The Department of Education is planning its first review of primary school hours in more than three decades. But what is it actually reviewing and why now?What is the department up to?It confirmed a planned review of a circular that dictates how much time children spend in class and school. The circular, which dates back to 1995, details how many days each year schools must be open, but also how many hours children must attend each day.What are the current arrangements?Under those guidelines, a full school day can be no less than five hours and 40 minutes in duration, 30 minutes of which are set aside for breaks. A further two five-minute breaks are also allowed.Under that circular, schools are allowed to reduce the school day by one hour for junior and senior infant classes.However, this provision does not exempt their teacher from attending school for the full school day.What will the review look at?Details are scarce, but we do know it will consider primary school hours, particularly the shorter school day that has become the norm for junior classes.Confirming the review, a spokesperson for the department said: “The provision for a shorter school day for junior classes, which is set out in circular 11/95, has been a feature of the Irish education system for many years. These arrangements do not reduce the working day for teachers of those classes.“This provision will be considered as part of a review of the circular and take into account the appropriate educational needs of the children attending junior classes.”Could the review see hours changed, or even reduced? Could additional break time be given to children?Possibly. But the review hasn’t begun yet and appears to still be in a planning phase. In a statement on Friday, the department clarified there are “no immediate plans for a review to commence in the short term”.“Further work will be required before any such review could begin.”Why is this review being carried out now?The department didn’t respond to a query on why.Earlier this year, however, the Oireachtas education committee sent a delegation to Finland to examine its “world-class education system”.During that, it observed how pupils are given 15-minute breaks between lessons and shorter school days, which in part are “largely attributable” to the Finnish system’s success.Noting that, the report recommends “serious consideration” be given to reducing the “overload” faced by pupils.So does the committee believe school days should be shortened?It seems not. Chair of the committee Cathal Crowe said he did not believe there was a need to “review the school day, as such”.“We’re not recommending as a committee that we just pack it all in here and replicate the Finnish system, because there are things here that we do exceptionally well,” he said.However, the Fianna Fáil TD said there is an “overload” for young children, noting they are being taught 12 subjects, in addition to initiatives such as healthy eating and consent.“All of this can be overstimulating, it can be tiresome,” he told RTÉ Radio’s News at One.“I think we should be looking at the Finnish model or the Scandinavian model where extra breaks are given throughout the day,” he said.Does it think school days for junior classes should be extended to match older pupils then?Again, it seems not. Crowe, a former primary schoolteacher, said he did not believe the school days for junior and senior infants should be lengthened, saying a five-hour day would be “far too much”.“But I do buy into the thought that there should be some way in the mornings and in the afternoons of having in-school child-minding,” he said.He believes this would take “huge pressure off parents”, some of whom are currently faced with two pickups each day for children in junior classes and their older siblings at a later time.