School Thinks Students Need More Time In Bed

A secondary school in the UK are proposing starting the day an hour later because their students aren't getting out of bed on time. Blatchington Mill School and Sixth Form College, which is located in Sussex has suggested a consultation on the matter that will begin this month and close before the school's Easter break; a decision will then be made about whether to take the proposal forward. If successful the school have stated that that the later start will not be implemented before September 2018 at the earliest. The school have released a statement on the issue suggesting that the altered school day could have a positive impact on student concentration, work ethic, attendance, punctuality, and educational outcomes in the long-term.

"At Blatchington Mill, we are increasingly looking to educational research to inform our decision making across the school. To this end, we will be launching a consultation with staff, students, and families to consider an adaptation to the start and finish times for the school day. The initial proposal, that is subject to revision and is by no means a definitive plan, is to shift the start time of the school day later by one hour to 9.25am, and correspondingly move the finish time of the school day to 4pm. There is a growing consensus view that early start times do not support the biological rhythms of adolescents."

The consultation process will take on board the views of staff, students, and parents via an electronic survey, working groups, and meetings.

"The consultation will be conducted over the next two months, and an initial summary will be shared with all stakeholders at that stage before any decisions are made about whether to pursue this change."

The school, which has won numerous education awards over the years including an Arts Council Gold Award, says that school is a place

"to find yourself, to learn at the very limits of your potential, and in doing so discover who you really are."

Looks like they'll just be finding themselves after a bit of a lie-in. Do you think teens need longer in bed? Let us know your thoughts in the Facebook comments.