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
News
More arrests made in connection with ‘significant’ alleged financial irregularities at Greater Manchester uni
Emily Sergeant
Further arrests have been made in connection with ‘significant’ alleged financial irregularities at a university in Greater Manchester.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed that two people have been arrested as part of its ongoing investigation into alleged financial irregularities at the University of Greater Manchester – formerly the University of Bolton – between 2014 and 2025.
Two warrants were executed yesterday morning (4 November 2026) – one in Bolton, and another in South Yorkshire.
Subsequently a man in his 50s has been arrested on suspicion of witness intimidation, perverting the course of justice, and fraud by the abuse of position, while a man in his 60s has been arrested on suspicion of witness intimidation, perverting the course of justice, and fraud by false representation.
The arrests come, as mentioned, as part of an ongoing investigation.
GMP’s Major Incident Team opened a fraud and bribery investigation a year ago after it received allegations from The Mill, and a subsequent report from Price Waterhouse Cooper (PWC) commissioned by the university’s Fraud Response Panel.
Since then, detectives have been working closely with the Crown Prosecution (CPS)’s Serious Economic Crime team, and are said to have been making ‘painstaking’ enquiries to independently compile evidence that is ‘impartial’ and ‘robust’.
“We’re exploring evidence indicating over £1 million’s worth of fraudulent activity. As part of our enquiries, we’re probing around 60 transactions and investigating more than a million emails,” GMP said in a statement.
Detective Inspector Matthew Donnelly, from GMP’s Economic and Cyber Crime Unit, added: “This remains a complex and extensive investigation into allegations of fraud, bribery and financial misconduct at the University of Greater Manchester.
“The offences for which these individuals have been arrested on suspicion of are serious and include allegations of fraud, witness intimidation, perverting the course of justice and money laundering.
“Any actions that seek to interfere with, influence or undermine the integrity of a police investigation will not be tolerated.”
He concluded: “I would urge anyone who has information which may assist our investigation to come forward and speak to us.”
Featured Image – UoGM (via Facebook)
News
Police are searching for a missing bride-to-be, with CCTV from the day she vanished released
Daisy Jackson
Police have ramped up their appeal to find missing bride-to-be Eren Wright, releasing CCTV of her on the day she vanished.
Eren has been missing since 27 October, when she left her home address in Lytham St Annes.
Since then, her desperate fiancé has shared that her phone was last detected in Birkdale Southport at around 5.30pm that same day, and her bank accounts are empty.
He said last week in a post on Facebook: “Myself and the pets are freaking out not knowing where she is and if she is ok, she has been missing for nearly 12 hours.”
Eren was last seen just after 10am leaving her home on St David’s Road South.
She is described as white, 5’7″, slim, and with blonde hair. She also has tattoos of vines and a tree on her hand and arms.
Police have ramped up their appeal to find missing bride-to-be Eren Wright. Credit: Fylde Police
Eren was last seen wearing a light olive green hoodie with a painting on the front, beige/cream wide leg pants, and worn white trainers.
Police have now shared the new CCTV image of Eren in the hopes that someone might know where she is, or have seen her.
Fylde Police also said they were ‘worried’ about her.
If you see Eren or know where she might be, call 999 quoting log 1309 of October 27th.
The Manc -
2nd November 2021 
