Teachers are “fiercely opposing” the idea of reducing the length of the school week in Scotland.

A report in The Courier newspaper prompted a strong reaction from bodies representing teachers and parents, after it was suggested that schools in Fife, one of Scotland’s largest authorities, might have to shorten the school week.

A spokesman for the EIS, Scotland’s biggest teaching union, said schools across Scotland had “faced increasingly difficult decisions throughout the past decade of austerity”.

But he added: “The idea of cutting the length of the pupil week as a cost-saving measure has been suggested in a number of local authorities during this period, and the EIS has fiercely and successfully opposed this suggestion wherever it has been mooted.

“We will continue to reject any suggestion that the school week and the educational experience of pupils should be reduced in order to cut costs.”

‘Worrying trend’ of shortening the school week

Some areas of Scotland have moved towards an “asymmetric week” - where the total school hours remain the same, with four days made slightly longer and Friday becoming shorter - but others have explored shortening the total hours at school. Edinburgh and other nearby local authorities have for many years had schools open for half a day each Friday.

Eileen Prior, executive director of Connect (formerly the Scottish Parent Teacher Council), said: “Many local authorities have moved to asymmetric weeks as they try to make school budgets go further. This is a worrying trend which shows no sign of stopping.”

She added: “Changing the school week - very often by making four days longer and Friday a half day - can make best use of teachers’ contracted contact time with pupils, but it presents a range of difficulties for families as parents and carers often have to rearrange their working week and/or look for childcare for younger children for Friday afternoons. In more rural areas, it is a particular concern as transport and childcare present additional issues.”