An education trust has scotched reports of it considering moving to a three-day school week for its sites in the Great Yarmouth area.
Creative Education Trust (CET), which operates Caister Academy, Lynn Grove Academy, Woodlands Primary Academy and Wroughton Infant and Junior Academies, has said it will not be considering a shorter school week amid concerns of rising costs and teacher pay rises.
Marc Jordan, chief executive of the Creative Education Trust, had told the Telegraph he had "heard discussions about a three-day week" in a series of radical discussions to tackle rising costs.
The conversations came as energy bills are forecast to soar to £5,000 per year for households, which would also mean significant increases in costs for schools.
However, the trust has now stated it would not be considering a change to a three-day-week.
A trust spokesperson said: "CET is not considering a shorter school week.
“We are aware that smaller organisations in the sector have raised this as a possibility as they look to cover the significant extra costs of energy bills and staff salaries without support from the government."
Carl Smith, a governor at Lynn Grove and leader of Great Yarmouth Borough Council, said he would not be in support of a three-day school week if it was ever given the go-ahead.
"I don't think it's the way," he said.
"Such a change would introduce issues surrounding additional childcare and work for parents.
"It's not something I would support."
Great Yarmouth councillor Mike Smith-Clare, Labour lead for children and young people at Norfolk County Council, also opposed the idea and believed the suggestion highlighted a failure of the current model for how schools are operated.
He said: "Schools should be accessible to all, five days a week.
"If two days are lost due to the cost of living increase, as we head towards winter, kids will be left to study in cold homes. The Victorians introduced education acts to ensure accessible learning. We’ve now reached a point where our children are possibly going to experience pre-Victorian support.
"Our kids deserve better. Education should be properly funded and not ripped apart."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here