Plans have reportedly been scrapped to extend the school day to help children catch up because of Covid.
Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi has decided against his predecessor Gavin Williamson's argument for making up for lost learning.
The current secretary had initially said he would "look at" the idea for England but has since thrown out the idea, The Sun reports.
A source told the paper: “All the studies show the impact is negligible for the huge amounts of money that would be needed.
"Ultimately, schools have the power to set their time — they could put an extra half an hour onto lunchtime."
As an alternative, extra hours in class were announced only for pupils 16 to 19, while others would receive a targeted pack of tuition.
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Any universal change to the school day would involve "significant delivery considerations", a Department of Education review found.
The review found it difficult to consider "how to realise the additional teaching capacity required in order to facilitate delivery within existing legislative, contractual and workforce supply constraints."
Studies have since shown that there would be minimal impact on outcomes if kids were kept in school for longer.
"The challenge of ensuring that any additional time is not only delivered but also used well would require legislation and accountability measures sufficient to ensure quality," the review added.
Teachers unions, meanwhile, have warned an extension of the school day could create an "unsustainable burden" on schools.
In Wales, trials of longer days started earlier this month - adding five hours a week for certain pupils.
A spokesperson for the Department for Education however said there had been no change in position in recent days.
They added: "It’s clear the pandemic has affected individual schools and pupils differently, meaning more targeted, flexible interventions – such as an expanded tutoring programme and significantly increased Recovery Premium – are the most effective ways to support pupils to catch up on missed learning.
"The evidence is also clear that any increase in time spent in school or college will be of greatest value to students in 16-19, given they have the least time left in education. That’s why we are increasing learning time for those students, investing £800 million to add an extra hour per week of education – or 40 hours per year."
