How can flexible working conditions, such as job-shares, improve the recruitment and retention of teachers? Caroline Cafferty speaks to headteacher Angela Pagett to get her perspective on job-sharing in a primary school setting

Henley Green Primary School in Coventry has taken a positive stance on flexible working – offering staff the opportunity to work reduced or part-time hours. The approach has led to more amicable relations between staff and the school, as well as greater retention of teachers.

Headteacher Angela Pagett explained: “At our school there are several staff members who have job-share arrangements or work in a part-time or more flexible manner. Some of these arrangements are in response to family commitments, others are career or lifestyle choices.

“Staff who have returned from maternity leave and have requested reduced or part-time hours have largely been granted these arrangements. We have allowed flexible working conditions for main scale teachers, upper pay scale (UPS) teachers, teaching and learning responsibility (TLR) teachers and even assistant headteachers, and we currently have one job-share in place.

Register now, read forever

Thank you for visiting Headteacher Update and reading some of our content for professionals in primary education. Register now for free to get unlimited access to all content.

What's included:

  • Unlimited access to news, best practice articles and podcasts

  • New content and e-bulletins delivered straight to your inbox every Monday

Register

Already have an account? Sign in here