Baines, Edward;
Blatchford, Peter;
(2023)
The decline in breaktimes and lunchtimes in primary and secondary schools in England: Results from three national surveys spanning 25 years.
British Educational Research Journal
10.1002/berj.3874.
(In press).
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Abstract
Breaktimes are ubiquitous in English schools. Research suggests they have social value for children, but school staff often have a range of concerns about breaktimes and tend to undervalue them. However, there is little understanding about these times, not least because data are not collected about their organisation and characteristics. This paper brings together data from three national surveys undertaken in 1995, 2006 and 2017 of head teachers of primary and secondary schools to provide an understanding of the nature, organisation and staff attitudes towards breaktimes and how they have changed over 25 years. At each survey point, completed questionnaires were received from representative random samples of over 1000 primary and secondary schools. Results showed marked reductions in the average total amount of time for breaks, the virtual abolition of afternoon breaks and a decline in time available for lunchtime breaks. The reductions were largely for behavioural reasons and to increase time for learning. Results also show variations in the length of breaktimes across school types and in relation to socioeconomic disadvantage, and changes to the amount of supervision provided by schools. Attitudes towards breaks varied across primary and secondary phases, and the withholding of breaks was used by schools to address poor pupil behaviour and disengagement. Schools continued to have concerns about the management of behaviour during breaktimes, even when breaks had already been shortened. It is suggested that staff undervalue the potential contribution that breaktimes afford the development and wellbeing of children and young people in school.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | The decline in breaktimes and lunchtimes in primary and secondary schools in England: Results from three national surveys spanning 25 years |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1002/berj.3874 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3874 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © 2023 The Authors. British Educational Research Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Educational Research Association. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Keywords: | breaktime, playtime, primary school, recess, secondary school |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Psychology and Human Development |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10168539 |
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