News

Schools teaching English and maths for 12 hours a week, leaving 8.5 hours for everything else

Curriculum SATs
Almost two-thirds of teaching time in primary schools is being dedicated to English and maths, raising fears of a narrowing of the curriculum.
Core focus: The NEU research shows that primary schools are teaching English for 6 hours 40 minutes a week and maths for 5 hours 15 minutes – making up 58% of weekly teaching time - Adobe Stock

A survey of 1,698 primary school teachers found that out of 20.5 average weekly teaching hours, 12 were being dedicated to English and maths, equating to 58%.

This breaks down as 6 hours 40 minutes for English, and 5 hours 15 minutes for maths.

Respondents to the survey, which was conducted by the National Education Union last term, include teachers working across key stages 1 and 2.

Unsurprisingly, the most time is being dedicated to English and maths in year 6 classrooms – 6 hours 53 minutes for English and 5 hours 34 minutes for maths. This equates to 61% of the around 21 hours of weekly teaching time in year 6.

Register now, read forever

Thank you for visiting Headteacher Update and reading some of our content for professionals in primary education. Register now for free to get unlimited access to all content.

What's included:

  • Unlimited access to news, best practice articles and podcasts

  • New content and e-bulletins delivered straight to your inbox every Monday

Register

Already have an account? Sign in here