Teachers get extra day off a fortnight for morale

Head’s pioneering scheme could become norm in schools

TEACHERS at a Solihull school were left gobsmacked after the head teacher announced he was rolling out a pioneering scheme to give them an extra day off every fortnight.

It looks set to radically change the working and personal lives of staff at St Peter’s Catholic School in Solihull.

It is the first school in the West Midlands to roll out the trial.

Head teacher Stuart Shelton took the drastic move to encourage staff to stay in their roles, and to attract new talent after one of the school’s job adverts received no applications at all.

Mr Shelton decided to take action after a resigning staff member told him they needed more flexibility to stay in the profession.

He explained that despite being in a competitive borough with high performing schools, staff were still struggling.

But the school’s 1,350 pupils won’t feel any difference in how they are taught, and a tightly organised rota means there will be no reduction in teaching levels in the classroom.

Mr Shelton said: “I had just noticed over time the number of applications being received going down. From 2021 to 2022 there were 40,000 teachers who left the profession.

“That is almost nine per cent of the workforce and it doesn’t include those teachers retiring. It used to not be a problem in subjects like PE.

“We are an outstanding school and we have had no applications for jobs. Solihull is a fairly competitive market. Imagine what it’s like for inner-city schools in Birmingham.

“I had to think of a different way to attract staff to the school and retain our staff. We’ve had a massive push on staff wellbeing.”

He added that teachers missed out on that flexibility afforded to many workers during Covid, because they simply could not work from home.

Mr Shelton explained that often teachers will dedicate their Sunday evenings to marking and planning for the week, but by giving them this extra day, they should get time back with their families and friends.

“If you are working from home you do have some flexibility.

“I have had teachers come to me and say they are leaving to do a job with the local authority so they can manage their own time. Teachers used to stay in the profession for 30 years.”

He added that in order to make the scheme work, teachers must commit to having the same day off each fortnight.

He told us that staff had no idea the announcement was coming – but it has been received well.

The new scheme will come into effect from the new academic year in September. Staff will be reduced to 45 lessons rather than 50 a fortnight.

St Peter’s used to offer an enhanced PPA offering (time allotted to teachers for planning and preparation). To accommodate the new changes, their PPA time has been reduced to the statutory allowance.

The day-off option is only available to teaching staff, not teaching assistants, senior leadership or other school staff members, and only fulltime staff can take part

Mr Shelton said: “Morale was good at the end of term when I announced it. It was completely brand new information to them. They were shocked, taken aback, surprised.”

While the scheme is only open to full-time teaching staff, he is looking at the possibility of amending it to include senior leadership team.

“I may do a trial for them working from home,” Mr Shelton added.

He explained that usually this time in the year is when people would hand in their notice, but there has been a marked drop in numbers of teachers doing that.

News of the scheme has travelled fast, with other schools from across the country getting in touch with St Peter’s to find out more.

Mr Shelton said: “Lots of trusts have come up to ask how we have gone about it.

“My hope is that this will make people think about not leaving.”

We are an outstanding school and we have had no applications for jobs Head teacher Stuart Shelton