Require schools to make Friday a part of the school weekend
This petition gathered 148,136 signatures between 6 October 2021 and 6 April 2022, according to the Parliament petitions site. The Government responded on 21 April 2022. MPs debated it in Westminster Hall on 27 June 2022.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Require schools to make Friday a part of the school weekend
Require schools to make Friday a day off school, meaning there will be 3 days that children will get to stay off every week.
Children can have lots of stress at school due to exams and homework and with a 3 day weekend, children could have a longer time to relax and let off stress gained from school.
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 21 April 2022; the petitions site lists the Department for Education as responsible. Its summary:
The government has no plans to require schools to make Friday part of the weekend. Regular attendance at school is vital for children’s education, well-being and long term development.
The opening 399 words of the 708-word response:
The government has no plans to require schools to make Friday part of the weekend. We know that being in school, enjoying a broad and balanced education and achieving academically are key protective factors that help to promote mental health and well-being. That’s why our White Paper, Opportunity for all - strong schools with great teachers for your child, (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/opportunity-for-all-strong-schools-with-great-teachers-for-your-child) sets out that we are focusing on ensuring that pupils enjoy a richer school week with a broad range of subjects, extra-curricular and pastoral activities. The Children’s Commissioner also recently published survey results from the ‘The Big Ask’, which found children missed their friends, their teachers and activities during lockdown and were happy to return to real classroom learning; 84% of children reported being happy or OK with school life.
The government also believes that exams and other assessments are an essential part of ensuring that young people have acquired the knowledge and skills they need in order to succeed in further study and in later life. The government is clear that schools should encourage pupils to work hard, but not at the expense of their well-being. Examinations are by their very nature stressful, but when pupils receive the right support, for very many of them, the level of stress from exams is manageable and a certain level of stress can be helpful in motivating students to do their best. Ofqual have issued guidance on coping with exam pressure, (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coping-with-exam-pressure-a-guide-for-students) which provides some techniques which students can use to help alleviate or lessen the anxiety they have about setting exams
The government believes that homework is an important part of a good education. Homework that is planned as an integral part of the curriculum gives pupils the opportunity to practice and reinforce what they have been taught in class, to help them consolidate and extend the knowledge and understanding they have acquired. Homework also enables teachers to check pupils’ understanding systematically, identify misconceptions accurately and provide clear, direct feedback.
However, the government acknowledges that some pupils have needed additional well-being support after school closures in 2020 and 2021. To support pupils the DfE invested £15 million in Wellbeing for Education Recovery and Return programmes. These provided free, expert training, support and resources for education staff, helping to promote and support the well-being and mental health of pupils and students as they recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read the full response on the petitions site.
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies on the boundaries used until the 2024 general election. The largest number, 869, came from Upper Bann.
146,814 of the signatures were from the UK and 1,322 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures |
|---|---|
| Upper Bann | 869 |
| Newry and Armagh | 739 |
| South Down | 722 |
| North Antrim | 666 |
| Halifax | 553 |
| Slough | 552 |
| Lagan Valley | 516 |
| Wycombe | 511 |
| Rochdale | 508 |
| Mid Ulster | 488 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| London | 19,136 |
| South East | 19,065 |
| North West | 16,020 |
| West Midlands | 12,697 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 12,347 |
| South West | 11,761 |
| East of England | 11,522 |
| Scotland | 10,096 |
| East Midlands | 9,767 |
| Northern Ireland | 7,623 |
| Wales | 7,231 |
| North East | 4,422 |
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on 27 June 2022. Read the debate in Hansard. House of Commons Library debate pack.
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/597715.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
86b7bf95dc802c1f… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.