About Us

We are Lucy Rose and Lindsay Patience; Teach First Ambassadors, teachers, previous school leaders and mothers who met at the Teach First Innnovation Series. We are passionate about usualising flexible working in schools in order to retain effective teachers and leaders. In 2019, we were shortlisted as one of 10 finalists from 278 applicants for a Stephen Lloyd Award which has allowed us to continue our work. Flexible Teacher Talent has the potential to be part of the solution to solving the teacher retention ‘crisis’. We now work part-time as teachers in London secondary schools and run Flexible Teacher Talent.

In 2022 we published our book, Flex Education - A guide for flexible working in schools. In 2023, we successfully bid to deliver the DfE's Flexible Working in MATs and Schools Programme.

Situation

Take a look at our infographic which explains our original 'why'.

This illustrates the research available in 2016 which moved us from an anecdotal story to an organised, strategic movement referred to recently by a CEO on the DfE Flexible Working Ambassador School and Multi- Academy Trusts Programme as a 'quiet revolution'. As hybrid working becomes more commonplace in other sectors and we are losing more teachers than ever before (44% more than last year; 9000+ women aged 30-39), we urgently need to address the recruitment and retention challenges in the education sector.

The 'Missing Mothers' Report authored by our sister organisation The MTPT Project and The New Britain Project demonstrates that we are haemorrhaging a talented pool of female leaders at an alarming rate, and adding to the gender pay gap. Although we began by helping parent teachers access flexibility, we now know that flexibility helps to make teaching a sustainable career choice for everyone.

Solution

The pilot took place in a deliberately small geographical area. Supported by the Teach First Innovation Series and in collaboration with the MTPTproject, we researched and trialled solutions for both sides of the problem. This has enabled us to create a series of tangible steps which both schools and teachers can take to help normalise flexible working. Outside of education some sectors have experienced up to 80% increase in productivity. If you translate ‘productivity’ in to pupil outcomes, the potential is huge.

What we do now

At first we thought we would be supporting other teachers and school leaders like us (new mums) to find flexible work in schools. But we soon found that was not the only group looking to work flexibly and we realised that unless we supported school with managing flexible working then opportunities would either not exist or not work. So now we work with across the sector championing flexible working and supporting schools and individuals to make it work. We advise DfE on flexible working, we deliver the Flexible Working in MATs and Schools Programme with Capita and we continue to work with individuals, schools, trusts and the wider sector to embed flex.