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Two schools are trialling a four-day teaching week to boost ailing recruitment and retention, with one head saying 鈥測oga or free biscuits鈥� just aren鈥檛 enough anymore.

Court Moor School, a secondary in Hampshire, will launch a 拢300,000 two-year trial from September for all teachers to teach four days, but continue to receive full-time pay 

St Philip Howard Catholic Primary in Hertfordshire launched a similar scheme earlier this week, allowing staff one day a week off timetable for planning, preparation and assessment (PPA) and subject leader tasks. 

Paul Jenkins, head of Court Moor School, said it had tried everything from an extra paid day off a year to free yoga classes and health checks.

The schemes come as recruitment numbers plunge, with teachers left behind in the rise of flexible working since Covid (see graph).

An extra five teachers have been recruited, including a maths and a geography teacher attracted by the new flexibility.  

The school will cut the number of classes per week for teachers from about 26 each to 20. 

鈥淏ut they don鈥檛 address the fundamental issue. When you鈥檝e got great staff, you need to make it somewhere they want to stay. It鈥檚 not about yoga or free biscuits 鈥� it鈥檚 about having less time in the classroom.鈥� 

But the amount of work teachers already do outside school hours means staff will not get a full day off. 

The government鈥檚 recent survey found the average working week for teachers was 48.7 hours. 

Jenkins said staff could use their non-teaching day for admin tasks or complete them on the other four evenings. 

Extra teachers recruited for scheme

St Philip Howard has also employed an extra full-time and part-time teacher for its scheme, which will run until the end of the next academic year.

Staff must be in school on their 鈥渁dmin day鈥�, however. Mair茅ad Waugh, its head, said the scheme aimed to 鈥渂uild up flexibility鈥� We鈥檙e working towards [them being able to] drop the children off at school or get that elusive dentist or doctor鈥檚 appointment.鈥� 

The schemes will cost Court Moor about 拢150,000 and St Philip Howard 拢60,124 a year. 

Jenkins said Court Moor had been 鈥減rudent鈥� and had reduced capital spending. The extra 拢2.3 billion, announced in the autumn statement, had made the move a 鈥減ossibility鈥�.

Waugh said St Philip Howard had raised additional funds through regularly renting out its building. 

Suzanne Beckley, the National Education Union鈥檚 policy specialist, said unfunded pay rises, record inflation and soaring energy costs would be 鈥渢he main barrier鈥� to such schemes in many schools. 

Schools spend about 拢26.8 billion on teaching staff each year, so cover to allow all teachers in England to teach for four days a week would cost about 拢5.36 billion extra. 

It would also put more pressure on recruitment as more staff would be needed.

鈥淭he question isn鈥檛 really whether it鈥檚 had an effect or not, it鈥檚 whether it鈥檚 financially sustainable,鈥� Jenkins said.

DfE wants improved flexible working

Improving flexible working in schools is a key part of the DfE鈥檚 teacher recruitment and retention strategy, launched in 2019. 

Earlier this year, it awarded outsourcing company Capita a 拢768,000 contract to run a national programme promoting flexibility across schools and multi-academy trusts. 

The government鈥檚 working lives survey shows that, as of last year, fewer than half of teachers had some kind of flexible working 鈥� with working part-time being the most popular.

Data from the shows that the pandemic did not substantively affect the prevalence of home-working for teachers. 

But the proportion of similar graduates who reported mainly working from home increased rapidly from about 15 per cent in 2018-19 to 44 per cent in 2021-22. 

Teach First has called for a funded 20 per cent reduction in teacher classroom timetables in schools serving the most disadvantaged areas in a bid to make them more 鈥渃ompetitive employers鈥�. 

Jack Kellam, a researcher at thinktank Autonomy 鈥� which has previously touted shortened weeks for schools 鈥� said it was important to have 鈥渕ore ambitious policies in place in education鈥� or be left behind. 

Teacher Tapp data shows that in January 2018, 42 per cent of teachers said they would choose the profession again if given the option.

When asked the same question this month, just 23 per cent said they would. 

鈥淔lexible working allows for a life and the more it becomes a standard in industry, the more Victorian education looks in comparison,鈥� Kellam said. 

The DfE was contacted for comment.