Teachers criticise trust move to extend school day

Teachers at a chain of schools have walked out again in opposition to plans to make the school day longer.

Outwood Grange Academies Trust (OGAT) said the move to extend the day by 30 minutes would bring its 28 sites in line with government recommendations.

But the National Education Union (NEU) and NASUWT warned the move would add further pressure on teacher workload and impact recruitment.

"No-one here wants to be doing this - we'd all rather be in the class with the kids doing what we've spent so much of our time training to do, and something we're so passionate about," said science teacher Tom Fisher.

Centrally-planned lessons covering "life skills" including financial literacy and careers education would take place during an extended morning registration period, OGAT said.

However, the unions warned their members would still need additional time to prepare.

"They keep saying they'll give us resources we can just pick up and use, but no teacher does that," said Mr Fisher, who teaches at Outwood Academy Easingwold, North Yorkshire.

"It sucks that it has come to this."

As well as in North Yorkshire, walk-outs have been taking place at Outwood Academy sites across the north of England.

OGAT schools currently finish at 14:30 BST, with the trust proposing a later finish to comply with the Department for Education's 32.5-hour week policy.

"Our members and all staff are already under extreme pressure with workload," said Gary McVeigh-Kaye, of the NEU.

The North Yorkshire branch secretary said the proposal would "add to the recruitment and retention crisis that we've got in education anyway".

Under the original proposals, a full-time teacher with a form group allocated to them would be working "two hours or more extra a week with no increase in pay and no real increase in planning and preparation time", according to NASUWT.

Tim Toepritz, national executive member for the union, said the trust had since said teachers could use one form-time period a fortnight for planning, but at some schools that would be "in a block at the end of the year, which is no use".

The earlier finish time at Outwood Academy Easingwold "worked" for pupils and parents, as well as bus operators, he added.

English teacher Jess Hesketh said a key issue was the "one size fits all approach to a really broad and diverse family of schools".

Outwood Academy Easingwold's rural location made it "rare within the trust", she said.

"In terms of transport and the demographic of our students and our staff, it faces different challenges."

Alice Cokeham, who also teaches English, said that while teachers were striking during exam season, pupils had been taught the necessary material ahead of the industrial action.

She added that pupils would not benefit from an extended school day without more time to socialise.

"We currently have a 15 minute break in the morning and a 30 minute break for lunch," she explained.

"In that lunchtime break of 30 minutes, students have to go to the toilet, queue for food, eat their food and also have a bit of fun with their friends."

NASUWT representative and science teacher Jeremy Tomlin said: "We already see students are exhausted at the end of the five period day.

"We think it's going to have a long term impact on student welfare, student health, and also on the retention of teachers."

He called for the academy trust to carry out a "proper" consultation with individual schools.

A spokesperson for OGAT said the trust had "constructively engaged" with staff and trade unions since October, with changes made during a "genuine consultation".

The "small" proposed change would bring the school day length "within the government's recommended bracket", they said.

They said strikes would "disrupt children's education, especially as the days the unions have chosen for the strikes are all when students are taking GCSEs, exams they have worked so hard for".

"We remain open to constructive dialogue and collaborative working, but we must prioritise our students so they get the best possible education."

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