Better part-time positions needed for secondary school teachers

The government needs to urgently look at ways to provide better part-time working for secondary schools, a new report recommends.

Researchers at the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) found that secondary teachers who are employed part-time tend to have higher rates of leaving the profession than part-time primary teachers, as well as full-time teachers.

The Teacher Retention and Turnover Research: Interim Report, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, also found that primary schools seem to be better able to accommodate part-time employment than secondary schools. There is a considerably higher proportion of part-time teachers in the primary sector compared to secondary schools. This gap persists when comparing teachers by age, gender and the number and age of their children. One in four teachers in the primary sector is part-time compared to about one in seven in the secondary sector.

With workload cited as one of the reasons for teachers leaving the profession, greater flexibility over working patterns may incentivise former teachers to return to work part-time. Part-time opportunities may also encourage current teachers who are at risk of leaving the profession to stay.

NFER Chief Executive, Carole Willis, said of NFER’s findings: “For many teachers, balancing a demanding work environment with a personal life can be challenging. As our report suggests, one solution to this issue is greater flexibility. Identifying ways in which more and better part-time working can be accommodated in secondary schools could help to alleviate teacher supply challenges in England. Offering part-time opportunities to teachers may not only improve work-life balance but also attract back former teachers into the profession.

“We recognise there could be logistical challenges faced by schools in accommodating more part-time teachers, but finding a way to overcome these difficulties may provide a major boost to teacher supply.”