At a small independent school on the fringes of a National Trust park in Morden, south London, a quiet revolution is under way.
Lessons are held in yurt-style tents, or “dens”, dotted around the three-acre site, everyone is on first-name terms, mental health is a cornerstone of the curriculum and, perhaps most controversially, pupils are only required to come to school four days a week.
Liberty Woodland school, for children aged four to 16, is one of a small number of schools in England experimenting with the traditional timetable for pupils and teachers, in response to concerns about children’s mental health and a shortage of teachers.
The school week at Liberty Woodland may be shorter, but the days are longer. Instead of the usual 9am to 3pm Monday to Friday, the school day starts at 8.30am and ends at 4.40pm, with no school on Fridays for pupils. Teachers, however, are expected to work, supporting children online with any outstanding work, as well as getting on with planning and marking.
The school opened its primary phase in 2019 and five years later a small secondary school opened, with fees rising to just under £7,000 a term from January after VAT is added, in line with Labour’s manifesto commitment.
Pupils described feeling overwhelmed at their former schools with their large classes and strict behaviour codes. Their families often chose Liberty Woodland because of its emphasis on wellbeing.
One 14-year-old pupil who previously went to a mainstream secondary school thinks Liberty Woodland has helped his mental health. He likes the international baccalaureate curriculum, which he says allows him to study in greater depth. He also likes having Fridays at home.
“I love the four-day week,” he says. “Even though we have longer days, having that one less day, when you are at home, in your own environment … it’s helped.”
Another boy in year 9 was one of 1,500 pupils in his old school. “I had experiences with poor wellbeing. My parents started researching about different schools … we came across this school.”
The school says its four-day week model is designed to offer pupils “increased opportunities for independent exploration and personal development. This approach not only fosters independence but also promotes a more balanced and fulfilling educational experience.”
“Most people do their work in the morning [on Friday],” says one 11-year-old pupil. “You don’t have to do it on the Friday. You can do it on Saturday or Sunday. Sometimes I play video games with friends.” Others like to play football or go horse riding.
“It’s an opportunity for children to explore their passions,” says the head of school and founder, Leanna Barrett, who previously ran a chain of forest nurseries for early years. “The world has changed drastically. I feel as though school has not kept up with that. We need to have a better work-life balance.”
Faced with a teacher recruitment and retention crisis, schools across England are increasingly offering a range of incentives to make the job more appealing.
All Saints Catholic college, a state secondary school in west London, gives teachers two free periods a week to allow them a lie-in, while Dixons academies trust, which runs 16 schools and one college, recently introduced a nine-day fortnight for teachers.
A petition to parliament calling for a four-day week, with the same number of school hours spread over four rather than five days, attracted more than 40,000 signatures. Reports from the US suggest more than 2,000 schools in 26 states have moved to a four-day week.
Since Covid, school attendance in England has fallen and more pupils have been on reduced timetables, often due to anxiety and illness. Meanwhile the government is struggling to attract enough graduates to become teachers because of the pay and workload.
Joe Ryle, the director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, which advocates for a reduction in working hours without a reduction in pay, said: “A four-day week for teachers could solve the severe recruitment and retention crisis being faced in our schools. Unless we tackle work-life balance for teachers, the government’s pledge to recruit 6,500 more teachers in England will be meaningless.”
A four-day week for pupils in England’s state schools may, however, be a step too far. A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We are not going to reduce the amount of time children in England spend in school.
“Every hour in the classroom helps break down barriers to opportunity for young people and our plan for change sets out our mission to give every child the best life chances, breaking the link between background and success.”
