Speaking at the Spectator Education conference , the education secretary said that in order for children to achieve better outcomes school days should be longer and school holidays shorter.
He said the move would also be more family-friendly and account for the fact that more mothers now go to work rather than stay at home.
The education secretary appeared to suggest that changes to teachers’ pay and terms and conditions, designed to reward good teachers, would account for them having to work longer hours in the classroom.
Mr Gove went on to say that the school day and term is out of touch with modern society as it was designed at a time when there was an agricultural economy.
‘I remember half-term in October when I was at school in Aberdeen was called the tattie holiday as children would go to the fields to pick potatoes. It was also a time when the majority of mums stayed home. That world no longer exists, and we can’t afford to have an education system that was essentially set in the nineteenth century.’
In his speech, the Secretary of State gave examples of academies including the David Young Community Academy in Leeds and ARK schools, which operates 18 academies, which he said are already using their freedom to extend the school day.
The David Young Community Academy in Leeds operates a seven-term year starting in June. Children spend a maximum of six week at school followed by a maximum of four weeks holiday. Whereas the ARK school model sees primary children start school at 8.30am and finish at 4pm.
Mr Gove also compared the UK to countries in East Asia, such as Hong Kong and Singapore, where school days are longer and holidays shorter and the expectation is that to succeed, hard work is at the heart of everything.
‘If you look at the length of the school day in England, the length of the summer holiday-and we compare it to the extra tuition and support that children are receiving elsewhere, than we are fighting or actually running in this global race in a way that ensures we start with a significant handicap.’
When asked whether we are heading for strikes in our schools, The Education Secretary said that there seems to be a competition between the two teaching unions- NUT and the NASUWT to compete for members, with each one trying to out radicalise the other.
Mr Gove went on to say that many of the unions have very a passionate criticism of the model of education he has outlined before inviting the unions to prove him wrong and set up a free school.
‘If the NUT were to set-up a Free School, we would find them a building, we would fund it. And I would love to see an NUT or another union Free school.’
The education secretary appeared to suggest that changes to teachers’ pay and terms and conditions, designed to reward good teachers, would account for them having to work longer hours in the classroom.
Mr Gove went on to say that the school day and term is out of touch with modern society as it was designed at a time when there was an agricultural economy.
‘I remember half-term in October when I was at school in Aberdeen was called the tattie holiday as children would go to the fields to pick potatoes. It was also a time when the majority of mums stayed home. That world no longer exists, and we can’t afford to have an education system that was essentially set in the nineteenth century.’
In his speech, the Secretary of State gave examples of academies including the David Young Community Academy in Leeds and ARK schools, which operates 18 academies, which he said are already using their freedom to extend the school day.
The David Young Community Academy in Leeds operates a seven-term year starting in June. Children spend a maximum of six week at school followed by a maximum of four weeks holiday. Whereas the ARK school model sees primary children start school at 8.30am and finish at 4pm.
Mr Gove also compared the UK to countries in East Asia, such as Hong Kong and Singapore, where school days are longer and holidays shorter and the expectation is that to succeed, hard work is at the heart of everything.
‘If you look at the length of the school day in England, the length of the summer holiday-and we compare it to the extra tuition and support that children are receiving elsewhere, than we are fighting or actually running in this global race in a way that ensures we start with a significant handicap.’
When asked whether we are heading for strikes in our schools, The Education Secretary said that there seems to be a competition between the two teaching unions- NUT and the NASUWT to compete for members, with each one trying to out radicalise the other.
Mr Gove went on to say that many of the unions have very a passionate criticism of the model of education he has outlined before inviting the unions to prove him wrong and set up a free school.
‘If the NUT were to set-up a Free School, we would find them a building, we would fund it. And I would love to see an NUT or another union Free school.’