Primary school to cut week down to four and a half teaching days to save money

A primary school in West London is currently in talks to reduce their school week to four and a half days.

The proposition is in a bid to save money by ending school days at 12:45pm on a Friday. The school - St Mary's Catholic Primary School in Isleworth is now asking parents to look around to seek childcare for Friday evenings commencing from September. In a letter received by parents from the school last week, it addressed this new timetable as "a matter of urgency" and a last-resort attempt to save cash after the government demanded an increase in pensions and National Insurance contributions without increasing school funding. The proposal however has come under fire and parents are not happy. One parent wrote on Facebook saying:

"I know that childcare is a massive issue for most people, but surely the main problem is that OUR children will be receiving 10% less education than their peers and I don’t believe this will have no impact when they get to secondary school.

While another said:

"And what about childcare fees? This is going to affect full-time parents enormously."

According to The Sun, the school also announced that after-school supervision would be available on the Friday however, this can only hold 150 pupils which is less than half the schools population. Councillor Tom Bruce, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services and Education at Hounslow Council, said:

“The decision to change the school week is a difficult one, and we can understand that parents are concerned. However, we are faced with increasing demands on school budgets, and need to make difficult decisions.

“We are confident that the school will listen to the comments made by parents and develop proposals that place the best education for the children at their heart."

In the UK, it is reported that over 18,000 schools face funding cuts by 2019.