Teach Primary Issue 18.5

• Do you support teaching and learning so that feedback both enables and empowers staff to positively drive the curriculum? A visible difference Anyone visiting a school should be able to both feel and identify a school’s culture from the moment they drive into the school grounds. This culture should then manifest itself in the shared beliefs, routines, norms and traditions that are visible across the school. The overall level of expectations and how people – all people – behave is another important representation of the culture generated in a school. The artefacts across the school serve as a visual representation to reinforce the culture. It’s important to consider the following questions: • What do you want the culture of your school to say about the type of school that you are? • What do you want people to think your school stands for? • How will you ensure that your culture is lived and breathed? That last question is critical. Whilst arguably you can flip a school on its head quite swiftly, and for the better, it takes time to develop, teach and embed the culture that you want. Culture drives so many elements of school life. A positive culture will support learning, wellbeing, workload, positive behaviour, character and attendance. Crucially, it has a huge impact on pupil attainment. Whilst we can argue that school life is more than a set of academic outcomes, we also need to be realistic – a strong set of GCSEs and post-16 outcomes serve as an invaluable set of keys that open up the doors of opportunity for our children. It also goes without saying that schools where pupils consistently achieve strong outcomes across multiple subjects invariably have teachers who consistently adhere to and uphold the culture of the school. So, a challenge for leaders is to consider how clear, purposeful and easy to understand the culture of their Flex appeal Demand for flexible working has increased significantly since Covid, and more people than ever are looking for roles that provide work/life balance. Flexible working is particularly important to certain demographics, such as working parents and unpaid carers, but broader research shows that Generation X and Y see remote, hybrid and flexible working as important benefits and accept the trade-off with salary. Generation Z (born 2001– today) workers expect – even demand – these from employers. It’s therefore prudent to appeal to these potential candidates, particularly as teacher and school leadership vacancies are two thirds higher than pre-pandemic levels, and competition is growing for good-quality hires. Traditionally, schools have been cautious about flexible working. Minimum staffing levels, legal ratios and set timetables create a rigid structure seemingly at odds with the demands of flexible working. But by adopting a more flexible approach to working patterns and locations, it’s possible to not only attract applications from a wider pool of candidates, but also improve the work/life balance and wellbeing of existing staff and retain more experienced team members. YOUR FLEXIBLE WORKING JOURNEY If you haven’t considered flexible working options before, use these three questions to consider how each role at your school could be done differently: • How is the work done? • Where is the work done? • When is the work done? A headteacher role has always been considered a full-time position but ‘how’ this job is delivered can evolve. I’ve seen examples of schools hiring an experienced head part-time, so that the leadership team benefits from their expertise while the head reduces their hours before they retire. Job-shares are another way to change up the ‘how’. I know of schools in one locality that share a maintenance/grounds person, as they’ve struggled individually to fill it as a full-time role. For teachers and teaching assistants, the ‘where’ will almost certainly be the classroom, but perhaps there are opportunities to do PPA and administrative tasks at home, or for senior leadership to work from home once a week to catch up on admin or planning. ‘When’ work is done is somewhat restricted by the school day and timetable, but there can still be flexibility. Allowing teaching assistants to start later and finish earlier to work around their own children’s schooling might be an option. Back office and reception staff could work compressed hours, where they do the same hours but in fewer days. At a time when every business and organisation is struggling to recruit, and in light of the recent focus from the DfE on improving teacher workload and wellbeing, flexible working is a must-have for attracting new people into education, while helping to stop experienced and enthusiastic people leaving the profession. Lucy Makins is the schools recruitment manager for HFL Education. 38 | www.teachwire.net