Teachers May Soon Have a Four-Day Work Week and Potential Pay Raise

Teachers in council-run schools could soon be permitted to work four-day weeks as part of government plans to make teaching requirements more flexible. Education Secretary Lucy Powell has received recommendations from an independent body advising ministers on how to amend the current 195-day per year full-time teaching requirement.

Under the proposed changes, teachers could fulfill their contracted hours over four days, provided schools remain open for the full five-day week. While academies already have some flexibility in working hours, the government suggests they should still adhere to the 195-day framework, which includes five days allocated for staff training.

The plans also include the possibility of lifting the cap on teacher salaries to help attract and retain experienced educators. Head teachers could potentially designate full-time staff to work 1,265 hours over fewer days instead of the traditional five-day week. Some teachers would still be scheduled to work a fifth day to ensure students receive instruction throughout the entire week.

In an open letter to Mike Aldred, the chairman of the School Teachers’ Review Body, Ms. Powell acknowledged ambiguity in the current 195-day framework regarding schools' ability to offer individual teacher flexibility. She stated, "We are proposing a targeted amendment to clarify that teachers may be available to work their directed hours up to 195 days (or pro rata equivalent), with the intention to provide leaders with greater flexibility to choose to depart from the 195-day requirement to respond to evolving workforce needs."

These proposals would allow teachers to complete their duties in fewer days but would not mandate a four-day week for all staff or reduce the operational days for schools. Ms. Powell emphasized that no teacher would be required to work more than the expected 195 days annually, and the 1,265-hour limit would not increase. This limit encompasses lesson time, meetings, and other duties, excluding work undertaken in personal time such as lesson preparation and marking.

Broader reforms concerning working hours were ruled out by the Education Secretary as part of the review. This initiative comes in response to concerns that inflexible working conditions are contributing to experienced teachers leaving the profession. A previous report from the independent body identified four-day weeks, nine-day fortnights, and remote work as potential changes to improve recruitment and retention.

The review also noted that schools have been slow to adopt flexible working hours, despite their popularity in other industries.