Gavin Williamson hints school day could be lengthened in bid to boost learning after Covid

The Education Secretary today left the door open to lengthening the school day in a bid to boost children’s learning.

Gavin Williamson said the Government wanted consult on measures to help pupils including extra teaching time and opportunities.

He swerved a question on whether ministers were considering extending the school day to help students.

It comes after it was announced that secondary schools in England will be asked to deliver face-to-face summer schools to help children catch up on learning time lost to the pandemic.

An extra £420m in funding has been announced, along with £300m for catch-up projects in January.

Asked if they were considering extending the school day, Mr Williamson told Sky News: “We recently appointed Sir Kevan Collins in order to be able to look at how we do education recovery – a man who has had so many years of experience.

“We are looking at a whole broad range of different options of how we can support schools, how we can support teachers but most importantly how we can support children.”

Pressed again, he replied: “We will be looking at how we can boost and support children in a whole range of different manners.

“But it’s not just about time and school, it’s about supporting teachers in terms of the quality of teaching and how we can help them.”

Last year, Mr Johnson announced a £1bn catch-up fund for England, and he later appointed Sir Kevan Collins as education recovery commissioner.

The pandemic has meant many pupils have lost around half a school year of face-to-face learning.

Boris Johnson confirmed all pupils will return to classrooms on March 8 as part of the first step on his roadmap for easing lockdown in England.

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