We all know teachers are not the best at stepping away from the office – and it’s no surprise that the profession has a lower number of flexible working requests than other professions.
Post covid, many jobs have not returned to the standard 5 days in the office – they have remained hybrid and the impact of this is better flexibility, better wellbeing and, mostly, better productivity.
So, is flexible working possible in a school environment? Put simply…. yes!
As someone who has, for the last 15 years, worked flexibility in a range of roles within education it is certainly possible at all levels. Over the last decade I have worked part time in a classroom and as a senior leader; I have also worked in a job share as a teacher and head of school. Both flexible working patterns have allowed me to work to my most productive levels – because I was also nurturing myself and my family too. What we need to remember is that part time is not the same as a job share – they are two different approaches to flexible working.
Flexible working must be available to all – everyone has different situations whether you are a parent with young children, someone managing their own health or you are caring for a relative – everyone should have the same entitlement to flexible working.
So lets explore the who, why and how of the matter…..
Who?
Put simply – everyone. Flexible working can, with the right mindset from leaders, work for anyone at any level across the whole board. It should be a level playing field. But….. is this the case? It’s important that leaders monitor flexible working requests – do all employees know their entitlement? Do certain groups feature more in flexible working requests? Does everyone have the opportunity to thrive, not just survive?
Do schools actively support flexible working as a successful model?
How?
When we are talking about flexible working there is no one size fits all; because everyone’s situation differs and people’s situations are always changing and evolving.
Just because someone is asking for reduced hours this year does not mean they will require, or want, that forever.
There are numerous approaches to flexible working – and this is the key. Lets look at some of these approaches.
Flexible working can be just the odd adhoc time out – to attend an appointment, a wedding, a school play, a graduation or a hospital appointment with a loved one – this is still part of a flexible working approach – it’s a one off and, as a leader, I would always try my best to ensure that these can happen – happy, well supported staff are a happy and productive team.
Flexible working could be changing start of finish times for some days or reducing the number of hours in school – perhaps working from home sometimes to complete planning at a time that’s convenient to the individual. As a flexible worker with very young children, I took my PPA day at home – with the understanding from my head that as long as the work was done it was done at a time that worked for me – I was happy and very productive!
Then there are the longer term, contractual changes – part time and job shares. Make no mistake this is very different.
A job share is a full-time role that is fulfilled by more than one person; whereas a part time role is a role that is only done by one individual but during a shorter working week – when they are not there this job is not picked up, thus, the workload should be reflective of this. In recent surveys and discussions with part time staff it was unbelievable how many part time staff worked on their days off to get the work done – this should not be the case.
Why?
The short answer to this is because we all work to live; we do not live to work. However, in reality the why is far wider than that – there are so many benefits of flexible working not just to employees but to their employer too.
Have you ever thought about recruitment and retention – keeping great staff is an art and flexible working can and will support this – happy staff work hard and don’t leave. We all know those schools that really truly are a great place to work. How do we know? Because you can’t get a job there – people don’t leave!
Aside from this there are benefits for employers too if you can see past the paperwork – flexible work allows for ‘cross pollination’ of staff – the sharing of a wider number of skills and talents. It’s an opportunity for schools to be innovative, and when done well, allows for mentoring and succession planning. It also allows schools to share individual’s talents and spread diversity. Not every teacher has the same talents – I know from the best job shares that I have done that we all have our strengths – on my days I would teach the PE and the art; but music – well I am as tuneful as an elephant with a drum – so my musically talented job share took this role – the impact of this was high quality teaching by teachers with a talent and a passion so the best possible learning opportunities for the children.
Also, don’t forget that 2 sets of eyes are better than one. And when a job share is well planned these 2 individuals will often pick up parts of other roles too – thus they are actually more productive and it’s cost effective too.
Part timers – no they don’t just want long weekends! There are roles within schools that are not necessarily a full-time role – and part time people come with many skills and talents. It’s important that when roles are advertised that there are opportunities for part time; you may find a hidden gem to nurture – and remember peoples situations evolve – a part timer could become a full timer who already knows your school, your ways and your community. Flexible working allows schools to keep the talent within their community.
Everyone deserves to live well – we all work best when we are filling our own bucket too. Happy staff are productive staff – happy, productive staff are wonderful role models and children will learn and thrive!
So, to conclude….
The paperwork may look daunting, the idea may seem challenging, but if we can accept flexible working in schools - in the same way that it’s considered in other types of employment- we will see the impact, for sure! At the moment, there is a recruitment and retention crisis across education – perhaps this could be a very simple solution – what do you think?
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