School Day Consultation

Changes to the Oulton Academy School Day from September

Dear Parents/Carers,

We are writing to let you know about a small change to the length and structure of the school day at Oulton Academy from September 2026, and to explain why this change is being made.

Why is the school day changing?

From September, the length of the school week at Oulton Academy will increase from 31.25 hours to 32.5 hours. This means an increase of approximately 20 minutes per day.

The Department for Education expects mainstream secondary schools to provide a minimum of 32.5 hours of taught time per week, which reflects the national average school week. Like many schools nationally, we are making this adjustment so that pupils at Oulton Academy are not disadvantaged compared with their peers in other schools.

How will this benefit pupils?

The additional time will be used carefully and purposefully. It will allow us to:

• Ensure pupils have equal access to learning time compared with pupils nationally
• Deliver a broader and more balanced curriculum without rushing lessons
• Strengthen reading, personal development and wellbeing provision
• Support consistent routines and high quality classroom teaching

This change is about making the school day work better for pupils, not simply making it longer. All additional time has been planned to add clear educational value.

What will the new school day look like?

From September:

• The school day will start at 8:25am for all pupils
• Monday to Thursday: the day will finish at 3:05pm
• Friday: the day will finish earlier, at 2:20pm

Pupils will study:

• Six 55 minute lessons Monday to Thursday
• Five 55 minute lessons on Fridays

Moving to slightly shorter lessons allows us to increase the number of lessons across the week, improving curriculum breadth while maintaining focus and pace in learning.

Transport and enrichment

• School buses will continue to run their normal routes and will depart from 3:10pm, as they do currently
• After school enrichment and clubs will continue to run as normal, from 3:05pm to 4:00pm

Staff workload and wellbeing

We want to reassure you that this change has been carefully planned within existing staffing arrangements. Staff workload, pupil wellbeing and transport arrangements have all been considered as part of this process.

In summary

• The school week will increase to 32.5 hours, in line with national expectations
• The change represents a modest increase of around 20 minutes per day
• The additional time will be used to improve quality, consistency and curriculum breadth
• Start and finish times remain clear and predictable for families

We believe this change will support pupils to get the very best from their time at Oulton Academy, both academically and personally.

The consultation period will run from: 

• 28 April 2026 to 12 May 2026.

Proposed Day

Further Information

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch via the following email:

oaconsultations@oa.catrust.uk