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School Year 2010-11

Consultation on Changes to the School Day

The consultation period relating to changes to the school day / year closed on Monday 11 January. We are grateful to all those who provided feedback on the proposals outlined in our earlier correspondence. In total, 21 parents / carers submitted written feedback, equivalent to around 2% of the parent body. In addition we received one piece of feedback from a headteacher in response to the 37 letters we sent out to our primary feeder schools. We have taken time to reflect upon the feedback we received and as a result have not considered it necessary to make significant changes to the plans already outlined. As such, we can confirm that the times of the school day will change from 28 June 2010 to the structure outlined below. We can also confirm that the term dates previously issued to all stakeholders have now been finalised. These can be downloaded from the Key Dates section of our website.

Monday; Tuesday; Thursday; Friday
08.30am - 08.40am College Communication (Staff only)
08.40am - 09.40am Lesson 1
09.40am - 10.40am Lesson 2
10.40am - 11.00am Tutorial/Assembly
11.00am - 11.20am Break
11.20am - 12.20pm Lesson 3
12.20pm - 01.20pm Lesson 4
01.20pm - 02.00pm Lunch
02.00pm - 03.00pm Lesson 5
03.00pm - 04.00pm Lesson 6

Wednesday
08.30am - 08.40am College Communication (Staff only)
08.40am - 09.40am Lesson 1
09.40am - 10.40am Lesson 2
10.40am - 11.00am Break
11.00am - 12.00noon Lesson 3
12.00am - 01.00pm Lesson 4
01.00pm - 01.40pm Lunch
01.40pm - 01.50pm Tutorial (end of school day for students)
02.00pm - 04.00pm Staff meeting / planning / training


As well as expressing views upon the proposals, fedback from parents/carers and others has contained a number of requests for clarification upon specific details. To cover each of these areas, we have assembled a number of Frequently Asked Questions.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. How will bus timetables be changed to reflect any change to the school day?

    As part of our consultation process, details of our changes to the school day have been notified to KCC: Admissions and Transport. They are liaising with KCC Transport Integration who in turn will liaise with all the current school transport services, both public and KCC run. The Freedom Pass is not dependent on time of travel, so will still be valid. We have already notified Brian Jones and First Bus Stop and they will change their timetables to accommodate our new school day/year.

  2. Will the Academy provide after school clubs for students after 2pm on a Wednesday?

    This will depend on the need. Any after school clubs would have to be provided by external agencies, as all school staff will be undertaking collaborative planning, training or meetings. This means there could possibly be a charge to parents for this facility. After school activities will continue as normal on the other four days of the week. Those parents that may need to access this provision on Wednesdays, should contact the Academy to discuss their individual situation.

  3. Will students, especially at Key Stage 3, cope with a longer school day?

    The school day from 28 June 2010 will be 50 minutes longer in total. On all days except Wednesdays, students will attend 6 one-hour lessons rather than 5. On Wednesdays, they will have fewer lessons: 4 one-hour lessons in total. Lessons will be arranged in single and double sessions and regular breaks will be placed throughout the school day for refreshment and recreation. The longer school day is a common feature of many schools, especially new academies. In fact several academies in Kent alone have a school day which finishes at 5pm. They report that students respond very well and that the extended provision impacts positively upon their achievement. For younger students, the final period of the day, 3pm-4pm will have an emphasis upon extension and enrichment clubs rather than upon more standard timetabled lesson (see below).

  4. Will students get home safely in the dark during winter months?

    The Academy would not countenance a plan which placed students at risk. We are confident that students will travel as safely as they do now even through the school day will finish 45 minutes later on 4 days of the week. On a Wednesday, the school will close 1 hour 15 minutes earlier. Where there are specific issues with students travelling long distances and having to walk, the Academy will work with parents/carers on an individual basis to resolve any difficulties.

  5. Is the planned shorter lunch of 40 minutes long enough?

    Given that the end of the school day (3pm-4pm) will have an emphasis on clubs, especially for younger students, it is not felt at all problematic that lunch will be slightly shorter. Overall, changes to the school day will impact positively upon the number of enrichment opportunities available to students, despite a slightly shorter lunch. 40 minutes is also more than adequate from a logistical point of view for us to ensure that all students are fed properly. In addition experience across all schools demonstrates that the longer the lunch break the higher the chance that behaviour problems occur which impact negatively upon the effectiveness of lessons during afternoon school.

  6. How will students in the Spectrum Centre cope with changes to the school day?

    Students in the Spectrum Centre can find all change challenging. The Academy will work closely with these students and their parents/carers as it always does to ease this transition to ensure that they continue to enjoy success at school.

  7. What will the 'enrichment' lessons 3pm - 4pm involve?

    Enrichment will involve students opting into a large range of clubs on a termly basis with an emphasis on sport, art, drama, music, technology and a range of other opportunities such as Academy newspaper and school production. This will mainly be for students in Key Stage 3. Students in the Sixth Form already have enrichment lessons built into their timetables. This will help us to develop the quality of the Academy's sporting clubs and offer students a large range of extension opportunities beyond the normal curriculum. This will significantly extend the number of enrichment opportunities available at Longfield Academy and in doing so, we believe, will increase students' overall enjoyment of school.

  8. How will the extra time provided by a longer school day be used?

    The extension of the school week by 3 hours will provide a remarkable equivalent of more than an additional 4 weeks of school across the school year. This additional time will be used to extend provision for enrichment opportunities, but crucially, will also enable us to devote more time to key subject areas such as English, Mathematics and Science to develop students' key skills for learning and success in later life such as literacy and numeracy.

  9. Will students have less 'homework' if the school day is longer?

    Homework continues to be a challenging issue for all schools. Research suggests that homework given for the sake of it has limited value and yet being able to learn for tests, undertake wider reading, complete coursework tasks, or redraft classwork are very valid activities for students to do at home. As you know we have Personal Study Booklets for Years 7 and 8 that have a clear timetable for completion. We believe that these will need to continue as they reinforce both literacy and numeracy skills. Homework provision across the other years will be reviewed in the light of these new arrangements for Longfield Academy and we will of course keep you informed. We are always willing to discuss individual concerns as they arise.