Twigg calls for longer school day

The standard school day should be extended to get young people ready for employment, the shadow education secretary Stephen Twigg has said.

Adopting a longer day would also help prevent young people from getting involved in gangs, Labour MP said.

Mr Twigg made the comments at the North of England Education Conference in Leeds yesterday (January 5th) and said the move would help deal with the fact that many employers believe young people are ill-prepared for work when they finish school, the BBC reported.

It remains to be seen how people in teaching jobs will respond to the proposals, but a new "School to Work" review is now set to be conducted by Labour MO Barry Sheerman, which will consult teachers, businesses and parents.

"A long hours culture has its drawbacks, but how many employers expect their workers to leave the office at 3.30pm?" the BBC quoted Mr Twigg as saying.

Schools minister Nick Gibb agreed with Mr Twigg that lengthening the school day could help pupils achieve more but acknowledged that teaching unions would need persuading if hours were going to be extended.

Meanwhile, in an impassioned speech in London the education minister Michael Gove has defended the academies programme against critics.

Posted by Tim Colman

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