Could a nine-day working fortnight boost teacher retention? New research project aims to find out

The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) has today launched three new research projects to investigate different ways to address the teacher recruitment and retention crisis in England.  

The first project, led by Ambition Institute, will investigate if a nine-day working fortnight – where staff have an extra day off once a fortnight – can have a positive impact on retention.

This project will work with Dixons Academies Trust, who moved to a nine-day working fortnight at the start of this school year across the 17 schools in their trust. The first phase of this project will include interviews with leaders and teachers to understand the benefits and challenges of implementing a nine-day working fortnight.  

Flexible employment arrangements are being used in many industries to recruit and retain staff, yet they can be difficult to accommodate in education settings. Last year, an EEF evidence review identified flexible working as a possible solution to recruiting and retaining teachers. However, the review also highlighted school leaders’ concerns around the strain it could put on school budgets, and possible lack of consistency for pupils.  

Today’s new research projects will add to the evidence base on the impact of flexible working approaches, as well as the most effective methods of implementing them.  

The second project, led by researchers from the IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society and the Chartered College of Teaching, will explore the perceived impact on teacher retention when schools encourage teachers’ planning, preparation, and assessment (PPA) time to be taken offsite rather than on school premises.  

Teachers are currently entitled to at least 10 per cent of their time for autonomous PPA where they are able to plan lessons and mark pupils’ work but most currently complete this onsite at school. Flexible working could be improved by giving teachers the option to spend this time remotely and ensuring school timetables enable this.

The EEF said this project, conducted across primary schools, will help to understand the barriers and enablers for schools’ and teachers’ uptake of this measure, contributions to teachers’ well-being and job satisfaction, and any potential implications on teaching quality and pupil learning.  

Off-site PPA is often one of the most straightforward ways for schools to enable a more supportive working environment for teachers, according to  the EEF. This study aims to build the evidence base for this approach and its potential impact on teacher retention.

A third project, led by Teacher Tapp, will use their app to identify strategies that are most likely to be effective in attracting teachers to schools with high levels of socio-economic disadvantage.  

Today’s new projects have been commissioned as part of the EEF’s flagship research theme: supporting the recruitment and retention of teachers to schools with high levels of socio-economically disadvantaged pupils.  

 The latest Department of Education data has revealed that over the last twelve years, over 40,000 teachers left the profession after just one year of teaching, with this figure rising to 63,000 after three years. The EEF said recruitment and retention issues are often exacerbated for schools serving higher levels of disadvantaged pupils, so identifying solutions is key for supporting education equality.

Commenting on the projects, Emily Yeomans, co-chief executive at the Education Endowment Foundation, said: “There is no denying that recruitment and retention is one of the biggest issues currently facing the English school system. This is why we have made it one of our flagship research themes, reflecting the important role it has in improving our education system and our commitment to funding research to address key issues.

“We know that when it comes to good educational outcomes, one of the most important factors is good quality teaching. So until we have solid approaches to address recruitment and retention, built on evidence, we will continue to see great teachers leaving the profession and young people’s education suffering as a result. We cannot hope to close the attainment gap without addressing the recruitment and retention crisis too.

 “The launch of these exciting projects today should help us to build a far better picture of how important flexible working is to a supported, motivated teaching workforce who are more likely to stay in the profession. We look forward to seeing the initial results of these projects next year.”

 Hilary Spencer, CEO of Ambition Institute, said, “Many professions have changed their working arrangements in recent years, and we need to understand whether and how best we can offer more flexibility to teachers.  

“We are delighted to work with Dixons Academies Trust to research innovative solutions to flexible working in the system.  We hope this project will capture some of the opportunities and implementation methods that could be effective in enabling many more schools to offer more flexible working.  

“We hope this can make a strong contribution to helping recruit and retain teachers in schools across the country.”

Commenting on the launch of EEF’s three new research projects, Jane Kennedy, director of Inspire Learning Teaching School Hub, said: “Recruitment and retention of teachers continues to be the biggest challenge in our education system. Speaking to colleagues, there are a myriad of reasons for this.

“It is heartening to see the variety of research projects that have been commissioned to identify some of the primary causes of teachers leaving, however, there are others. Finding solutions will benefit the teacher workforce and ultimately support educational outcomes.”