Nursery World - Teachers dispute six-term survey

Britain's biggest teaching union has disputed a claim that nearly 70 per cent of local communities in England support a switch to a six-term school year. The National Union of Teachers (NUT) said that a survey conducted by local education authorities for the Local Government Association (LGA) was 'unscientific and unrepresentative' and gave no indication of how many people in each local education authority had been polled. The LGA said that 52 per cent of the local education authorities had responded to the survey carried out on behalf of the Commission on the Organisation of the School Year, which was set up by the LGA, but indicated that some had undertaken a limited test of local opinion.

The National Union of Teachers (NUT) said that a survey conducted by local education authorities for the Local Government Association (LGA) was 'unscientific and unrepresentative' and gave no indication of how many people in each local education authority had been polled. The LGA said that 52 per cent of the local education authorities had responded to the survey carried out on behalf of the Commission on the Organisation of the School Year, which was set up by the LGA, but indicated that some had undertaken a limited test of local opinion.

However, an NUT spokeswoman said, 'The LGA don't say how many people were surveyed in each LEA. We know of people who were sent a questionnaire they didn't understand and other people who did not receive one at all. Besides, you get the answer to the question you ask - and what exactly was the question?'

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included