A minister has rejected a plea made to parents by England manager Thomas Tuchel to “write an excuse” for school to let children watch England’s early-morning match against Mexico on Monday.
England’s win over the Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday confirmed a clash with the co-hosts in Mexico City that will kick off at 1am BST.
In the past it has been common for schools and employers to allow England games in the latter stages of major tournaments to be shown when they clash with working hours, but Monday’s kick-off in the small hours poses a unique obstacle.
Shortly after the game, Tuchel said: “Write an excuse for school and let them watch football. There’s so much school to go to, but the World Cup is every four years. Let them watch.
“There will be a big, big match on in four days and we need the support of everyone, and especially of the children.”
Some schools have already taken action. Castle Hill Primary School in Basingstoke is allowing parents to bring their child to school at 9.30am, an hour after the usual start time of 8.35am. “We have put this in place so that families can enjoy the World Cup and the children can still get enough sleep to enjoy their learning too,” the school said on its noticeboard for parents.
But skills minister Baroness Jacqui Smith did not quite agree with Tuchel’s comments and suggested young people may miss out on important learning by writing excuses to schools.
Speaking to LBC’s Nick Ferrari at Breakfast on Thursday, she said: “I don’t want to be a killjoy here, but I’ll tell you what the biggest killjoy is – young people who then don’t have the learning to be able to go on and do what they need to do in life.
“I quite understand if people want to watch the match, including young people, I will be.
“I’ll be having a little disco nap in the afternoon and I’ll be celebrating our victory the next morning when I go into work, looking obviously as fresh as a daisy.”
However, the general secretary of the National Education Union, Daniel Kebede, suggested a more flexible start to Monday morning would work.
He said: “It would be very good I think if the Secretary of State recognised that it’s an important event in our calendar and allow a flexible start on that Monday morning.
“These are such important events in our calendar, and it would be good if as many young people as possible could.”
Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “School leaders are best-placed to make decisions over allowances to recognise the timing of the England versus Mexico match and the likelihood that young people who are enthusiastic England supporters will want to stay up to watch the game.
“What we would hope is that the Department for Education recognises the need to allow schools flexibility over how they respond to this unique situation and does not score an own goal by rigidly insisting that it must be business as normal.”
The National Association of Headteachers said the matter was for councils and academy trusts to make a decision on.
The Independent has approached the Department for Education for comment.
