Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many schools are finishing before (1) 12 noon, and (2) 1pm on Fridays.

All schools have the autonomy to decide the structure and duration of their school day, which includes the flexibility to decide when their school day should start and finish.

The Department does not collect information on when schools finish their school day.

Maintained schools are required to be open to educate their pupils for at least 380 sessions (190 days) each school year. Maintained schools cannot lawfully reduce the length of the school week if this takes the total number of sessions below that.

In the event that a school decides to make changes to its school day, it is our expectation that the school should act reasonably when making such decisions; giving parents notice and considering the impact on those affected.