Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi has told MPs he is “going to look at” extending the average school day in England.
After it had been previously suggested that an extension to the school day will help children catch up on lost learning post-pandemic, newly-appointed education secretary Mr Zahawi said during education questions in the Commons that there are some “excellent examples” of schools which have implemented longer teaching hours.
He has urged all education institutions to ensure they are operating for the average school day length of 6.5 hours.
Speaking in the Commons, Conservative MP Robert Halfon MP – who chairs the education select committee – asked if the cabinet minister would consider making the case for a longer school day, especially to help increase educational attainment amongst disadvantaged pupils, and Mr Zahawi responded: “I think the priority has to be for those children and students, who have the least time available to them to recover, which is why the £800 million for the 16 to 19-year-olds additional 40 hours of education is so important.
“Plus the £1 billion going into secondary and primary, making the total £5 billion of recovery money.
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“There are some excellent examples… of a longer school day, which I’m going to look at.
“The average school day now is 6.5 hours and I would like to see everybody move towards that average.”
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Nadhim Zahawi has told MPs he is “going to look at” extending the average school day in England / Credit: UK Parliament TV
But despite Mr Zahawi’s calls for the extension, one leading education union has warned that lengthening the school day should be “weighed against” factors such as pupils’ mental health.
Paul Whiteman – General Secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT – said in a statement: “The gains that might be possible through extending the school day must be weighed against the costs of such a strategy, including the impact on pupils’ mental health, reduced family time and less time for extra-curricular activities.
“Children’s happiness and wellbeing should be prioritised as well as their education.”
Mr Williamson questioned whether some pupils should be exiting their school gates before 3pm and whether the midday lunch break had been “condensed” too far.
He suggested that lengthening school hours would allow for extra learning time and longer lunch breaks.
Mr Zahawi has urged institutions to ensure the average school day length is at least 6.5 hours / Credit: TES / iStock
But responding to Mr Williamson’s comments, shadow education secretary Kate Green warned that while she agrees that schools should be given more funding to extend their learning provisions, “children won’t learn well if they are tired and if it has been a long day”.
The ongoing debate over the extension of school days comes after ministers announced post-COVID catch-up plans worth £1.4 billion for pupils in England.
Featured Image – Flickr
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Body of woman found in River Mersey last year finally identified after ‘extensive’ investigation
Emily Sergeant
The body of woman who was found in the River Mersey last year has finally been identified.
Following what has been described as an ‘extensive investigation’ by Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) Major Incident Team to determine the identity of the body, which was sadly discovered in the river adjacent to Chorlton Water Park on 21 March 2024, the family of the victim has now been informed and supported by specialist officers.
The victim has been formally named as 38-year-old Laura Stanley, who was originally from Derbyshire but was living in Stockport.
After the body was discovered, and ‘exhaustive and determined’ investigation by GMP officers began to identify here, including detailed checks of both national and international databases.
The Major Incident Team (MIT) also closely worked in collaboration with specialist forensic service providers to create an anthropological profile, which eventually culminated in the creation of a facial reconstruction image.
Following several media appeals, a relative of Laura contacted officers and then a DNA match was confirmed through a familial link.
“Laura was a kind and gentle person with a great sense of fun and adventure,” Laura’s family said in a heartbreaking tribute to her.
“She was generous, thoughtful, caring and always keen to volunteer within the community. Laura was a proud and loving mum and she will be greatly missed by her girls and all of her friends and family who loved her dearly.”
The River Mersey, across from Chorlton Water Park, where Laura’s body was discovered / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
While Laura has now been identified, police say further investigations will take place to understand her last movements, the events that led to her death, and her discovery in the river.
Additionally, as is standard practice, GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate is also reviewing a previous missing report relating to Laura in the time before the discovery of her body, which will determine prior contact relating to Laura, and whether the appropriate measures were enacted.
#UPDATE | A woman who was discovered in the River Mersey last year has been identified following an extensive investigation by officers in GMP’s Major Incident Team.
Thank you to those of you who have shared our appeals over the last year.
Anyone who knew Laura and thinks they may be able to assist with the investigation is asked to contact police by calling 101, or by using the Live Chat Service at gmp.police.uk, quoting log number 1191 of 21 March 2024.
Alternatively, you can contact the Major Incident Team Syndicate 3 directly on 0161 856 9479, or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
It is currently believed that Laura was last seen around January 2024.
Featured Image – GMP
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More than 70,000 home buyers set to pay thousands after missing stamp duty relief deadline
Emily Sergeant
More than 70,000 home buyers across England are estimated to have missed the stamp duty relief deadline.
This sadly means they’ll be required to fork out thousands of pounds extra.
In case you hadn’t heard, up until yesterday (31 March 2025), anyone who was moving and had bought a home in the past was not required to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax, better-known as just stamp duty, on the portion of the property price up to £250,000.
But from today (1 April), this threshold has now fallen back to £125,000, which unfortunately means that property purchasers are facing an extra £2,500 in moving costs, on average.
While the end of the stamp duty relief will mostly affect those Greater Manchester buyers who had already previously purchased properties, first time buyers are sadly not exempt from the deadline changes too, as their current stamp duty threshold of £425,000 has now fallen back to £300,000 as of today.
Person holding the keys to a new house in their hand / Credit: Maria Ziegler (via Unsplash)
Given that the average property price for a first time buyer-type home is currently around £227,965, according to Rightmove, the new £300,000 threshold may hit those purchasing properties in more expensive areas – particularly the South East.
A third of those estimated 70,000 home buyers who have missed the deadline are thought to be first time buyers.
Leading property platform Rightmove published an analysis in February into just how much of an impact the end of the stamp duty relief would have on home buyers, all while calling on the UK Government to announce a short extension to the deadline to help people in the middle of the property purchasing process avoid potentially thousands of pounds in extra moving costs.
But despite these calls from industry leaders, there was no extension to the deadline announced in the last week’s latest Spring Statement.
“It’s extremely disappointing that the Government has not used the Spring Statement as an opportunity to extend the impending stamp duty deadline for those currently going through the home-moving process,” commented Rightmove’s property expert Colleen Babcock.
“We estimate over 70,000 people are going to miss the deadline and complete in April instead, and a third of those are first time buyers.”
The Manc -
2nd November 2021 
