Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman has warned that extending schooling to help pupils catch up after the Covid-19 pandemic will not work if it feels like a “punishment” to children and their parents.

She told the Association of School and College Leaders’ conference today that extra time spent in the classroom will be wasted if students “switch off”.

Education secretary Gavin Williamson has said that longer school days and a cut to the summer holidays are being considered as part of a Covid catch-up plan.

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In a speech to ASCL members, Ms Spielman set out why she was concerned that this approach might not work.

She said: “Extensions of schooling will work well only if they are well supported by families - so that they don’t feel like a punishment, for children or for their parents.”

Covid catch-up: Longer school days ‘could lead to pupils switching off’

She highlighted how a recent Institute for Fiscal Studies report said that many parents are sceptical about shortening summer holidays.

Ms Spielman added: “Parents know that after a year of heavy restrictions, children need time with their grandparents, with their friends, to get out of the house and enjoy themselves again. These are things that will help them learn well at school.

“So we ought to go with the grain. Without parental support, the children who most need help may simply not turn up.

“Or if they have to stay longer in the classroom, they may switch off and the extra time will be wasted. That risks widening gaps, not closing them.

“This all needs careful consideration and detailed planning. But the pay-off for getting it right is enormous, and not just academically.”

Ms Spielman added that children who are learning well and getting the wider school experiences - cultural, sporting, artistic and so on, with positive interactions with friends and staff - are likely to experience rapid improvement in wellbeing.

She said this would mean scarce resources can “be targeted at the children most in need of help with mental health and other problems”.

But Ms Spielman said she believes that the catch-up tsar Sir Kevan Collins was right to be focused on teaching time.

She added: “Teaching time has never been more precious than it is now. So, this is also about making the most of every minute of the school day.

“Just 15 minutes of teaching time each day adds up to more than two weeks over a year. I’m sure that working as efficiently as possible is a top priority for all of you.”

During her speech to ASCL’s conference, Ms Spielman also said that routine Ofsted inspections would not resume until the autumn.

And she warned that, despite the best will in the world, schools had not been able to prevent an “epidemic of demotivated children” during the most recent lockdown.