Philip Boucher Hayes

speaker

3,375 appearances 85 recordings 1 series first heard Jul 2026 last heard 6 Aug

Philip Boucher Hayes’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

Trend

recordings per month · last 12 months

Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 85 in all, peaking in Jul 2026 with 58.

Appearances

newest first · ▶ plays the moment

Today with David McCullagh · Should the primary school day be shorter? · 6 Aug 2026 podcast

No such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing. voice-verified

And obviously it is most desirable that we start with what is best for the kids. voice-verified

But might it also be time to address one of the particularly big parental bugbears, that slightly different finishing time for junior and senior infants and most families having kids within two or three years of each other means doubling up on the number of school runs. voice-verified

Let's bring in Rebecca at this point. voice-verified

Overdue overhaul, Rebecca? voice-verified

So this is putting the cart before the horse, addressing the academic year that you would rather see the Department of Education talking to insurance companies and to the owners of buildings. voice-verified

The very first text that came in there, same question to both of you, says summer holidays too long, too much time off. voice-verified

Is there a case to be made for parceling out that summer holiday break throughout the course of the year? voice-verified

Rebecca? voice-verified

Let me bring Simon in on that point. voice-verified

It might be good for parents. voice-verified

It might even be good for pupils. voice-verified

It probably wouldn't be good for teachers, though. voice-verified

You might increase the rate of burnout if they didn't have that two month or three month in the case of secondary school break. voice-verified

Is there anything going on in schools, in staff rooms, that to your mind would militate against an earlier start to do what Rebecca is suggesting, to take into consideration that there are now two working parents in most houses and a 9 or a 9.15 start to school is just really inconvenient and an 8.30 start... voice-verified

might be an awful lot easier, Simon. voice-verified

Just before I let you go, explain something to me that I'm not quite clear on. voice-verified

Is the Finnish curriculum a little bit lighter than ours or how do they manage to cover the curriculum with less teaching hours available to them? voice-verified

Simon Lewis, Rebecca Horan, thank you very much. voice-verified

I have a statement from the Department of Education, which seems to suggest that this conversation might be getting a little bit ahead of ourselves because they say the provision for a shorter school day for junior classes, which is set out in circular 1195. voice-verified

Showing 201–220 of 3,375 · page 11 of 169