The length of the school week
Petitions debate
The petition
In May 2025, a 14-year old student created a petition asking the Government to "Reduce the school week to four days per week."
Over 126,000 people agreed with him and signed his petition.
Petitions debate
The Petitions Committee scheduled a debate on the petition in Westminster Hall.
It was led by Dave Robertson MP on Monday 5 January 2026.
At the beginning of the debate, Dave spoke about meeting with the petition creator, and what motivated him to start the petition:
"Ahead of these debates, I always try to speak with the petition’s creator to get a sense of why they started it, and I spoke with the creator of this petition before the Christmas break. He joins us in the Gallery with his mother, who is a teacher herself, and that is a central part of the reason why he began the petition."
"He hoped that a four-day school week would give teachers more time to spend with their families and encourage them to stay in the classroom—where we all want our best teachers to be—and he thinks that pupils could use their day out of school to do volunteering or other positive things in their local community."
In his opening speech, Dave outlined concerns some pupils had about the proposal when he met with secondary school pupils visiting Parliament:
"The pupils I spoke to also had some serious questions about the proposal, and went straight for the logistics of how it would work.
"The main argument against the idea, particularly among the pupils we polled, was that a longer day would be too tiring and that, by the time people got to what I referred to as period 6 when I was in school and when I was teaching—the sixth hour of the day—brains would be overused and they would not be quite as productive.
"Some thought that they would get more homework, that it would be harder to do it on top of longer school days, and that that would mean a reduction in the face-to-face time they got with their teachers.
"Other pupils had questions about where the new periods would be added."
Government response
The Minister for Children and Families, Josh MacAlister MP, responded to the debate on behalf of the Government.
He began by congratulating the petition creator and highlighted the importance of young people using e-petitions:
"I congratulate the young person who started this petition for securing this debate; it is always good to see pupils actively involved in thinking about the world around them and campaigning for the change that they want to see.
"I started my career as a secondary school citizenship teacher, so I welcome seeing young people using the instruments of their democracy in such a way."
The Minister outlined the Government's reasons for maintaining the current length of the school week:
- Additional time in school can positively impact pupil attainment.
- The current length of the school week balances sufficient time to deliver the curriculum to a high standard, and ensures appropriate breaks and opportunities for wider enrichment.
- Compressing more hours into fewer days could squeeze out time for homework and extracurricular activities.
- Reducing the length of the school week could place stress on working families.
The Minister concluded his speech by stating:
"High standards, equal access and sufficient time in school are essential if we are to deliver on our commitment to give every child the opportunity to achieve and thrive.
"That is why this Government stand firmly by the principle of a minimum 32.5-hour school week delivered across five days, which ensures consistency, fairness and opportunity for every child in this country."
The petition creator's response
"It has been a really great experience witnessing first hand how anyone (even under the voting age) can have an impact. I was surprised that my petition appealed to so many people and how quickly it gained speed.
"It was a privilege to come and hear the debate and I would like to thank Dave Robertson for explaining it to me prior along with how he was going to present the petition in parliament."
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