Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, Kate Green MP, has called for an extension to the school day in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking at Labour Party Conference in Brighton, Green called for longer school days for extra-curriculum development.

Labour is calling “for additional activities – breakfast clubs giving children the fuel to learn, art, sport, cooking, coding, book clubs – so that opportunities to develop life skills and enjoy new experiences become the norm for every child”, Green said.

Her speech to Labour’s annual autumn conference also set out a desire to “set children up for life with communication, teamwork, problem solving, social skills” through a Children’s Recovery Plan.

Though the details of this plan were not included in the speech, Green rightly recognises the need for children to develop soft skills that enable them to become independent, self-motivated learners.

The development of these skills and their importance to social mobility were highlighted by RISE’s Professor David Hopkins in a keynote speech to the Westminster Education Forum earlier this year.

The Shadow Education Secretary’s full speech can be read here.