Scotland’s faculty days may begin later as a result of pupils ‘battle to rise up within the mornings’, says schooling secretary

School days could start later because pupils ‘struggle to get up in the mornings’ under reforms planned by Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth.

She said timetables should be changed to ‘reflect’ the fact that sometimes teenagers sleep in and risk missing the start of lessons, usually at around 9am.

Ms Gilruth said she would consider a root-and-branch restructure of the school day in a bid to tackle the rise in challenging behaviour and violence in secondaries.

She said a shift away from the existing pattern of six to eight lessons a day was something she ‘would be happy to raise’ with local authorities.

The move comes amid concern over widespread truancy following the Covid pandemic, rising classroom violence, and fears over declining education standards under the SNP Government.

In an interview with Scotland on Sunday, Ms Gilruth said school hours must also suit working parents.

Describing the school day as ‘challenging’ for many young people, the former modern studies teacher said: ‘Having taught myself, watching young people arrive to school late is a feature sometimes over secondary schools, where they struggle to get up in the mornings. And I think we should reflect that.’ 

Scottish Tory education spokesman Miles Briggs said: ‘Instead of cutting school hours, Jenny Gilruth should be focusing on fixing the SNP’s savage cuts to council budgets, which have left schools underfunded and teachers overstretched.

School days could start later because pupils ‘struggle to get up in the mornings’

Education secretary Jenny Gilruth said timetables should be changed to ‘reflect’ the fact that sometimes teenagers sleep in

‘This proposal just goes to demonstrate how out of touch the SNP Government are with working parents.’

Local authorities in some areas have looked at plans to change the structure of the school week. Some secondaries in West Fife are expected to finish before lunch on a Friday under a restructure planned for August at the start of the 2026-27 term.

Dumfries and Galloway Council is expected to drop plans for a four-and-a-half-day school week following opposition from parents.

Ms Gilruth, who has been in charge of the education brief for the past two years, was asked directly about concerns of violence in schools.

She said complex factors were at play, including poverty, a rise in additional support needs, and the impact of the Covid pandemic on young people.

Asked if a wholesale change in the school system is needed, Ms Gilruth said ‘it’s not something I’d be against’, in discussion with local government. However, she added: ‘We also need to remember that parents and carers go out to work, and we need to have a school day that works for them as well.’

Figures released under freedom of information showed a total of 91 serious injuries to Scottish school staff caused by violence reported in the latest year – three times the number seen ten years before and the fastest rise of anywhere in Britain. 

These injuries included fractures, dislocations and loss of consciousness.

Children can often risk missing the start of lessons

The GMB union last week said some school support staff were being forced to wear protective clothing, having previously warned of an ‘epidemic of assault’ and verbal abuse in Scottish schools.

But Ms Gilruth said violence existed in schools in the 1990s, when she was a pupil, ‘so we just need a bit of perspective here’.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘There are already a variety of different approaches to the length of the school day in Scotland – dependent on the school and local authority area.

‘However, the Education Secretary has undertaken to raise this issue with [council umbrella body] Cosla, recognising the shared responsibilities for school improvement between the Scottish Government and our councils.’