PLANS have been ditched to extend school days to help Covid kids catch up.
Nadhim Zahawi has thrown out predecessor Gavin Williamson’s “strong case” for making up for lost learning.
The current Education Secretary had said he would “look at” the idea for England — but has now decided against this.
A source said: “All the studies show the impact is negligible for the huge amounts of money that would be needed.
“Ultimately, schools have power to set their time — they could put an extra half an hour onto lunchtime.”
Instead, a targeted package of tuition was rolled out to kids who most needed additional help while older pupils, ages 16 to 19, were given more hours in class.
A Department for Education review had said any universal change would involve “significant delivery considerations”.
A particular stumbling block was “how to realise the additional teaching capacity required in order to facilitate delivery within existing legislative, contractual and workforce supply constraints”.
Studies showed keeping kids in school for longer would have only a minimal impact on outcomes.
Teachers unions had also warned it could create an “unsustainable burden” on schools and staff.
Trials of longer days started in Wales this month, adding five hours a week for some pupils.
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