Juggling multiple priorities is a constant challenge, and sometimes flexibility is the key to keeping staff both grounded and productive – Conny Brandt explains what this can look like in schools and trusts
The DfE’s guidance on flexible working in schools states that “schools and multi-academy trusts are encouraged to adopt a flexible working policy which responds to the needs of the staff, and the employer, to address the challenges to flexible working in their school.”
Flexible working undoubtedly has many benefits, such as better work-life balance and being able to fit around family commitments. But in a workplace that runs largely on timetables and on staff working with pupils, what does this look like in practice?
At my school, we try to facilitate flexible working arrangements whenever possible. I have tried to cover a range of types suitable for different roles, but any of these can work for school business professionals!
Part Time Hours
We have quite a few staff who work part time. Where possible, we encourage job share arrangements – where two staff essentially fill one post between them. However, we also have several staff who do not share a role directly but work in different classes on different days. This does have an impact, e.g. increased recruitment costs, part time staff not always being aware of everything going on, and less consistency for pupils. But the main point for us is that we would rather have a member of staff in school for three or four days, when they are feeling positive and fit for work, than for five days when they are stressed and over-worked. Ultimately, we would rather have a good member of staff in for some of the time, than lose them altogether.
Condensed Hours
For some roles, condensed hours (also known as compressed hours) may be a viable option – this means working full time hours, but over fewer days. For example, we have therapists at school, who spend some of their time in classes and some of it on administrative tasks such as writing reports. In this role, it’s possible to start early and finish late, using that time for the admin elements of the job, and work with classes during the main part of the day. This then enables staff to have an extra day where they are not in work.
Flexitime
For some of our staff (such as SLT members), we don’t have set and finish times. Everyone is required to be in during the main school hours, but beyond those, individual working hours can vary depending on preference and individual agreements. I like to get in early, and get home at a reasonable time, whereas others get in later but stay later. Our teaching assistants have some time outside of the timetable that can be worked flexibly every week – for meetings, recording, online training etc.
Hybrid Working
Working from home for some of the time can make a huge difference! I currently get one day per week to work from home, which is helping me manage my workload, and means I have dedicated time when I can focus on bigger, more strategic projects. Our teachers have the option to take their non-contact time from home. And if someone was to decide to spend that time doing something other than working? Then it means that they will have to complete their work at another time, when their colleagues might be off – as long as all the work gets done and to a good standard, we don’t monitor exactly what gets done when.
Time Out for Personal Reasons
This is not really a flexible working arrangement, but something that still fits under the work-life balance heading. I am conscious that all the arrangements described here work better for some roles than others, and that it is hard to be completely fair to all staff, when working directly with pupils is such as essential element of the role for many staff. However, one thing that we try to accommodate for every member of staff, is to allow time out of school to attend their children’s concerts or special assemblies. We don’t provide cover for these occasions – staff arrange with their colleagues who can cover for them (or whether the class can briefly manage without them), and they are expected to keep the time they are out for to a minimum. It enables our staff to be there for those priceless moments in their children’s lives, and staff feedback tells us how much this is appreciated.
Working in education is very demanding, but having a range of flexible working arrangements available really can make it much more manageable, support recruitment and retention and boost staff morale.
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