Scotland “should follow Wales and consider a new look for the school week” –

It came after the Welsh government officially launched a process that would have guaranteed five extra hours of class each week for 1,800 people. Thirteen schools and one college participate.

Backed by up to £ 2 million in funding, the ten-week initiative focuses specifically on supporting disadvantaged students and schools affected by the pandemic. It is inspired by the international models and proposals of the Education Policy Institute (EPI).

Welsh government officials said the program will offer sports, arts and social activities, as well as social welfare and academic support programs. They pointed out that the design of the sessions was led by the schools and in most cases by the students themselves.

The pilot project is part of a commitment to explore how to reorganize the school timetable structure. In a recent statement, Jeremy Miles MS, Minister of Education and Welsh Language, said: “It was a long time before we had a real discussion on this topic. Indeed, we have had a virtually unchanged school calendar for 150 years, a far cry from today’s where young people are expected to combine their studies with farms, factories or home care. .

Professor Maitles said: “I think the Welsh government’s proposal to investigate the structure of the school day and year is justified.

“But as always, the devil will be in the details. My first reaction to improving the school and closing the performance gap is to suggest that we should spend money on more teachers and smaller classes. But if these Welsh proposals are aimed at improving social interaction and sporting, cultural or recreational activities instead of exclusively or primarily testing, and the government is willing and able to pay for them, then I think there is an advantage. If it’s a glorified club of homework measured by test scores, it’s questionable whether the money or time is well spent. ”

Professor Maitles said it would be “useful” to look at the Welsh pilot for ministers and educators north of the border and for Scotland “perhaps consider research.”

“There will be real consultation with the teachers’, parents’ and students’ unions,” he added. “Some questions we can ask ourselves are: for whom? What about children from poor families in poor area schools? Mandatory for teachers and students in non-poor area schools How to structure Will have pilot level funding Available if pilot is successful How to consult unions, parents and students?

EPI researcher Luke Sibieta said: ‘A trial in Wales is the right approach to see how much longer school hours can work in practice. This will allow us to learn more about the benefits of different approaches to school leadership, necessary resources and anything else obstacles to correct implementation.

“If successful, there could be significant benefits, including helping disadvantaged students catch up in school and give them 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 composition of the school week “taking into account their obligation to provide 190 days of schooling per year”.

“We are investing £ 1 billion in this Parliament to improve outcomes for our students. Our updated Scottish Achievement Challenge enables schools and municipalities to accelerate the improvement of education, accelerate progress in addressing the achievement gap and allow teachers to choose whether to provide additional mentoring and mentoring support to disadvantaged students in need.

“All students living in poverty will receive targeted funding in 2022-23 to help close the achievement gap. Agreed on our new fairer financing model. [council umbrella body] Cosla e provides an accurate number of children affected by poverty by directly measuring family income.