Powys: Four-day school week to cut costs ruled out

A suggestion that schools in Powys could move to a four-day week to reduce running costs has been scrapped.

Head teachers were previously told that pupils could be taught online for one day a week to help balance the books.

This guidance has now been removed following advice from the Welsh government.

The Powys cabinet member for learning, Pete Roberts, said the council would continue to look for more options "which do not impact on our learners."

He said that a four-day school week was the "most extreme" option put forward to deal with rising inflation and energy costs.

But the idea faced significant backlash from working parents who said they would either have to take time off and lose pay or spend on childcare on the days that children stayed at home.

There were also concerns about how a four-day week, if implemented, would affect the most vulnerable children.

The Welsh government also told the council that it did not support the idea at this time.

But Mr Roberts said this decision "doesn't mean the financial challenge has fundamentally improved - just that there is one fewer option on the table".

Wearing coats in classrooms and leaving jobs unfilled were some of the other cost-saving ideas sent to headteachers.

Mr Roberts said the council would continue to support schools with cutting costs but that it was "essential that schools were aware of the potential severity of the situation they face in preparing their budgets".