Under a NSW government trial that is set for 2022, primary schools will be given the opportunity to change their hours, breaking from the traditional school day. The aim of this school start time trial is to increase productivity, offer more flexible conditions for parents and decrease the congestion on the roads.
The 9am to 3pm school days is something we are all familiar with. It doesn’t always fit in with our work schedule, which is where before and after school care have come into the picture for many parents. For everyone else, it’s about battling the congestion at drop off and pick up to get kids safely to school.
New government trial for 2022
All this is set to change with a new government trial that is set to take place in 2022. NSW primary schools will be given the power to alter class start and finish times as part of this school start time trial, in order to:
- Increase productivity
- Allow flexibility for working families
- Decrease traffic congestion on the roads
According to a NSW Education Department spokesman who spoke with NCA NewsWire, details of the change have yet to be finalised and it would be up to individual schools to decide their start and finish times.
Staggered start times
There’s also the possibility of a series of staggered start times across the day to give students, and ultimately parents, the flexibility to what start time suits their needs.
“We will be investigating how schools provide flexibility across the state and looking to see if its scalable,” said the NSW Education department spokesman. “We will be seeing if some schools want to trial it next year.”
Already in action across Australia
This new proposal isn’t so new and is already working in Queensland where principals have the option of moving away from the 9am to 3pm school day to “suit local conditions”.
Fortitude Valley State Secondary College currently operates from 9.30am until 3.25pm to help students avoid peak times.
More information is set to be release by the NSW Education Department at the end of the week.
