LEADING FLEX in your school?
Explore and discover our next steps below for supporting flexible working in your school
Educate
gain a comprehensive and current understanding of flexible working
Explore - data collection & analysis
gain a broad understanding of the flexible working offer in your setting
Plan
to support school leaders to identify key priorities for implementing a flexible working offer
Deliver
implement key priorities
Sustain
review and identify areas for development diverse workforce
Educate
What is flexible working?
Flexible working can be defined as ‘arrangements which allow employees to vary the amount, timing, or location of their work'
What options are available?
Part time
Working less than full-time hours. Not all teachers who work part time choose to do so. This may be linked to subject and timetabling requirements, particularly if they teach subjects for which there is low demand. Employees can work full time but still have flexible work arrangements in place.
Job share
Two or more people doing one job and splitting the hours.
Retirement
Gradually reducing working hours and/or responsibilities to transition from full-time work to full-time retirement.
Staggered hours
The employee has different start, finish and break times.
Compressed hours
Working full-time hours but over fewer days.
Annualised hours
Working hours spread across the year, which may include some school closure days, or where hours vary across the year to suit the school and employee.
Lieu time
Paid time off work for having worked additional hours.
Personal or family days
Days of authorised leave during term time to which all employees in a school are entitled.
Home or remote working
The employee carries out work off site.
Blended CPD – virtual, pre- recorded, in person
Occasional home working
Ad hoc requests
Short term requests
Why Flexible working?
Flexible working benefits both teachers and schools...
Teacher recruitment
Schools recruit and retain experienced staff
Staff
Wellbeing
Teachers get a better work-life balance
Teacher
Retention
Helps keep the expertise in your school
Useful resources from the toolkit:
Conversations for retention - 'Stay meetings'
Start a conversation about flexible working to support the retention of staff
Alternative Provision FAQs for School Leaders
FAQs for School Leaders in Alternative Provision Settings
Exemplar Policy - Alternative Provision Trust
A Trust Wide exemplar policy for flexible working in Alternative Provision settings
Assessing your offer - at a glance
Prompt questions to support the initial assessment of your flexible working offer
Flexible Working 'How to Guide ' for Senior Leaders
A step-by-step 'How to Guide' for Senior Leaders wanting to assess their offer and identify clear next steps.
Flexible working application process
Download our guide for staff and school leaders on the application process for flexible working
Flexible working FAQs for school leaders
Download and share our list of frequently asked questions for school leaders
School Leaders guide to flexible working in alternative provision
Read our guide to support flexible working in alternative provision settings
Editable Flexible Working school survey
Use this survey to capture an accurate assessment of Flexible Working in your school.
Explore ‘Data Collection’
School leaders play a central role in improving the flexible working offer in their schools.
To enable the implementation of a flexible working culture that supports staff and pupil wellbeing, recruitment and retention, school leaders first need to explore and understand what is currently on offer in their school.
There are three ways to assess your flexible working offer and systems. Through this triangulated approach a broad, balanced and rich evidence base can be gathered. This will enable you to clearly identify areas of strength and next steps.
1. A workforce review
Gather data on the following:
- Who is already working flexibly?
How are they working flexibly? - Why are they working flexibly?
- When did they request flexible working?
- How is the request for flexible working communicated?
- How is the offer of flexible working communicated?
- Have flexible working requests changed over time?
- Attrition rates – reasons for leaving?
- Staff retention following extended parental leave over 1 and 2 years?
1a. Recruitment review
Gather data on the above using a survey, you might use this one as a starting point
This should inform:
- Who are the main groups applying?
- Are certain groups applying for a certain role? Why?
- Are jobs replaced like for like?
- Are jobs advertised flexibly?
2. Consultation
Consult with colleagues who are or have worked flexibly.
Gather data on the following:
- How would you describe your experience of the request process?
- If successful, how was your flexible working offer agreed upon?
- How would you describe your experience of flexible working?
- Do you have any recommendations for improving the process?
- Do you have any recommendations for improving the experience of flexible workers?
3. Surveying all staff
Survey staff to identify what they understand by flexible working and whom they perceive it is for. The identification of barriers to achieving flexible working from all levels in the organisation will help you plan to overcome these.
This should inform:
- Who already works flexibly?
- Why (and in turn why not) *
- Whom flexible working is perceived as being for
- Is there a discrepancy between the number of people working flexibly and the number of people who’d like to work flexibly?
- Why do people want to work flexibly?
- What are the perceived barriers to working flexibly?
* At this point in the exploration ‘why’ people work flexibly is important to help identify if the offer is narrowed to a certain type of employee. Once a proactive, sustainable flexible working culture is embedded, a reason neutral approach can be adopted so that offers are not based on ‘justification’.
Useful resources from the toolkit:
Top tips for Senior Leaders
Top tips for Senior Leaders wanting to improve their school's flexible working offer
EEF - School's Guide to Implementation
This guidance describes the professional practice of implementation – outlining steps that effective schools take to manage change well
Exemplar Policy - Alternative Provision Trust
A Trust Wide exemplar policy for flexible working in Alternative Provision settings
Assessing your offer - at a glance
Prompt questions to support the initial assessment of your flexible working offer
Flexible Working 'How to Guide ' for Senior Leaders
A step-by-step 'How to Guide' for Senior Leaders wanting to assess their offer and identify clear next steps.
Flexible working application process
Download our guide for staff and school leaders on the application process for flexible working
From a Reactive to Proactive flexible working culture
How to move your organisation from a reactive to a proactive approach to flexible working
Planning a whole-school flexible working offer
How to plan a whole-school flexible working offer
School Leaders guide to flexible working in alternative provision
Read our guide to support flexible working in alternative provision settings
Editable Flexible Working school survey
Use this survey to capture an accurate assessment of Flexible Working in your school.
Charter Trust's Flexible Working Policy
Access the Charter Trust's flexible working policy
Explore ‘Data ANALYSIS'
To identify a school’s current flexible working offer and how to develop this further, school leaders need to review their school’s approaches, and determine what is working well and areas for improvement.
When gathering and interpreting data to identify ensure:
- Existing beliefs do not reflect bias. Check and challenge initial thinking around flexible working
- Examine information from a range of resources to build a rich picture. Eg workforce review, staff consultation, staff survey
- Recognise the weaknesses in the data ‘Are your biases and those of colleagues skewing your interpretation of the data?’
- Provide credible and plausible interpretation through triangulation of data from different sources and share interpretations to allow for appropriate challenge
Ref: EEF 'Putting Evidence to Work: A school's guide to Implementation'
1. Identify the need and want for flexible working.
Check and challenge:
- Do all staff understand the different types of flexible working?
- Do all staff understand who can request flexible working?
- Do the barriers identified relate to the ‘need’ and ‘want’?
- Do all staff understand how to request flexible working?
- Do all staff understand who can request flexible working and what is on offer?
- Do staff requesting flexible working have a positive experience? Is this skewed by the colleagues who are not requesting but viewing the experience positively?
- Review whom flexible working worked well for? Why?
- Review whom flexible working has not worked well for? Why?
PLAN
Planning a whole-school flexible working offer will look different in settings.
Factors such as:
- Location and size of the school
- School phase
- Type of setting - SEND, Alternative Provision
- Extent to which a flexible working culture is already in place.
Reactive to a Proactive flexible working culture:
Within all settings, leaders have emphasised the importance of a proactive approach to flexible working.
Moving from a reactive model request-response model to a proactive whole school flexible working.
What does the request-response model look like?
What does a proactive, sustainable whole-school model look like?
How to embed a proactive whole-school model
Develop a clear, logical, timely plan for implementing flexible working.
Your plan will depend on how proactive and embedded your flexible working approach is.
Recommendations:
Useful resources from the toolkit:
Top tips for Senior Leaders
Top tips for Senior Leaders wanting to improve their school's flexible working offer
EEF - School's Guide to Implementation
This guidance describes the professional practice of implementation – outlining steps that effective schools take to manage change well
Exemplar Policy - Alternative Provision Trust
A Trust Wide exemplar policy for flexible working in Alternative Provision settings
Assessing your offer - at a glance
Prompt questions to support the initial assessment of your flexible working offer
Flexible Working 'How to Guide ' for Senior Leaders
A step-by-step 'How to Guide' for Senior Leaders wanting to assess their offer and identify clear next steps.
Flexible working application process
Download our guide for staff and school leaders on the application process for flexible working
From a Reactive to Proactive flexible working culture
How to move your organisation from a reactive to a proactive approach to flexible working
Planning a whole-school flexible working offer
How to plan a whole-school flexible working offer
School Leaders guide to flexible working in alternative provision
Read our guide to support flexible working in alternative provision settings
Editable Flexible Working school survey
Use this survey to capture an accurate assessment of Flexible Working in your school.
Charter Trust's Flexible Working Policy
Access the Charter Trust's flexible working policy
Deliver
A whole-school flexible working culture will need time to develop depending on your starting point.
There may be elements that present setbacks or action steps that are trickier to implement. This is to be expected when implementing new ways of thinking and working.
A flexible working offer will be a continuous journey for improvement and consistency is key. Consistency in communication as to the flexible working offer as well as consistency in the systems for requesting flexible working.
Therefore:
- Engaging staff
- Educating staff
- Identifying and solving problems
- Celebrating success
- Providing ongoing support
is crucial to successfully delivering a whole-school flexible working offer.
Useful resources from the toolkit:
Top tips for Senior Leaders
Top tips for Senior Leaders wanting to improve their school's flexible working offer
Conversations for retention - 'Stay meetings'
Start a conversation about flexible working to support the retention of staff
Alternative Provision FAQs for School Leaders
FAQs for School Leaders in Alternative Provision Settings
Exemplar Policy - Alternative Provision Trust
A Trust Wide exemplar policy for flexible working in Alternative Provision settings
Flexible Working 'How to Guide ' for Senior Leaders
A step-by-step 'How to Guide' for Senior Leaders wanting to assess their offer and identify clear next steps.
Charter Trust's Flexible Working Policy
Access the Charter Trust's flexible working policy
SUSTAIN
To sustain and further develop a flexible working culture, senior leaders must continue to educate staff and review the flexible working offer. This will ensure the offer is universal, developed and sustained over time.
If the actions identified are implemented with success and measured as such through data collection, school leaders can then plan to scale up and further embed a proactive flexible working culture.
Recommendations for monitoring and evaluation:
- Survey staff wellbeing
- Survey staff’s understanding and experience of flexible working
- Analysis of recruitment data
- Review financial impact
- Review diversity and GPC
- Monitor pupil progress
Useful resources from the toolkit:
EEF - School's Guide to Implementation
This guidance describes the professional practice of implementation – outlining steps that effective schools take to manage change well
Recruiting flexibly - How to attract the best talent
How do you support flexible working in recruiting stages?
Charter Trust's Flexible Working Policy
Access the Charter Trust's flexible working policy