With record numbers of teachers quitting the chalkface, embracing flexible working practices is no longer a choice for secondary schools. Neil Renton discusses how his own mindset has evolved.
It is 3:30pm and the bell has rung. Like many headteachers across the land, I stand outside the school gate, watching the students set off on their journey home.
Something catches my attention, not a student but a teacher – leaving just after the bell. The learned prejudice kicks in without thinking, as quickly as the students take out their mobile phones at the end of the school day, and I judge.
Why are they leaving? How can they have done all their marking, planning, reports, and contacted parents? Why are they so “uncommitted”?
