Teachers at a west London school can sleep in and savour a fry-up after they were given two periods off every week in a move dubbed the 鈥淗oly Grail of recruitment and retention鈥. Andrew O鈥橬eill, the headteacher of , said teachers should be treated like 鈥渆lite athletes鈥 who needed a lot of rest so they could excel at what could be an 鈥渆xhausting鈥 job. 鈥楾he retention Holy Grail?鈥 From this week, teachers at the local-authority overseen school can arrive at school at 10.45am one day a week 鈥 although pupils still have the same number of lessons, taught by the same teachers. Andrew ONeill O鈥橬eill said the school could afford the change because it was 鈥渇unded well in the [national funding] formula鈥 because of its 鈥渞eally difficult circumstances鈥 鈥 but also because it did not have its income sliced by an academy trust. The policy is the culmination of a three-part strategy that started in 2019 as the school started to grow and, with it, its budget. The number of lessons teachers were allocated was slashed and class sizes reduced. Step three was timetabling to offer something 鈥渟emi-flexible to staff鈥. 鈥淭his is the Holy Grail in terms of teaching recruitment and retention,鈥 O鈥漀eill said. The latest Department fort Education data shows nearly a third of teachers leave the profession within five years, while the workforce grew by just 259 full-time equivalent teachers last year Teachers on two-thirds timetable Teachers at All Saints now teach 20 lessons a week out of a possible 30 鈥 typically down by about five or six lessons compared with 2016 when O鈥橬eill took over. And in the past couple of years most class sizes have reduced from 30 to 22 pupils. Ajay Narisetti For a teacher with six classes, that鈥檚 10 books fewer per class or 60 fewer to mark in total. Ajay Narisetti, head of RE, has time off every Wednesday. This week he took his daughter to her first day at secondary school, grabbed a coffee and read the news before his start time. Teachers have hit the 鈥渏ackpot鈥 with the policy, he said. Others planned lie-ins or gym classes. But as department for Education survey found more than half of teachers did not think flexible working was compatible with a career in teaching. It is also difficult for schools to fit around timetables 鈥 and it鈥檚 expensive. To timetable the new policy, All Saints moved tutor time to afternoons, when all teachers are in. Statutory morning roll call is now done by those teaching period one. How can the school afford it? The school has not costed the new policy, said O鈥橬eill, because it鈥 was 鈥渉ard to quantify as a separate piece鈥 from smaller class sizes and lighter timetables. The school鈥檚 annual budget is about 拢9 million after pupil numbers leapt from 394 to 900 in recent years. It has the 210th highest per pupil funding of just over 3,000 secondary schools in the funding formula allocation data 鈥 putting it in the top 10 per cent. However, it spends about 80 per cent on staff, although government guidance says staffing costs over 80 per cent of income are 鈥渃onsidered high鈥. Seventy per cent is more usual. Staffing costs ran at about 77 per cent of budget in previous years, but are up as a result of taking on extra teachers to whittle down class sizes, O鈥橬eill said. In 2016, All Saints had 32 teachers. It now has 69. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been working towards this for about five or six years and slowly ensuring our budget can cope with it. You can鈥檛 jump to this all in one go.鈥 Pupil make-up also makes it feasible with pupil premium funding for about half of pupils, while 27 per cent have SEND and 10 per cent have education health and care plans 鈥 attracting more cash. The teacher workforce is also relatively young. Flexible working becomes popular A Department for Education survey showed the proportion of teachers and leaders with flexible working arrangements rose from 40 per cent in 2022 to 46 per cent in 2023. The proportion of teachers granted ad-hoc requests to start work late or finish early rose from 7 to 14 per cent. O鈥橬eill said he could not afford the changes if his school were an academy. Kensington and Chelsea Council takes about 拢70,000 in de-delegation funds from his budget annually. 鈥淎cademies are currently taking about 4.25 per cent top slice 鈥 and that鈥檚 generous 鈥 which would be 拢382,500. 鈥淪o, I鈥檓 saving about 拢300,000 a year by not being an academy鈥 which allows me to do things like offer flexible working to my staff.鈥 The Kreston accountancy group found the average top-slice among large trusts stood at 5.4 per cent. But trust chiefs say running more services in-house 鈥 such as estates management and IT 鈥 frees up time for headteachers, as well as providing more cash for their schools. O鈥橬eill鈥檚 said the trust system had 鈥渂rought about lots of good鈥. 鈥淏ut maintained schools have their strengths as well. And the strengths that I鈥檝e got here is autonomy and the ability to be innovative and show what can be done.鈥
Patrick Obikwu 21 September 2024 In the ongoing debate on teacher recruitment, retention, and the improvement of education quality, I believe the issues are more profound and interconnected than commonly addressed. After 35 years as a competitor and coach in fitness and self-defense (Karate), I transitioned into teaching in 2000, earning UK Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) as a science teacher in 2003. With over two decades of experience in a challenging inner-city secondary school, I feel equipped to contribute to this perennial issue鈥攐ne that was already being discussed when I entered the profession. In my view, the fundamental problems that the Department for Education (DfE), in its various forms under different governments, has failed to tackle include: Curriculum Reform: There is a pressing need to introduce and make compulsory subjects like ethics, philosophy, stoicism, civics, social responsibility, and character development. These subjects could help foster well-rounded individuals. School Culture: What is the prevailing culture in UK secondary schools? A focus on values, respect, and purpose should be at the heart of this conversation. Purpose of Schools: We must clearly define the goals of education. What are schools aiming to impart to students beyond academics? Student Attitudes: Many students seem indifferent toward their education, often displaying minimal effort for maximum results. This culture of nonchalance hinders meaningful learning. Leadership: There is a shortage of high-caliber, principled leaders in schools. Instead, leadership roles are often filled by mediocre educators, which undermines the potential for real progress. Discipline: A glaring lack of self-discipline, self-respect, and self-esteem among students is pervasive. Addressing this is key to creating a productive learning environment. Overemphasis on Certification: The educational system has become obsessed with certification, conflating it with true education. This misalignment needs to be corrected. Teacher Workload: Excessive workloads are crippling teachers, leading to burnout, mental health issues, and physical ailments. This must be addressed to retain skilled educators. These issues are interwoven, and only by addressing them holistically can we hope to improve both teacher retention and the overall quality of education. I have written about these issues in the past but it appears not to find resonance with the powers that be!!!