Picture a teacher. She is an exceptional teacher of 20 years, who achieves the highest outcomes and has never had a day off during term time. She loves tennis and wants, just once, to go to Wimbledon. So she asks for a day off. Should a headteacher allow this?
The conversation around flexible working has gained momentum - and for good reason. The recruitment and retention crisis is ongoing. And, according to the National Foundation for Educational Research’s latest , a lack of access to flexible working arrangements may be contributing to teachers leaving the profession.
So how can we limit the exodus?
As a flexible working ambassador school, we were appointed to support school leaders in implementing flexible working.
Here lies the most significant learning of this programme - not the technicalities of timetabling, split classes or part-time contracts, but mindsets. If flexible working is about the act of giving teachers more control over when, where and how much they work, then one of the simplest ideas from one of our participant schools might provide a strategy.
Crucially, the idea - called “trading to flex” - is not about handing out unlimited time off, but building something that benefits everyone.
Flexible working for teachers
The large secondary school created a system allowing colleagues to take one day off per year during term time, provided they have first contributed to the cover bank. The teacher offers to cover, in their subject area, the same number of lessons they would miss for the day. If enough teachers come forward in the subject area, there is no lost learning and lessons are taught by subject specialists.
The school receives the request, approves it if it meets the rules, and banks the teacher cover time to use. Boundaries are clear, with no trading-to-flex days during the last week of term, or during key events like parents’ evenings. The teacher must accept any cover assigned to them - that’s just part of the deal. And emergency absence procedures still apply as normal.
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Under this system, the teacher of 20 years went to see the match. The point here is not about a day off - she just traded her work. In doing this, the school recognised something that was meaningful to her but protected the teaching that needed to be delivered.
Another colleague used a day to take their child to Edinburgh to look at university accommodation.
Colleagues reported a boost to their wellbeing. The day allowed individuals to engage in activities that would typically be inaccessible. Having control over when and how to use the day created a sense of autonomy. The staffroom felt more energised, with teachers openly supporting each other to make time off possible.
When to say no
At times, the school has to say no. For example, it received a request for a day off during the busiest week of the year - exam preparation season - and declined because of the impact it would have on students. In another case, a colleague asked for back-to-back days, which fell outside the one-day limit.
In another participant school, the response was so overwhelmingly positive that colleagues were asking if the scheme could be extended to a week. This raises a question about tipping points and moves the initiative from the simplicity of its conception. One traded day seems to have little impact. Going beyond it raises questions about how a teacher can trade this volume of work, and becomes a term-time leave request.
There are also roles for which it is harder to accommodate requests. But with enough notice, the school has found that even they can sometimes be managed through thoughtful planning. Overall, the school reduced the need for external supply cover by using flexible internal arrangements more efficiently, making the initiative cost-neutral and sustainable.
Shifting mindsets
The teacher of 20 years who went to Wimbledon felt valued and is much less likely to be one of those great teachers that the profession will lose.
But the benefit of trading to flex is more significant. This is about a culture and mindset change. It is about showing teachers that they matter, not just as professionals but as people. A small policy shift can go a long way in creating something that nourishes everyone.
Neil Renton is the headteacher of Harrogate Grammar School in the Red Kite Learning Trust and author of New School Leader: What Now? Learn more about the Flexible Working Support Programme at
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