Flexible working has become an increasingly hot topic for teachers in recent years. Although, from a legal perspective, it’s long been something headteachers are required to consider, it wasn’t always an easy thing to negotiate.
In the past, headteachers would blame timetabling or the need for consistency when dismissing requests for flexibility or fostering a culture where full-time work is the norm.
But with retention at a worryingly low rate, and teacher workloads a constant cause for concern, schools are becoming more willing to meet the needs of teachers looking for a better work-life balance.
In 2017, Justine Greening, then education secretary, announced a drive to encourage more flexible working in schools, with a view to dispelling some of the myths around such ways of working.
Proactive recruitment
Hannah Wilson, executive headteacher at Aureus School in Didcot, uses flexible working not just as way to keep her existing teachers but as a proactive means of attracting new ones.
“We have offered flexible working in all of our roles,” says Wilson. “We do not use flexibility as a retention tool but as a recruitment tool. There are 250,000 qualified teachers in the country who are not currently working in schools – we are striving to create a values-led culture that teaching staff want to be a part of.
“Mental health and well-being provision in our schools needs to be pre-emptive, proactive and preventative,” she says, “not reactive and fire-fighting.”
A shifting culture
Although there are still calls to remove the stigma around part-time or flexible teaching, there does seem to be more room for negotiation in schools today.
Lara Miles, a teacher in Brentwood, Essex, explains how the situation has become much easier in recent years.
“I recently returned to work after maternity leave so I now work three days a week,” says Miles. “I found it easy to negotiate part time with my school.
“In 2013 (when I returned to work after my first child), my school refused me part-time hours. I had to return full time or pay back almost £4,000 of my maternity pay.”
What are the different flexible options?
Any UK employee who has worked for the same employer for 26 weeks is entitled to request flexible working. That doesn’t, all of a sudden, guarantee you the flexi-time you want, but your school must have a good business reason to turn it down.
There are numerous “flexible” options, some of which are listed below:
Part-time
Working part-time is probably the most common option for those looking to work flexibly. Popular with parents who want to balance working with childcare, it’s also a good way to return to the classroom after a break.
Having returned to teaching for the second time, Miles enjoys the lightened load of teaching three days per week, although admits that not being in every day does have drawbacks.
“I currently only have one class for which I am the main teacher and six other classes which I teach 30 per cent of their lessons,” says Miles.
“I find, with part-time teaching, I am often out of the loop and either miss out on information or don’t understand what I have to do. It is often difficult to meet marking deadlines after exams when I am not in school to collect the papers.”
Staggered or compressed hours
Staggered working means being able to structure your working hours differently from other workers. It’s not the same as working part time, in that you are still required to work full-time hours – it simply enables you to be more flexible than the school timetable would normally allow.
Compressed hours is a way of working that, again, allows teachers to work full-time hours but to squeeze them into a reduced number of days.
Working from home
Teaching and working from home do not seem like natural bedfellows. It’s hard controlling a group of 30 teenagers at the best of times, but from the comfort of your own home...well, good luck with sanctions over video call.
But for many teachers, especially those with extra responsibilities, there are times when they do not necessarily need to be in the classroom. One primary teacher in South London is able to spend a full day per week working from home.
“It’s a school policy for more experienced members of staff,” he says. “For subject leadership time and PPA, I’m allowed to take it at home. With less experienced members of staff they (leadership) prefer it if they stay in school, where they can get help and support.”
Supply
When it comes to flexibility, work doesn’t come much more malleable than supply. To a certain extent, you can work as and when you want.
Some teachers use supply as an opportunity to work in different schools before applying for a permanent role. Others just prefer the lighter workload or decide to balance teaching with other commitments.
Chris Lock is a supply teacher based in Wiltshire. As well as working in a number of local primary schools, he also runs a small business working as a landscape photographer.
“If I do receive the 7am phone call,” says Lock, “I can decide whether I want to teach on that day based on how much other work I need to do in running my business.”
“During periods when I’ve been less busy with photography work, I’ve also been able to take on longer-term teaching commitments, such as one- or two-term temporary contracts. These are usually to cover periods when a school has been unable to fill a vacancy.”
What are your rights?
From an informal perspective, the best way to broach a flexible role is to bring it up with your line manager. Legally, if you’ve worked for your school continuously for 26 weeks or more, you’re entitled to make a statutory request for flexible working.
A statutory request should be made in writing and should subsequently be dealt with by the school within three months of submission.
For more information take a look at the Government’s guide to Flexible Working in Schools.