Qld schools to trial four-day week: What you said

It’s the radical proposal aimed at lifting the performance of Queensland’s schools – but the maths doesn’t add up in the eyes of some. JOIN THE CONVERSATION

It’s the radical proposal aimed at lifting the performance of Queensland’s schools – but the maths doesn’t add up in the eyes of some.

Others, such as reader ‘Michael’, says it makes “perfect sense”.

Revelations that the state government has paved the way for all public primary and secondary schools to introduce flexible class schedules from next year – including four-day weeks and shorter days – has ignited furious debate online.

The radical shake-up – effective from the first day of term in 2024 – was circulated to all public school principals on Monday and sets out the process for introducing flexible hours, such as trials and extensive consultation with the school community.

The Department of Education released a blueprint for schools to change class times and shorten the school week for reasons including teacher availability, or student and staff “wellbeing and engagement”.

The policy takes effect if schools want to change their start or finish time by more than 30 minutes, and can apply to all students or only specific year levels or cohorts.

Queensland Secondary Principals Association president Mark Breckenridge confirmed principals had recently received the blueprint and there had been “no concerns raised … at this point”.

Many readers, however, had a different view.

Some questioned the evidence that showed the plan works. Others insisted it simply won’t work at all.

While some claimed it makes perfect sense.

More than 70 per cent of those who voted in the online poll were against the flexible school hours plan.

See what you had to say below and join the conversation >>>

QACI Kelvin Grove will be next to trial flexible schedules.

WHAT YOU SAID

#Losttheplot

Burntbear

Can they give examples of where this is working currently – or are Qld kids being used in another experiment?

Bernice

Any chance Grace Grace could work a zero day week herself?

Aaron

Beats me how you go to a four day working week when you have a workforce shortage … sounds like another Epic Queensland Government bungle in the making!

Catherine

A lot of kids can’t read or do basic math already! Cut out useless ‘lessons’ like how to make a video and get back to basics. Less time in class means poorer outcomes.

Wrong place to start

J & P

Perhaps start with what improves educational outcomes.

Jan

How does this generate more teachers? Isn’t the big problem a teacher shortage not teaching hours?

stephen

It’s because they can’t get enough teachers. Pure and simple. Who’d be a teacher with this incompetent mob in charge? Can’t control the kids, can’t get teachers. 4 day week. Useless idiots. Out the door in 24

Eden

And when they are not at School will they be on the streets committing crime and an added responsibility for the police.

joy

What a joke. They can’t find the time to fix the housing crisis, the youth crime crisis, the cost of living crisis, or the health crisis, but they have time to screw with the education system without making the slightest improvement to education outcomes.

Students and schools are likely to have more flexible arrangements.

Typical government!

Edith

Can the Qld State Labor government get any worse? Please call an election now before the State is past the point of being saved.

stephen

And people will unfailingly vote for these idiots and chaos to continue. Gotta wonder

Kerry

We have dumb politicians now so let’s get the students to follow.

Gazza_Brisbane

Where is the latest government failure that this story is bing used to deflect attention away from?

I’m on board

Michael

I’m struggling to see why the outrage - makes perfect sense in a day and age when flexibility rules.

there are people on here calling for an election today & going on about the CFMEU - union that has nothing do with education workers. So bizarre.

this is exactly the reason why we’ll end up like America and their sad state of politics.

Robert

Many schools are suffering from over-crowding, so the idea of staggered starts and finishes makes perfect sense.

I’d be curious to know how far the government plans to take this. I think a trial run and assessing academic outcomes should be first on the agenda, before allowing all schools to do this.

StephenC29

I think some people who commented need to read the article, the policy ALLOWS the school not FORCING the school to implement a 4 day week. The power to change is the schools choice and is not forced upon them. If more people participated in the P&C of their child’s school they can influence their schools decision