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School Week
27 June 2022
Lead MP
Catherine McKinnell
Newcastle upon Tyne North
Lab
Responding Minister
Robin Walker
Tags
NHSBenefits & WelfareMental HealthLocal Government
Word Count: 8179
Other Contributors: 1
At a Glance
Catherine McKinnell raised concerns about school week in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.
Key Requests to Government:
The Government should consider expanding child mental health services, ensuring that every secondary school has a full-time staff member dedicated to supporting pupils' mental health, and guaranteeing timely access to support within one month. Additionally, the curriculum needs to be less pressurized to allow more time for enriching activities.
How the Debate Unfolded
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:
Lead Contributor
Children are experiencing significant mental health challenges post-lockdown, with more than 337,000 under-18s referred to child and adolescent mental health services between April and September 2021. Teachers report that students struggle to make it through the school week due to stress from exams, homework, bullying, peer pressure, and other factors. The petition calling for a three-day weekend received over 150,000 signatures.
Stephen Morgan
Lab
Portsmouth South
Morgan thanked his colleague for introducing the debate and acknowledged children's efforts in raising issues through a petition. He expressed concerns about reducing school days during recovery from pandemic disruption, noting that disadvantaged students suffered most from absenteeism. He also highlighted the importance of extracurricular activities and mental health support, citing a Welsh Labour trial offering five hours weekly enrichment for students. Morgan criticized government childcare policies and emphasized the need to address cost pressures affecting low-income families.
Government Response
Robin Walker
Government Response
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Rees. I thank the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North (Catherine McKinnell) for the way she opened the debate. The Government recognise that an extended weekend can look attractive, but shortening the school week would adversely impact children's learning and reduce opportunities to socialise and participate in enrichment activities. This is more crucial than ever in the context of the covid-19 pandemic as reducing time in school reduces children's life chances, so there are no plans to require schools to close on Fridays. The Government aim for 90% of primary school children to achieve the expected standard in reading, writing and maths by 2030 and have set an expectation that all mainstream state-funded schools should deliver at least a 32.5-hour week as soon as possible, with some schools going beyond this. The Schools Bill will require local authorities to keep registers of children not in school so no child falls through the cracks in the system. There is evidence showing that regular attendance at school and college correlates positively with wellbeing, highlighting the critical benefits of being in school for mental health recovery post-pandemic. The Government have invested nearly £5 billion in a comprehensive recovery package including targeted extra funding, teacher training, tutoring and extra educational opportunities, with an additional investment of £800 million to increase hours in 16-to-19 education by 730 hours per student per year from September 2022. The Minister also addressed concerns about exams and homework as sources of stress and anxiety for children, highlighting the importance of enrichment activities such as arts, music, physical education and sports, with £25 million committed to purchasing musical instruments and equipment and £79 million over three years for music hubs to support high-quality music education. There is a commitment to continue supporting primary schools through the PE and sport premium of £320 million for 2022-23.
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About Westminster Hall Debates
Westminster Hall debates are a chance for MPs to raise important issues affecting their constituents and get a response from a government minister. Unlike Prime Minister's Questions, these debates are more in-depth and collaborative. The MP who secured the debate speaks first, other MPs can contribute, and a minister responds with the government's position.