Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Recommendation 56
56
Acknowledged
Paragraph: 228
Commission research into flexible working's impact on pupils, teacher retention and school finances.
Recommendation
The Department should commission research into the impact flexibility has on teaching and learning for pupils as well as teacher retention. Further research is also needed into the resource and financial implications of flexible working arrangements on the school budgets.
Government Response Summary
The government states it is continuously building its flexible working evidence base through ongoing data collections and has published research on costs and benefits. It will monitor its funded flexible working programme, interview stakeholders, and consider future opportunities for research, including the STRB's views.
Paragraph Reference:
228
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
Whilst it is difficult to isolate the impact which flexibility has on either teaching and learning for pupils or teacher retention, we are continuously working to build our flexible working evidence base through our ongoing data collections. In 2023, the Department published research exploring the perceived financial and non-financial costs and benefits of teachers and leaders working flexibly. An overriding theme was that the benefits of flexible working were generally seen to outweigh the costs, as leaders felt that flexible working helped retain good staff and improved teacher wellbeing, which was perceived to ultimately lead to better pupil outcomes. We continue to monitor our funded flexible working programme and build our evidence on its effectiveness. We plan to interview stakeholders to explore what has worked well and identify areas for improvement as well as look at the profile of schools that have been supported. We remain close to wider research, including projects run by the Education Endowment Foundation to understand the impact of PPA time offsite and a 9-day fortnight for teachers. Findings will help inform our future policy work. The Secretary of State has also asked for the STRB’s views on how the current pay framework can best support flexible working, which will help to build our wider understanding of potential barriers to implementation. We will continue to consider future opportunities for research.