THE CHARTERED COLLEGE COMMENTS ON NFER REPORT ON FLEXIBLE WORKING IN SCHOOLS

The Chartered College comments on NFER report on flexible working in schools

Professor Dame Alison Peacock, Chief Executive of the Chartered College of Teaching, said:

“Increasing the opportunities for flexible and part-time working in schools plays an important role in making sure teaching is a viable and appealing life-long career, as well as supporting diversity in teaching and leadership.

We therefore welcome NFER’s new report, highlighting the demand for flexible working and the importance of proactive leadership in enabling flexible approaches in secondary schools. The Chartered College looks forward to adding to this picture by hosting a range of #WomenEd flexible working case studies to support schools in implementing it effectively.

Of course, there is much more to do. Flexible working is about more than just part-time working, and schools may face particular challenges in making it work for the whole school community. We must also be cautious: whilst part-time working should absolutely be available to those who want it, it cannot become a solution to workload or retention challenges in the sector; it should not be seen by teachers as the only means to achieving a work-life balance. We need to simultaneously continue to ensure there is a focus on driving down unnecessary workload to ensure teaching full-time is manageable within reasonable working hours.”