Introducing the four-and-a-half day school week

Available for over a year

More than 20 schools in the Birmingham area now plan to send children home at lunch time on Fridays to save money. Over the next school year, starting in September, Radio 4's World at One will be following one of those schools – Bellfield Junior School in Northfield, in South West Birmingham. The school which is maintained by the local authority, is giving the programme access so that we might better understand the pressures on teachers, parents, governors and pupils. It's at a time when they say budgets and educational support services are being slashed, but the government insists school funding is at record levels. Before we start our series in the new term, reporter Emma Jane Kirby went for an initial visit to the school to meet staff and children. (Photo: Bellfield Junior School pupils at the school disco Credit: Bellfield Junior School)