Our School Day 2023/24

Every Thursday students in Y7-10 will take part in a compulsory enrichment activity from 2.35 – 3.30pm.  We want to give as many opportunities as possible for students to engage in enrichment opportunities from mountain bike riding, canoeing and football writers club to learning a musical instrument, learning a new sport or completing an industry standard first aid course.

Year 7 -10 students will have the opportunity to select the enrichment opportunities they would like to take part in for 5 x 5 week periods throughout the year.  Students will have the opportunity to attend an enrichment fair where they will be able to find out more about each enrichment opportunity and make their choices.

Students will make their enrichment choices during the Summer term of 2023 and will start their enrichment activities in September 2023.

An additional late bus is currently being sought to arrive at 3.30pm on Thursdays. We will inform parents/carers of this once the bus company has confirmed this with the school.

The white paper Opportunity for all: strong schools with great teachers for your child sets an expectation that all state-funded mainstream schools will deliver a minimum length of school week of 32.5 hours as soon as they can, and from September 2023 at the latest. This will bring those schools that are under the current average up to the minimum expectation of 32.5 hours, which most schools already deliver.

The expectation does not apply to pupils in:

• early years and 16-19 education1 (including school sixth forms) as they do not have timetabled weeks for all students within the same setting
• specialist settings (special schools and alternative provision), due to the varying needs of their pupil cohorts and the particular operational challenges they may face

Government has provided additional funding for time in 16-19 settings: 16 to 19 funding: Additional hours in study programmes.

The 32.5 hour minimum expectation includes the time in each day from the official start of the school day (i.e. morning registration) to the official end to the compulsory school day (i.e. official home time). The 32.5 hour minimum includes breaks and lunch times as well as teaching time and any extra-curricular activities that all pupils are expected to attend. It does not include optional before or after school provision.

Most schools already deliver a 32.5 hour week, or offer a longer school week, within their existing budgets. Schools that need to increase their hours to meet the minimum expectation will therefore be expected to do so from within their existing budget. There should be no additional cost to parents or pupils.

We strongly encourage all schools to deliver a substantive high-quality morning and afternoon session in every school day. Where schools wish to finish earlier on specific days, for example to allow pupils to attend religious observances, we encourage these schools to offer longer hours on the remaining days so that they meet the minimum expectation over the course of the week.

When school and trust leaders are considering how to use additional time in their schools, this should be guided by their priorities for improvement and learning outcomes for pupils.

Schools should organise the school day and school week in the best interests of their pupils, to provide them with a full-time education suitable to their age, background and ability. They should ensure they are delivering a broad and balanced curriculum within the school week for all their pupils.