Should the school week be reduced to four days?
Most people will have heard about the idea of a four-day work week, but a four-day school week may come as a novel idea. However, it has been gaining traction recently and a petition to reduce school days has received almost 40,000 signatures.
The petition says that "many teachers are overworked and burnt out" and argued they could use the extra day off to "relax, or catch up on work."
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It is an idea that many have taken to. On Facebook, Dominique Kay said: "I was forced to reduce my hours slightly so now I only work a four day week (for childcare reasons). It's honestly the best decision I've made. A three day weekend and four days work is a perfect balance between home life and work life.
"If I feel like a four day week works better for me I'm sure it would work better for our children too.
"My little boy has just started reception and I really do think at that age 5 days a week is too much. Probably an unpopular opinion I know."
Gill Brodin said: "This is a great idea, as long as the working week matches it and there's adequate, affordable childcare."
The government has since responded to the petition which was created on Thursday October 19. Their response read: "The Government has no plans to reduce the school week. This would be damaging to pupils and parents. Collective action by government and the sector is being taken to address teacher workload."
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