 0.016 in science, and 0.017 in humanities GCSEs.
The report notes that, while additional time in school is linked to modest improvements in academic attainment, careful consideration should be given to how this extra time is used and whether the costs involved make extending school hours a practical investment of resources.
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