§ 4. Mr. Shepherdasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is Her Majesty's Government's policy on increasing the length of school terms or the number of hours per day with a view to eliminating home work; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. RedheadMy right hon. Friend does not propose to alter the present requirement that a school should meet for at least four hundred sessions in each school year, less occasional holidays, divided into three or four terms. Experiments in the extension of the school day are being conducted in various parts of the country and information is being assembled about them as they progress. It is too early to come to conclusions upon them.
§ Mr. ShepherdWill the Minister of State say whether he approves of the concept of relatively short working hours, or short working weeks, for schools, together with home work done away from the schools?
§ Mr. RedheadMy view at the moment is that it is essential to accumulate evidence about the experiments that are taking place before considering any far-reaching changes in this direction. That is being done, and my right hon. Friend expects to enlist the aid of the Schools Council in assessing the results of these experiments.