FLEXIBLE WORKING MODELS IN ENGLISH SCHOOLS
November 2025
Executive Summary
Flexible working arrangements in English schools have evolved significantly since the introduction of statutory rights in April 2024. This report examines current models, legislative frameworks, and practical implementation strategies used across maintained schools, academies, and multi-academy trusts.
Since 2024, approximately 46% of teachers have some form of flexible working arrangement, yet 47% of teaching staff considering leaving state education cite lack of flexible working opportunities as a key factor. This report provides school leaders with evidence-based guidance on implementing sustainable flexible working models that support both staff wellbeing and pupil outcomes.
The latest position is that we have enhanced flexible working rights for school staff by allowing two requests per 12-month period, removing the previous 26-week service requirement, and requiring employers to respond to requests within two months. Now, any employee can request flexible working from their first day of employment. Schools are also being encouraged to recognize a wider range of flexible arrangements beyond part-time work, such as compressed or staggered hours.
Key changes to flexible working rights
- Two requests per year: Employees can now make two statutory requests for flexible working within any 12-month period.
- From day one: The 26-week continuous service requirement has been removed, allowing any employee to make a request from their first day of employment.
- Faster response time: Employers must respond to a request within two months of receiving it, unless an extension is agreed upon.
- Mandatory consultation: Employers must consult with the employee before rejecting a request.
- Increased flexibility: Flexible working is not limited to part-time or job-sharing. Other options like compressed hours (working full-time hours over fewer days) or staggered hours (different start/finish times) are possible.
What this means for schools and employees
- For employees: You have a stronger legal right to request flexible working arrangements that suit your needs, from the start of your employment.
- For employers: Schools and Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) should be prepared to handle more requests and have a clear process for doing so. They must consider requests in a reasonable manner and have a valid, statutory reason to refuse.
1. Legislative Context and Statutory Rights
1.1 Current Legal Framework (2024-2025)
Since 6 April 2024, employees have enhanced statutory rights to request flexible working:
• Employees can request flexible working from their first day of employment (previously after 26 weeks)
• Employees may make two applications per 12-month period (previously one)
• Employers must respond within two months (previously three months)
• Employers cannot require employees to explain the effects of requested changes
1.2 Maintained Schools: Directed Time Requirements
Teachers in maintained schools are governed by the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD), which stipulates:
• Maximum 1,265 hours of directed time per year (195 working days)
• Any additional teacher time for extended school weeks must be incorporated within directed time allocations
• Part-time teachers receive pro-rata directed time (e.g., 0.6 FTE = 759 hours)
• Schools must implement directed time calendars showing all allocated activities
1.3 Academies and Free Schools
While academies are not bound by STPCD directed time limits, DfE guidance strongly recommends considering teacher workload and contracts when implementing changes to working patterns. Many academy trusts voluntarily adopt directed time frameworks to support staff wellbeing.
2. Core Flexible Working Models
2.1 Part-Time Working
Definition: Working fewer than standard full-time hours with pro-rata pay and benefits.
Current Usage: Approximately 22% of the education workforce works part-time. In some schools, such as Elsley Primary in London, 32% of teachers work part-time arrangements.
Key Benefits:
• Improved staff retention and stability
• Increased workforce diversity and collective expertise
• Enhanced staff wellbeing and work-life balance
• Greater staff goodwill and commitment
Implementation Considerations: Schools must ensure part-time teachers have access to directed time activities (training, staff meetings) scheduled on their working days. Individual directed time calendars should reflect pro-rata allocations while maintaining equivalent opportunities for professional development.
2.2 Job Sharing
Definition: Two or more teachers sharing one full-time post, dividing hours and responsibilities proportionally.
Common Arrangements:
• Divided week (e.g., Monday-Wednesday / Thursday-Friday)
• Alternate weeks
• Morning/afternoon splits
• Any mutually agreed combination acceptable to management
Notable Example: Boxgrove Primary School in Surrey has successfully operated co-headteachers since 2015. The arrangement provides more energy for the role, time for reflection, and better work-life balance while maintaining strong leadership continuity.
Critical Success Factors:
• Funded overlap time for comprehensive handovers
• Total alignment between job share partners on ethos and approach
• Clear communication protocols and shared documentation systems
• Both partners present at parents’ evenings and key events
• Pro-rata attendance at staff meetings and INSET days
2.3 Compressed Hours
Definition: Working full-time hours condensed into fewer days per week.
Example Implementation: Oasis Shirley Park allows teachers to work four days per week (0.8 FTE) while maintaining similar responsibilities. Staff reported improved wellbeing without compromising teaching quality. Half of the mathematics department now works compressed hours.
Timetabling Solutions:
• Collaborative planning with timetablers and heads of department
• Split classes where two teachers share different groups
• Strategic scheduling of PPA time and non-contact periods
2.4 Flexible Start and Finish Times
Definition: Allowing employees to vary their start, finish, and break times while maintaining required teaching hours. This model accommodates caring responsibilities, medical appointments, and commuting patterns without reducing overall working time. Schools typically establish core hours when all staff must be present (e.g., 9:30am-3:00pm) while allowing flexibility outside these times.
2.5 Remote and Hybrid Working
Current Practice: Remote working in schools typically applies to non-teaching time rather than classroom delivery.
Common Applications:
• Planning, Preparation and Assessment (PPA) time completed at home
• Administrative staff working remotely for part of the week
• Leadership planning days conducted off-site
• Marking and assessment completed flexibly
Example: Bourne End Academy in Buckinghamshire schedules PPA as Period 5 every six weeks, allowing teachers one afternoon of off-site flexible working. Dixons Multi-Academy Trust is piloting remote PPA as part of their nine-day fortnight model.
2.6 Term-Time Only Working
Definition: Working only during school terms with unpaid leave during school holidays, typically for support staff rather than teachers.
Typical Arrangements:
• 38-39 working weeks plus pro-rata annual leave entitlement
• Salary paid in 12 equal monthly installments
• Annual leave taken during school holiday periods
Legal Consideration: Following the Brazel v Harpur Trust Supreme Court ruling, term-time workers’ annual leave entitlement should not be pro-rated. Schools must calculate leave based on statutory entitlement (5.6 weeks) rather than using the 12.07% calculation method.
Benefits: Addresses childcare challenges for working parents, improves recruitment and retention, allows workforce scaling to match demand peaks and troughs, and provides regular monthly income for better budgeting.
2.7 Annualised Hours
Definition: Working an agreed number of hours over a year with flexibility on when to work these hours. For example, working 1,500 hours annually with higher intensity during exam periods (40+ hours weekly) and reduced hours during quieter periods (20 hours weekly). This model provides both employer and employee with greater flexibility while ensuring total annual hours are fulfilled.
2.8 Phased Retirement
Definition: Gradually reducing working hours and responsibilities to transition from full-time work to retirement. This model retains experienced staff expertise while allowing succession planning. Teachers may reduce from 1.0 FTE to 0.8, then 0.6, then 0.4 over several years while maintaining pension contributions and mentoring newer staff.
3. Innovative Flexible Working Models
3.1 Four-Day Teaching Week
Model Description: Teaching delivered Monday-Thursday with Friday designated for planning, marking, and optional student support.
Case Study (South London Independent School):
• Pupils have Friday off supporting mental health and wellbeing
• Teachers work from home on Fridays for planning and marking
• Teachers available online for student support as needed
• Results: Overwhelmingly positive feedback, improved staff wellbeing, more energized teaching
3.2 Nine-Day Fortnight
Pilot: Dixons Multi-Academy Trust
Teachers receive one day off every two weeks as a genuine reduction in working hours, not compressed time. Implementation uses creative scheduling, dynamic pupil grouping, and increased PPA time without reducing pupil contact hours. CEO Luke Sparkes emphasizes this represents actual workload reduction rather than task compression.
Key Innovation: Remote PPA combined with flexible working arrangements allows one full day off every fortnight while maintaining educational quality.
3.3 Shared Leadership Roles
Application: Senior leadership team roles divided between two or more people, including headship positions.
Legal Framework: The Education Act 2002 requires maintained schools to have a headteacher at all times. This requirement can be met through two part-time contracts creating a job share, provided the headship is not vacant for any part of the week.
Benefits:
• Broader range of skills and expertise in leadership
• Reduced burnout and improved decision-making through shared responsibility
• Succession planning and leadership development opportunities
3.4 Personal and Family Days
Model: Schools provide a specific number of paid personal or family days per year for all employees. This ensures consistency and transparency in leave policies while recognizing that staff may need occasional term-time leave for significant personal matters. Typically 2-5 days annually, separate from statutory annual leave, with clear application procedures.
4. Implementation Framework
4.1 Developing a Flexible Working Policy
While schools are not legally required to have a flexible working policy, developing one is strongly recommended. As of November 2024, only 19% of teachers reported their school had such a policy, with a further 4% developing one.
Essential Policy Components:
• Clear outline of statutory rights under 2024 legislation
• Application process and timelines
• Types of flexible working available in the school
• Decision-making criteria and factors considered
• Appeals process for declined requests
• Performance management arrangements for flexible workers
• Review procedures and trial period arrangements
4.2 Whole-School Approach vs. Individual Requests
DfE Recommendation: Schools should consider flexible working at whole-school level rather than only responding to individual requests.
Proactive Strategies:
• Survey staff about flexibility needs and preferences
• Design solutions for wider groups rather than one-off arrangements
• Communicate optimal times for requests to align with timetabling cycles
• Review PPA scheduling and remote working arrangements
• Advertise all posts as potentially job-shareable unless specifically unsuitable
4.3 Addressing Timetabling Challenges
Timetabling is frequently cited as the primary barrier to flexible working. However, successful schools demonstrate this can be overcome through:
• Early consultation between teachers, heads of department, and timetablers
• Strategic deployment of split classes where appropriate
• Ensuring sufficient handover time for job share partners
• Maintaining continuity through consistent support staff allocation
• Designing timetables with flexibility built in from the start
4.4 Managing Performance and Professional Development
Part-time and flexible workers must receive equitable treatment under performance management systems:
• Objectives should be proportionate to contractual hours
• Shared objectives may be given to job sharers with individual responsibilities specified
• Professional development opportunities must be equally accessible
• Career progression pathways should remain open to all flexible workers
4.5 Cost Considerations and Resource Planning
Schools should consider the following financial implications:
• Funded overlap time for job share partners (typically 0.5-1 hour per week)
• Potential reduction in recruitment and induction costs through improved retention
• National Insurance and pension contributions for multiple part-time staff
• Administrative time for managing flexible working arrangements
5. Evidence of Impact
5.1 Benefits for Staff
• Improved work-life balance and reduced stress levels
• Enhanced wellbeing and mental health
• Ability to manage caring responsibilities
• Reduced burnout and increased job satisfaction
• Opportunities to develop additional skills or pursue other interests
5.2 Benefits for Schools
• Improved recruitment and retention of quality staff
• Access to wider talent pool including returners and experienced teachers
• Reduced absence and sickness rates
• Enhanced diversity in staffing and perspectives
• More energized and committed workforce
• Broader range of expertise through job sharing arrangements
5.3 Benefits for Pupils
• More energized and engaged teachers
• Greater teaching expertise through diverse staff
• Additional trusted adults available through job sharing
• Positive modeling of healthy work-life balance
5.4 Common Challenges and Mitigation Strategies
Challenge 1: Parental Concerns About Job Shares
Mitigation: Proactive communication highlighting benefits, evidence of successful implementations, and emphasis on continuity through proper handover procedures. Introduce job share partners jointly at key events.
Challenge 2: Continuity and Consistency Concerns
Mitigation: Ensure job share partners share ethos and approach, provide funded overlap time, maintain comprehensive shared documentation, and ensure both partners attend key meetings and events.
Challenge 3: Timetabling Complexity
Mitigation: Early planning, collaborative problem-solving with timetablers and departments, learning from schools with successful implementations, and designing flexibility into timetables from inception.
Challenge 4: Impact on Team Performance
Mitigation: Schedule meetings during core hours when all staff present, use technology for asynchronous communication, ensure part-time staff attend key meetings on their working days, and build team cohesion activities into the school calendar.
6. Support Services and Useful Contacts
6.1 Government Support Programmes
Flexible Working Ambassadors Programme
Launched by the Department for Education, this programme supports schools in adopting flexible working practices through peer-to-peer support and shared expertise.
• Website: flexibleworkingineducation.co.uk
• Access to webinars, case studies, and practical tools
• Self-assessment tool for current flexible working arrangements
Department for Education Resources
• Flexible Working in Schools: gov.uk/government/publications/flexible-working-in-schools
• Length of School Week Guidance: DfE non-statutory guidance (July 2023)
6.2 Trade Union Resources
National Education Union (NEU)
• Website: neu.org.uk
• Model flexible working policy available to members
• Directed time calculator and guidance
• Support for negotiating workplace policies
NASUWT
• Website: nasuwt.org.uk
• Directed time guidance and checklists for England
6.3 Specialist Organizations
Timewise
• Website: timewise.co.uk
• Flexible working guidance specifically for schools
• Template conversation guides for flexible working discussions
Working Families
• Website: workingfamilies.org.uk
• Legal advice on flexible working rights
• Support for parents balancing work and family responsibilities
ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service)
• Website: acas.org.uk
• General guidance on implementing flexible working
• Templates for flexible working requests and policies
6.4 Recruitment and Staffing Support
justteachers (Education Placement Group)
• Website: justteachers.co.uk
• Support for implementing job shares and flexible staffing solutions
Now Teach
• Website: nowteach.org.uk
• Information on part-time teacher training and careers
6.5 Legal and HR Advisory Services
Edapt
• Website: edapt.org.uk
• HR and legal advice for schools on employment matters
CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development)
• Website: cipd.org
• HR in Schools and Academies community forums
7. Key Recommendations for School Leaders
7.1 Strategic Approach
• Develop a whole-school flexible working policy that aligns with statutory requirements
• Conduct staff surveys to understand flexibility needs and preferences
• Design flexibility into roles from inception rather than retrofitting
• Advertise all posts as potentially job-shareable unless specifically unsuitable
7.2 Cultural Change
• Normalize flexible working rather than treating it as exceptional
• Ensure senior leaders model flexible working where appropriate
• Celebrate successful flexible working arrangements and share learning
• Challenge assumptions about presence equating to productivity
7.3 Practical Implementation
• Involve timetablers early in flexible working discussions
• Fund adequate handover time for job share partners
• Implement robust communication systems for flexible teams
• Ensure equitable access to professional development
• Regularly review and adjust arrangements based on feedback
7.4 Monitoring and Evaluation
• Track uptake of flexible working arrangements
• Monitor staff wellbeing, retention, and satisfaction metrics
• Evaluate impact on pupil outcomes and school performance
• Gather regular feedback from staff, pupils, and parents
8. Conclusion
Flexible working is no longer a peripheral consideration but a central workforce strategy for English schools. With enhanced statutory rights from April 2024 and clear evidence of benefits for recruitment, retention, and staff wellbeing, schools that embrace flexibility position themselves competitively in an increasingly challenging employment landscape.
The evidence demonstrates that flexible working, when properly implemented, does not compromise educational quality. Rather, it can enhance teaching effectiveness through improved staff wellbeing, broader expertise, and more energized educators. The key to success lies in proactive planning, whole-school approaches, and cultural commitment to flexibility as a core value rather than an exceptional accommodation.
Schools that have successfully implemented flexible working share common characteristics: leadership commitment, collaborative problem-solving, adequate resourcing for handover time, and willingness to challenge traditional assumptions about presence and productivity. As the Flexible Working Ambassadors Programme and government initiatives expand support, schools have unprecedented access to expertise, tools, and peer networks to facilitate implementation.
The future of education depends on attracting and retaining excellent teachers. Flexible working is not merely a concession to changing social norms but a strategic imperative for building resilient, effective, and sustainable school workforces capable of delivering outstanding education for all pupils.
9. Key References and Further Reading
Department for Education (2024). Flexible Working in Schools. Available at: gov.uk/government/publications/flexible-working-in-schools
Department for Education (2023). Length of the School Week: Non-Statutory Guidance. London: DfE.
Department for Education (2024). School and College Voice: November 2024. Available at: gov.uk/government/publications
Flexible Working in Education (2025). Resources and Support for Schools. Available at: flexibleworkingineducation.co.uk
National Education Union (2024). Flexible Working Model Policy. Available at: neu.org.uk
ACAS (2024). Types of Flexible Working. Available at: acas.org.uk/implementing-flexible-working
Chartered College of Teaching (2021). How Job-Sharing Can Broaden and Balance the Primary Curriculum. Impact Journal.