Advisory Committee: Report into the Education of Children with Severe Low Incidence Disabilities

Chapter 6: Length of School Week in Special Schools

Legislative Position

1 The Schools General (Scotland) Regulations 1975, as amended, require schools in Scotland to be open for 190 days per year. They do not define, however, the length of the school week for pupils which is a matter for the discretion of education authorities within their responsibility for the day-to-day organisation of schools. There is, however, a widely accepted norm of 25 hours and 27.5 hours for primary schools and secondary schools respectively.

2 The Committee considered information which showed that that the length of the school week in many special schools is shorter than in their mainstream equivalents. (Table 4, Annex C), It noted that inspections by HMI confirm that it is not uncommon to find secondary pupils in special schools working a 22.5 hour week which is five hours shorter than in mainstream. In some cases, the school week was less than 20 hours and HMI recommended an increase in the length of the school day in line with mainstream practice. In some cases, this advice led authorities to increase the school week in special schools or units.

Arguments for and against shorter week

3 Arguments commonly used to support the shorter week in special schools are as follows:

• Pupils with special needs become more tired towards the end of the day.
• Pupils are in smaller classes with more teacher contact time and this organisation compensates for the shorter school week.
• Pupils sometimes have to travel long distances and finishing early allows them to get home at a reasonable time.
• Pupils share the same transport home in all-through primary and secondary schools and additional costs would be incurred if secondary pupils travelled home later than primary school pupils in the same establishment
• More staff would be required

4 The Committee did not think that these arguments justify a shorter school day for all pupils in special schools and units. There does not appear to be any convincing evidence that, in general, children with special educational needs are more prone to tiredness towards the end of the day than their mainstream counterparts, although of course this may be the case for some individual children. Pupils in special schools may benefit from more teacher contact time in smaller classes but this added value may be undermined by the reduction in the school week. Some pupils may spend some considerable time in travelling to and from the school and this might in itself be an argument for seeking a placement closer to home. It was not reasonable, however, to argue that the length of the school week for pupils with shorter journey times should be curtailed. The Committee rejected the argument that a shorter school week for secondary aged pupils in all-through schools could be justified by savings in transport costs achieved by sharing of transport by pupils at primary and secondary stages. In all-through special schools, secondary aged pupils should experience a longer school week than primary school pupils as they do in other settings and separate transport arrangements should be made if necessary.

5 In relation to staff hours in special schools and units, Circular SE/23, published in 1985 by the Scottish Joint Negotiating Council, (SJNC) for teaching staff in Scottish schools, stipulates that the school week for teachers should comprise 22.5 hours class contact time. For special schools, many education authorities interpret Circular SE/23 as implying that the school week for pupils in special schools should be 22.5 hours. The Committee does not accept that this is a correct interpretation, since the authority could employ additional staff to ensure access to the same amount of teacher time as is available in a mainstream setting. Since children with special needs are educated in diverse settings, there does not appear to be a valid argument for retaining shorter class contact time for only one group of teachers involved in their education, those working in special schools and units.

6 The Committee considers that in principle there are no convincing reasons for the practice of a shorter school week in special schools or units. It considers that pupils with moderate learning difficulties, pupils with social and emotional and behavioural difficulties and pupils with sensory impairments who attend special schools or units are likely to be disadvantaged when compared with similar pupils being educated in mainstream provision.

7 In view of the commitment of Government and local authorities to developing inclusive policies, the Committee feels that there is no justification for pupils with special educational needs receiving less provision than that of their mainstream counterparts. It proposes that the Scottish Executive issue advice to authorities on this issue. The Committee suggests that this advice should make allowances for pupils facing particular circumstances and that these could best be negotiated between schools and parents. Pupils who are likely to be included in this category are those: who travel a considerable distance to school; require assistance with lunchtime feeding and toileting routines as part of their learning day; have significant health needs; or have particular behavioural problems.

8 The Committee notes that there may be staffing implications involved in extending the length of the school week in special schools and units and that this would require to be a matter for discussion between authorities and teaching unions and associations.

Recommendations 18 and 19