“A wonderful idea”, “Bring it on!”, “Yes!”, “Brilliant!”, “Absolutely”. If enthusiasm were all it took to change policy, a four-day week in England’s schools would be all but guaranteed.
A Guardian report this week saying that the 4 Day Week Foundation has urged the government to pilot a four-day working week in schools in England and Wales to boost teacher wellbeing and recruitment attracted hundreds of thousands of readers.
Teachers and parents responding to a subsequent Guardian callout were overwhelmingly supportive, though many were unsure about the logistics.
Jo Hopkins, a 55-year-old London development director and mother of 11-year-old twins, liked the idea of a four-day week for pupils. Her children are autistic and have struggled with school attendance.
“For many autistic kids five days is too much, causing sensory overwhelm and anxiety,” she said. “This is one way of being inclusive.”
Recent Scottish government proposals for a flexible four-day teaching week – allowing teachers a day out of the classroom for preparation, marking and training – suggest schools would remain open to pupils five days a week.
“I think it would do an incredible amount for student and teacher wellbeing,” said Jesse, (who did not want to give her full name), a 47-year-old mother of three from Southampton.
“The school day seems to be exhausting. Increasingly, parents’ number one concern for their kids is not academic results but their mental health.”
Jen Carlyle, 50, has four children and is headteacher of a small primary school in rural Suffolk. “I have been a teacher for almost 30 years and love the job. However, I can see that the pressure on our teachers is more than it has ever been.
“A four-day week with a pared-down curriculum would allow the fifth day to be spent planning, preparing and decompressing, so that weekends could be freed up. Teachers would be fresher and more resilient.”
Many teachers and parents said a shorter week would boost wellbeing. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA
But how would children be occupied on the fifth day, she asks. Would external providers be in school? How would this be funded?
Maeve*, 44, a Leeds secondary school teacher, works four days and cannot imagine ever going back full-time. “Schools need to do this,” she said. “The inflexibility of teaching is crushing and in these [working from home] ages you can see why people don’t want to do the job.”
Rowan, a parent from Frome in Somerset, also believes it’s time for change. “I have a nine-year-old and twin six-year-olds [who] … all enjoy school but are exhausted by the end of the week. It feels the balance is all wrong.
“Times have changed hugely within the world of work and it’s time that schools adjusted, too. A shorter working week for parents, teaching staff and pupils will boost everyone’s attention and interest for the days in school.”
Mika Jefferies, a teacher from Plymouth, said: “Very good idea. Too many teachers are working in excess of 50 hours a week and give up weekends and a personal life in order to just do their job.”
James Wilson, a council project manager from Leighton Buzzard, agreed. “Brilliant idea. Both my parents are teachers and so are several of my friends. The work day for them is really intense with little down time,” he said.
“I think the biggest issue would be perception. People already feel teachers have too much time off, but this is often a lack of understanding of the workload and the amount of preparation each lesson takes.”
Lisa*, a Bristol primary school teacher, said: “Most educators took on this role because they want to teach and support children, but the special educational needs crisis and pressures of Ofsted mean that most teachers I know feel like they failing, even though they are burning themselves out trying to do their best.
“A four-day week will not solve these problems, but it might save the mental health of many teachers and keep them in the job.”
Paola Adeitan, 31, a volunteer legal adviser from Marlborough in Wiltshire, who has three children, has reservations. Her oldest has special needs and she is worried a four-day week “would impact significantly children with special education needs, particularly those who rely heavily on a routine and consistent support”.
Sarah*, a lawyer in her mid-40s based in France with two children who are seven and eight, has first-hand experience. “We have a four-day week here – no school on Wednesdays – and it’s a real headache.
“There is limited childcare available for Wednesday and many parents can’t afford to take Wednesdays off. In terms of learning, the teachers do seem to struggle to cover the whole curriculum and there is less opportunity for trips and non-academic activities.”
Jenny Fisher, 63, a retired nurse from London with two sons who are science teachers, said: “Something has to be done to take the pressure off of teachers. Since the pandemic, they see their friends in other professions being able to work partly from home, and having a much better work-life balance. I worry about the stress my sons are under.”
Paul, a deputy head from Manchester, said a four-day teaching week could make the job more attractive but would not be straightforward to achieve: “It’s not as simple as just closing one day a week and fitting everything into four. Our approach needs a fundamental overhaul.”
* Some names have been changed.
