Campaigners have urged the Government to introduce a four-day working week in schools across England and Wales, saying it would boost teacher wellbeing, retention and recruitment rates.
The 4 Day Week Foundation has written to the Education Secretary calling for schools to be given more autonomy over shorter working weeks, saying the government will not be able to meet its manifesto promise to recruit 6,500 new teachers without the change.
It comes after the Scottish Government last week announced new proposals for teachers to be able to work a “flexible” four-day teaching week, which would give them one day a week to focus on work such as preparation and marking.
Recently published government guidance for England states that “all state-funded schools should remain open and educate pupils five days a week, mornings and afternoons”, and although the government has supported more flexible working, it has resisted calls to formally introduce a four-day week for teachers.
James Reeves, campaign manager for the 4 Day Week Foundation, said: “Teachers are burning out at unprecedented rates. The four-day week is not about doing less – it is about working smarter, protecting staff wellbeing and ultimately improving outcomes for students.
“It is time for bold leadership and evidence-driven four-day school week trials to show what a modern, sustainable education system could look like.”
The foundation’s letter to Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said there is a body of research showing that shorter working weeks can reduce fatigue, improve productivity and support a better work-life balance, which would particularly benefit a sector struggling with unprecedented pressures on staff.
Earlier this year, teacher vacancies in England hit a record high, with the National Foundation for Education Research saying pupil behavior was one of the fastest-growing contributors to teacher workload since the pandemic and class sizes growing due to staff shortages.
According to the Department for Education, almost the same number of teachers in England left the profession as joined it last year.
The campaign group said schools should be given the right to trial different timetables, including a “controlled four-day school week trial” to provide relief to teachers and support staff, and generate data on how this could improve teaching quality and school performance.
“Principals do not need government permission to explore new working arrangements,” Reeves said. “Legally, they have the flexibility to move forward. We need to find solutions to the recruitment and retention crisis so young people can have some stability in their schools.”
Many schools in the UK have already started experimenting with shorter school weeks, including the four-day week, the 4.5-day week and the nine-day fortnight.
In September, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, called for more flexibility to allow all full-time teachers to work from home one day a week.
The Education Secretary has also previously said she believes state school teachers in England should be given the right to work away from the classroom on lesson preparation, marking and assessment of pupils.
The issue of contact hours has become a major issue in Scotland, where teachers have elected to take strike action over what union leaders have described as “crippling” workloads. The Scottish National Party pledged to reduce the maximum weekly classroom contact time for teachers from 22.5 hours to 21 hours in 2021.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Last year saw the lowest teacher attrition rate since 2010, and we are committed to tackling the challenges of recruitment and retention.
“We support schools to offer flexible working to their staff, whilst ensuring every child gets great learning throughout the school week. That’s why we’re funding a program to embed flexible working within schools and expand these opportunities.”
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