Union calls for 'flexible' school start after England vs Mexico

The head of the largest teaching union has urged ministers to let schools run a flexible start on Monday so pupils can stay up for England’s crunch World Cup match against Mexico.

NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede’s comments come after England manager Thomas Tuchel suggested children should stay up for the 1am Monday morning kick-off.

In the past, schools and employers have sometimes allowed England games in the latter stages of major tournaments to be shown when they clash with working hours, but Monday’s game in the small hours poses a different problem.

When asked by journalists what parents should do about their children watching the game, Mr Tuchel said: “Write an excuse for school and let them watch football…There’s so much school to go to, but the World Cup is every four years. Let them watch.

“There will be a big, big match on in four days and we need the support of everyone, and especially of the children.”

Union calls for ‘flexible start’ for England match

But the government pushed back this morning, with skills minister Baroness Jacqui Smith suggesting young people may miss out on important learning by writing excuses to schools.

Speaking to LBC’s Nick Ferrari, she said: “I don’t want to be a killjoy here, but I’ll tell you what the biggest killjoy is - young people who then don’t have the learning to be able to go on and do what they need to do in life.

“I quite understand if people want to watch the match, including young people; I will be. I’ll be having a little disco nap in the afternoon, and I’ll be celebrating our victory the next morning when I go into work, looking obviously as fresh as a daisy.”

However, Mr Kebede said in response: “It would be very good, I think, if the secretary of state recognised that it’s an important event in our calendar and allowed a flexible start on that Monday morning.”

Mr Kebede added that “these are such important events in our calendar” and said it would be good if as many young people as possible could watch the match.

Education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “I’m not going to get involved in parents and their bedtime routines for their children; that isn’t a wise move for a politician.

“It’s a late game, but children can be in school the next day.”

Asked if she believed children can both watch the game and still make it into school, she said: “Well, I think they can, yes, but it’s for parents to decide how they manage this, and of course, it depends on the age of your children, how they feel. But this is about decisions for individual families.”

England to play Mexico on Monday

England set up the round 16 clash against World Cup co-hosts Mexico in the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City by beating the Democratic Republic of Congo 2-1 on Wednesday evening.

The side had been heading towards a painful exit from the competition before two late goals from captain Harry Kane secured the victory.

The Department for Education has previously carried out research, singling out how one-off events can affect school attendance, citing the impact of Taylor Swift gigs and county shows.

It has also written to schools that closed early due to last week’s heatwave, reminding them of the importance of children learning in school.