October 21, 2022 4.00 pm This story is over 28 months old

Extending the school day: An answer to rising childcare costs?

Lincolnshire school staff have their say

The Children’s Commissioner for England Dame Rachel de Souza believes extending the school day could be a straight forward answer to childcare and other costs, but staff and pupils at her former school in Ashby, Scunthorpe questioned the idea.

In a report, Vision for Childcare, she said extended hours would be the “most straightforward approach to making childcare manageable and affordable, so children can be cared for on school premises”. The government said it would “carefully consider” her recommendations.

Dame Rachel de Souza previously attended St Bede’s and, when responding to her recommendation for schools to remain open longer, Headteacher Ryan Hibbard told BBC Look North: “To extend the school day we also have to think about the implications on the mental health of all the children.”

Assistant Headteacher Jessica Jackson said:”
Does this mean that we are going to extend the school day in terms of the offering of the curriculum or is this just essentially wrap around care which already exists in so many different primary settings.”

And what do the pupils think? Alice said it would remove the “professional educational side of the school” and be like “babysitting”. Julia added: “A lot of students find in school they deal with a lot of anxiety, and I think an extended school day would create more pressure.”

However, Lexi said the move may work for primary school pupils though “because they’re in the environment that they know and they like with all their friends”.

A Department for Education spokesperson told BBC: “We will carefully consider the commissioner’s recommendations as we explore a wide range of options to make childcare more accessible and affordable for parents.”