To think 9 day fortnights for teachers is a good idea...

[LadyCrazyCatLady]

...if implemented correctly.

One of the large school trusts local to us have announced that, from September they're aiming for flexible working for teachers within their schools:

The trust said: "We have been focusing on prioritising flexibility for our teachers to support greater work-life harmony.

As a result, we are excited to launch our new flexible working plan which will come into effect in the next academic year (24/25) and includes working towards a nine-day fortnight for teachers.

We want to be bold in our approach. Our ambition is for teachers to be afforded the same flexibility that’s available in many other sectors and now even expected in the post-pandemic world.

Given the nature of teaching, we know that the scale of this flexibility will not always match what others offer outside the sector, but making these changes will go a long way in making a difference.

In line with our deep commitment to self-determination, we want to give our teachers more agency over their roles by offering a flexible working plan that will give them time back.

Nine-day fortnight: We are working towards a nine-day fortnight for teachers without impacting students’ contact time. As far as possible, we want this to be a genuine reduction in working hours and not just trying to fit 10 days of teaching into nine. The analysis we have been conducting shows this is possible in many of our schools.

Remote working: We are pushing forward with a plan that allows remote working during non-contact time, which includes giving more PPA (planning, preparation and assessment) and making it manageable from home or another remote location, and where our teachers want to do this, compressing the free hours or non-contact hours so that they can be away from school for longer periods of time.

Personal days: We want to offer personal days during term time so our teachers are not restricted to only taking time off in the school holidays.

Artificial intelligence: We will look to use technology, where possible, to reduce teachers’ contact time and provide greater flexibility. We want to harness technology more widely to free up more time and allow our best teachers to influence more students than just those physically present in their classrooms."

AIBU to think that, although it would take some major organising, something like this could help with the teacher retention crisis that we currently have in the UK?

No, it’ll probably mean that different staff take different “days off” and instead of a weekly timetable; classes will go on a fortnightly timetable. Classes simply won’t be allocated to that teacher on their day off, similar to what happens with part-time staff.

I think these kinds of conversations need to be happening on a national level. The reality is that the world has moved on since covid and being wedded to a workplace all day every day has, for many professions, become a thing of the past. The inflexibility of teaching makes it very unattractive for new graduates compared to their mates going into office jobs with wfh, flexi time and compressed hours, and many burnt out mid-career teachers are leaving for office jobs that give them the flexibility they crave. If our education system is to retain good quality teachers, then teaching needs to become a job that feels desirable. Relying on it being a vocation isn't good enough anymore.

My school already offers flexi time so that we can have PPA time at home, come in late/leave early if we're not teaching (I'm in secondary) and it's certainly made a difference to how positive I feel about my job. If we were to move towards a 9 day fortnight I'd be delighted. Even if that meant the 10th day was just me working from home. Having a day where I don't have to get up at the crack of dawn and could work to my own timetable would be bliss.

It would require having enough staff, of course, and that costs money, so I wonder where that's coming from. Also interested in the mention of technology - as someone mentioned upthread, I'm wondering if their strategy is going to take learning online. That's not something I would support at all. Children need a teacher in the room who they have a relationship with to learn effectively.

I'm waiting for the really radical option of reducing the school week to four days per week, though. Our kids are permanently knackered and stressed by the long days and excessive demands of a traditional schooling. They would be so much happier with more opportunities to have a rich life outside of school if they had a 3 day weekend. I don't know why we're still wedded to this antiquated notion of a 5 day working week with a 2 day weekend. This norm needs to change for everyone, not just people who work in offices.

And how is continuity for children doing alevels or GCSE going to be protected if their specialty teacher is faffing off here and there and only doing f2f teaching 9 days...those children might as well do a 9 day fortnight too
Being charitable it seems you don't understand GCSE or A Level timetabling You also have missed that student timetables and teacher timetables are different because one set of timetables are for staff (who will have PPA, mentor time, any leadership release time if appropriate) and the other set of timetables are for students (who are in school to access a timetable of lessons).

I'd only have seen my GCSE classes 4 days out of 5 even when working 5 days in school. It would have made no difference to them whether I was on a day off or on site teaching other year groups.

I work a 6 day fortnight!

And take a 40% pay cut for the luxury!! But for me it's the best decision for my family. I love my job and this way I get the best of both worlds as I do all my planning on my 2 days off then I get my evenings and weekends free.

Lol! Same here (3 day week part-timer) 😉

So for a full time primary teacher who gets eg Tuesday afternoons out for PPA, they would then get every Friday at home ‘off’? Who would plan for/teach my class on the Friday? A TA?

I'm a secondary head of department and I'll be interested to see how this works on the timetable combing chart. It agree, it would be nice to have some flexibility, I'd love to be able to collect/drop off my own children once a fortnight. I got the chance to do it once last term and realised I didn't know what time they were let out or what door they come from, had a complete panic and had to stop a (much more present parent) and ask where I can find Year 6!!

Presumably the same person who covers the ppe. And the teacher will have planned and prepped all the sessions.

Why don’t you become a teacher then?

They’re literally begging for people to become teachers and you think they have a cushy job, so I’m confused as to why you’re not one?

Our PPA is covered by TAs or sports coaches-no marking. I’d be interested to see what a whole day of cover would look like with my class if left with one TA who was expected to ‘teach’ every subject and mark it all.

GCSE and A level students don't see any one teacher 10 days a fortnight, or even 9 days a fortnight. I only work 7 days a fortnight, and teach all my classes in person

Students don’t have the same teachers and subjects everyday, and so I assume it will be timetabled in a way that the students won’t be affected by having staggered days off and obviously not on a day when they are teaching.

I’m not sure how it will work for primary though.

I’ve always said that I would be able to plan much more carefully and effectively (primary) if I had two afternoons a week PPA. Would only work if children had specialist teaching on those afternoons though to enrich their experiences - specialist sports, music and languages teaching.

Maybe then I wouldn’t be rushing DD1 through her own reading at 6pm after her being at school since 7.30am, just so we can get her and DD2 into bed quickly and I can start my planning.

Unlikely, but would be an ideal world!

The conditions are shocking. I think these proposals might help but for me the indiscipline,ridiculous constant introduction of new buzz words and strategies and lack of parental support are massive issues too. Offering bursaries might increase the recruitment but it doesn't help with retention. We should be asking why?.

I think if this has proven history of appealing to teachers they should do it. My DD has had her teacher leave every single year of primary school (sometimes at the end, sometimes during). It’s been so inconsistent.. and that doesn’t seem rare. Something needs to change to retain teachers.

They would presumably do what they do in Scotland and have teachers who teach specific “things” - my daughter is always taught by a teacher; the school have a specialist ICT teacher; a specialist PE teacher and so on. Alternatively, one teacher could cover 9 other teachers “days off” and do their own planning - similar to what happens in high school or for job shares.

As far as I know most Primary School teachers currently get a half day 'off' every week for planning and prep time (PPA) so a full day every ten days is just the same. It sounds like just the same deal dressed up differently to me.

I’d rather have my PPA dotted throughout the week rather than saved up into a full day. This would make the days even harder with a lack of toilet breaks, no time to plan for the next day, no time to print resources etc.

I see the teacher bashers are straight out in force.

my daughter is always taught by a teacher

It’s different in England. PPA is covered by TAs in schools I’ve worked in (recently anyway). There’s been the odd coach to do afternoon PE as they are apprentices and cheap. Every morning is English and Maths though-that would be a lot of prep/marking for a TA alone.

I’m guessing this academy trust has a bit of money flying around to plough into this though and can maybe afford qualified teachers to do regular cover.

But according to a previous poster we get loads of holidays and should be happy with what we have! I also had to go part time just to survive and work in my day off.

I think using TA’s to cover teachers is a far bigger issue than anything else. Teaching is a profession which should be done by professionals.

TA’s are vital and I’m no way discrediting them; but they are not teachers and shouldn’t be treated as such. Not only that; it takes TA’s away from doing the work they are “supposed” to be doing.

Edit. Just reread

As someone who writes the school timetable this idea brings me out in a cold sweat 😅 they're effectively making all teachers part time. It's difficult enough to create a balanced timetable without split classes with the limited number of part time staff in school as it is.

It's a laudable idea don't get me wrong. I just think the implementation of it will be more difficult than they think.

But if this is what it takes to improve staff retention then why not give it a try. Good for them for thinking seriously about it.