Flexible working could alleviate teacher crisis, think tank advises

Think tank Policy Exchange has conducted a report recommending that the teacher supply crisis in England could be stemmed if more schools allowed flexible working.

The report explored the practice of teacher recruitment and supply in a series of essays and found that allowing more teachers to work part time could bring thousands of teachers back into the profession.

The report comes ahead of the Association of School and College Leaders’ (ASCL) conference and outlines that of the 45,000 to 50,000 teachers joining the state sector each year, only a third are returning teachers.

Jonathan Simons, head of education for Policy Exchange, explained that official data suggests over 25 per cent of teachers of working age who left the profession between 2008 and 2012 were between the ages of 30 and 39.

Simons said: “The most obvious conclusion to be drawn here is that this is maternity related. Schools and the government both need to recognise the need for flexibility, and that flexible working means more than just working part-time. In particular, we know that younger graduates tend to want portfolio careers which enable them to come in and out of professions, and teaching is no different. Our education system needs to embrace a new way of working. If it doesn't, schools are going to continue to struggle to attract and retain the best talent."

A spokeswoman for the ASCL welcomed the suggestion claiming it was ‘eminently sensible’. She added that flexible working could also increase the numbers of women achieving leadership roles. Figures currently show that 62 per cent of secondary teachers are female, but only 36 per cent of head teacher positions are occupied by females.

Kevin Courtney, deputy general secretary of the National Union of Teachers (NUT), said: ”We need to see real and significant changes to teachers' working lives, both in terms of pay and conditions as well as reducing the punishing accountability system that is overburdening the profession and blighting children and young people's education.”

Commenting on the recommendation the Department for Education acknowledged: “We know that a lack of flexible options creates a barrier, in particular for women who take career breaks, and we will soon be encouraging further work to support flexible working for female teachers and to encourage women to return to the classroom."