Remote Teaching Option for UK Educators Gains Support from Education Secretary

UK Teachers Should Be Allowed to Work from Home, Education Secretary Says

Vickie Johnson‘s decision to leave her 15-year teaching career was a difficult one. She had been working as a deputy headteacher at a small primary school in Greater Manchester, putting in exhausting 60-hour weeks. When she became pregnant with her son, she realized that she wouldn’t be able to see him if she continued on this path.

Johnson tried negotiating a switch to part-time employment after maternity leave, but was met with resistance from her employer. She was offered the option to return full-time, which would have meant continuing the long hours she had grown accustomed to, or nothing at all. With great regret, Johnson chose the latter and left what she described as “an amazing 15-year teaching career.”

Johnson’s story is sadly familiar to many women in their 30s who are trying to balance parenting with the demands of teaching. Last year, over 9,000 women between the ages of 30 and 39 left teaching, citing the inability to juggle childcare responsibilities with the long hours required by schools.

The Need for Flexible Working

Johnson is pleased that the government is moving towards encouraging more flexible working arrangements for teachers. “I now feel sure this is a big part of the picture if they are going to turn around the crisis in keeping and recruiting teachers,” she said.

In fact, Johnson had already implemented flexible working policies at her previous school, allowing teachers to work from home for half a day a week to do lesson planning and marking. However, after six months, the policy was phased out due to concerns that teachers might be wasting time.

A Culture Change is Needed

Johnson believes that headteachers, governors, and academy trusts need to feel pressure to adapt to more flexible working arrangements. “What we need isn’t just new policy, it’s a total culture change,” she said. “Otherwise, it’s like we are saying that we don’t care if thousands of experienced and talented mothers in their 30s won’t stay in teaching.”

Johnson is currently researching a doctorate on flexible working on leadership in primary schools, speaking to leaders who have implemented condensed hours, job-sharing, and other flexible arrangements. She remains frustrated that even a nationwide recruitment and retention crisis doesn’t seem to be driving wholesale change.

Ultimately, Johnson’s story highlights the need for a fundamental shift in the way teaching is approached. By allowing teachers to work from home and adopting more flexible working arrangements, schools can attract and retain experienced and talented educators like Johnson, who are often forced out of the profession due to inflexibility.