School Day Cut In Council Budget Squeeze
West Dunbartonshire proposes starting all primary schools at 9.30am to save money
A Scottish council its planning to cut school hours as a response to Government funding cuts. Classes at primary schools in West Dunbartonshire wouldn't start until 9.30 every day. School assemblies and golden time for kids would be the first non-teaching activities to be dropped.
Our reporter Connor Gillies has the details: A statement on the council's Facebook page reads: "The Council opposes the cuts being force upon it and has called on them to be reversed. Tough decisions must be taken however and the Administration has supported the option to reduce the length of the school day so that it matches the teachers contractual class contact time of 22.5 hours per week. The proposed new start time for primary schools will be 9.30am and the Administration would like to see the Breakfast Club Services extended by 30 minutes to avoid disruption to parents. There will be a consequential reduction of non-teaching activities such as "Golden Time" and school assembies as a result. The Educational Services Department will now consult with parents on the changes to the school day. Although the policy decision to reduce the school week will already have been taken, and funding deleted from the department’s budget, the Administration recognise that this does not prevent parents from proposing an earlier finish time as an alternative to the 9.30am start."