Should we make children stay at school until 6pm?

Lesson time: Could kids have a nine-hour school dayGetty

A new nine-hour school day is at the heart of a controversial proposal that would also cut holidays from 13 weeks a year to just seven.

The plan was devised by David Cameron’s former policy advisor Paul Kirby, who claims it would help prepare kids for the world of work, reduce street crime and make it easier for parents to juggle full-time work and childcare.

But critics say it would put too much pressure on youngsters and teachers, as well as costing hundreds of millions in extra pay for staff.

Here two leading education experts give both sides of the argument.

YES

Chris McGovern - Retired head and Chairman of The Campaign For Real Education

Education is a good thing. When I was a head, kids were breaking the door down to get into school. We hear a lot about disaffected young but not enough about how children actually want to be in school, they want to improve themselves and they enjoy being with their friends.

Longer school hours will mean children will have a richer, fuller curriculum so they are going to be able to do more in school. They will do better in maths and literacy but also have time to do foreign languages, which are squeezed out at the moment.

A recent report shows there are jobs out there but they can’t find the youngsters with the basic literacy and numeracy skills to fill them. In other parts of the world, particularly in Asian countries children are doing longer hours. Essentially we’re falling behind the rest of the world’s developed countries.

It’s going to benefit those kids who really need it

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Britain's 'most wanted' knifeman who stole mum's car with her two children in back seat is jailed

Jailed: Cedric Brown

A gangster who car-jacked a mum-of-two and sped off with her toddlers still strapped inside was jailed today.

Cedric Brown, 46, was one of the country’s most wanted men when he carried out the terrifying knifepoint robbery.

He was featured on BBC’s Crimewatch as a suspect following a raid in which a couple were tied up and slashed with a knife.

The car-jacking took place in April last year as Brown tried to flee the scene of an attempted burglary.

He threatened Lucy Lawton with an eight inch commando dagger as she took her children to play-school in her Ford Focus.

The 6ft 4in career criminal then sped off with her one-year-old son and two-year-old daughter in their car seats.

Police arrived at the scene in Erdington, Birmingham, to find their

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Nigella Lawson tells court: 'I would never make my children orphans through drug addiction'

By Gordon Rayner, Chief Reporter

4:30PM GMT 05 Dec 2013

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Nigella Lawson has told a court she would never risk making her children "orphans" by becoming addicted to cocaine or other drugs.

She also denied she kept a stash of cocaine in a box with her late husband's wedding ring as she ended two days of evidence in the fraud trial of two former aides.

Miss Lawson told a jury her ex-husband Charles Saatchi knew she had taken cocaine with her first husband John Diamond during his battle with terminal cancer, and she had never promised him that she would not take drugs again.

On an afternoon when defence barristers repeatedly clashed with Miss Lawson as well as the judge in the case, Miss Lawson was told not to answer whether her children had given her a Mother's Day card with a cannabis "spliff" taped to the front.

Miss Lawson became increasingly emotional and told defence barrister Karin Arden: "If you want to put me on trial, put me on trial, but I cannot think that it's right to have me here as a witness for the Crown and treat me like this."

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Miss Arden suggested to Miss Lawson that her drug use was a "dark, guilty secret" in her marriage.

She replied: "In respect of the cocaine use when my first husband died, Mr Saatchi knew about it." Asked if she made him a promise that "that was the end of it", she replied: "No, I did not make a promise. Mr Saatchi has phoned up newspapers saying a promise had been extracted and broken, it's not true."

The court heard that Miss Lawson had a jewellery box in the shape of a hollowed out book, in which she kept jewellery inherited from her grandmothers and mother and E wedding rings worn by her and Mr Diamond.

Miss Arden said she also kept cocaine in the box, which had at one point been found by her daughter. She said: "I did not."

She also denied that she frequently had a "runny nose" or whites powder around her nose, and that cannabis dealers turned up at her house to sell her drugs.

She said: "I promise you if I took the drugs to the extent you say I would not be standing here today.

"You know as well as I do that regular cocaine users don't look like this, they're scrawny. If you think I'm going to sabotage my health and run the risk of leaving my children orphans you are very wrong."

Miss Arden asked: "Do you agree that you received a Mother's Day card in 2011 or 2012 with a spliff taped to the card saying 'To enjoy later'?"

Judge Robin Johnson stepped in and told Miss Arden: "That ends your cross-examination. I'm not having any more. You have exhausted my patience."

He told Miss Lawson not to answer the question.

Earlier, Miss Lawson rejected the suggestion that she allowed a former aide to "spend, spend, spend" on a company credit card when she and Charles Saatchi sold their home for £25 million.

Francesca Grillo is accused of fraudulently spending £580,000 on the credit card, which Miss Lawson described as "disgusting, greedy".

She said it was "totally implausible" that she would allow Miss Grillo to spend as much on clothes for a "treat" in one transaction as some people spend on a car.

Karin Arden, defending Miss Grillo, who denies fraud, suggested to Miss Lawson that she loosened the family purse strings when she and Mr Saatchi put their home in Eaton Square, west London, on the market for £37m.

Miss Arden suggested that Miss Lawson had allowed Miss Grillo to spend £5,205 on a jacket and dresses in Miu Miu as a reward for all her hard work keeping the house clean for prospective buyers to see it.

"You told her to buy them on the credit card because she deserved it," Miss Arden suggested.

"Five thousand pounds?! Why on earth would I do that?" Miss Lawson replied. "There are cars that cost that much money."

Miss Arden said: "You were trying to sell the house for £37m, it was giddy money and you told her to treat herself."

Miss Lawson, who said she had not personally profited from the eventual £25m sale of Mr Saatchi's house, rejected this.

Miss Lawson has now finished giving evidence, having spent almost two full days in the witness box.

 Law and OrderNews »UK News »Celebrity news »Gordon Rayner »Crime »

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Nigella Lawson: 'I would never risk orphaning my children with drugs'

Witness: Nigella Lawson leaves Isleworth Crown Court after her second and final day of giving evidence at the trial of her former aides Photo: GETTY IMAGES

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'Reform court process for children and sex attack victims', says former senior judge

to end the way in which rape and other sex crimes victims currently give evidenceHe also said cross-examination of children by defence barristers in court can sometimes amount to

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Children should be taught to cook British food, Duchess of Cornwall says

The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall Photo: GETTY IMAGES By Hannah Furness

7:00AM GMT 16 Nov 2013

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Children must be taught to grow and cook fresh ingredients from scratch as an "integral part" of the school curriculum, the Duchess of Cornwall has said, as she acknowledges the hobbies now face competition from "iPods and YouTube".

The Duchess, whose son Tom Parker Bowles is a professional food writer, said she wanted to “instill an excitement” in children about learning to cook and tasting British food.

She added knowing about food could be a “real advantage” for young people, even the traditional skills now had to “compete with iPods and YouTube”.

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Commenting in the latest edition of Country Life magazine, guest edited by the Prince of Wales, the Duchess made the case for British ingredients.

She added it was “tremendously” important for children to know how to grow food and could, arguing it should be an “integral part of their school education”.

In comments made alongside an article on the Harvest Festival, the Duchess also described her favourite British foods: free-range chicken, “spanking” fresh mackerel and “pert and perfect” asparagus.

“It is tremendously important to teach young people how to grow food and to cook as an integral part of their school education,” she told a special edition of Country Life magazine.

“And also to instill in them an excitement and love for the wonderfully diverse and delicious food we produce in this country.”

Speaking in support of British Food Fortnight, she added: “Learning to grow and cook your own food can be a real advantage, even if it has to compete with iPods and YouTube!

“I’m so delighted the British Food Fortnight competition has given children the chance to experience the joys of digging up potatoes they have grown themselves, picking runner beans and finding exciting recipes to cook.”

The Duchess has previously said teaching children to cook properly would ensure “our future is in safe hands”.

The Prince of Wales, who guest edited the magazine on the eve of his 65th birthday, used its pages to criticise large supermarkets for putting the “squeeze” on “battered” farmed by driving down prices.

His support for British farmers was echoed by the Duchess, who spoke out in favour of home-grown British ingredients.

“I’ve always loved food and really enjoy cooking simple dishes with the best British ingredients,” she said.

“That, for me, is what British food is really about; a chicken, that has lived a natural life, pecking and scratching about in the yard, roasted until golden brown.

“Or a spanking fresh mackerel, grilled until the skin is crisp, the flesh soft and sweet.

“The first British asparagus, pert and perfect, or a proper Somerset Cheddar, made with unpasteurised milk from the farmer’s own hand

“Food that follows the seasons, rather than the whims of the vast multinational food conglomerates.”

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Kidnap Charges For Father Who Took Children

A father is accused of abducting his young daughter and son while they were staying in a hotel room with their mother. 9:19am UK, Wednesday 23 October 2013

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Clifford Raynovich charged: Man, 56, is charged with rape and incest after fathering four children with female relative over two decades

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