On two occasions recently, I have spoken to friends who have described their current workload in their chosen profession as ‘fine’. These conversations stand out precisely because they are so unusual. Most of my friends and colleagues seem to operate in a world where there are ‘simply not enough hours in the day’. If ever a phrase is nonsense, surely this must be it. So how do we redress the balance?
With regards my chosen profession of teaching, I wrote previously that nobody seriously believes that teachers work the bare minimum of hours. Indeed, recent research has shown that, whilst there have been some improvements since 2016, workload remains a significant issue for teachers, impacting recruitment, retention and wellbeing.
I feel that my perspective from the London 2012 project is worth mentioning here. In the final months and weeks before the 2012 Games began, I lost track of the number of interactions with friends, family and others that began along the lines of, ‘I bet you’re busy at the moment’. And that was true. However, I now find that every single term time is permanently akin to the weeks before the Games. I’ll state that again to make it crystal clear: every single day that I have spent in teaching has been lived at the intensity of being on the verge of the greatest show on earth.
Now I don’t mind the intensity; in fact, I relish it to some extent, and realise that busy people attract more work precisely because they get things done. But the quid pro quo of this intensity is the regular opportunity to recharge physical and emotional reserves during holiday periods. Teachers and children need the opportunity to sharpen the saw and, without them, I wonder how many teachers might have opted for a different profession in the first place.
Which brings me to an issue I have with the design of holidays in both the state and independent sectors, and the disparity which has emerged between them. Why are state schools mandated to provide 190 days of education whereas independent schools are not? Being employed in the independent sector and volunteering in the state sector, this disparity is unhelpful, unfair and, critically, not motivated by a desire to improve the education offered to the children. Furthermore, the disparity incentivises teachers to teach in the independent sector, and discourages them from returning to the state sector thereafter.
Hands are though tied in both sectors about the minimum amount of time that children can spend in school, not because it takes that time to cover the curriculum (otherwise all schools would have the same minimum) but because that was the decree of the government in 1999 which prioritised then, and continues to emphasise now, the negative impact on parents of shorter days or terms. The debate in recent times has focused only on extending the school day, ostensibly to improve opportunities and bring state schools more in line with independent schools with the extra-curricular offering, even though the financial motivation was once again all too apparent. Is it any wonder therefore that pupils, parents and teachers all had negative views about the freedom to increase the length of the school day if they were not also given the freedom to adapt term dates? The potential improvements for children identified by the EEF are surely worth exploring.
Ironically, the conformity of school holidays has of course attracted attention in the form of holiday prices and hence school absences. Parents prioritising their pockets has contributed to over 10% of children being taken out of school during term time, with learning disrupted inevitably for pupils and teachers no less accountable, even though parents have often quite rightly stressed the breadth of opportunity that they are trying to afford their progeny. With deregulation and choice seemingly the mantra of recent education policy, shouldn’t increased choice of when to holiday be afforded to all parents, just as it is in the independent sector where the wealthiest currently get to benefit from the cheapest holidays?
My view is that all schools should be able to set their term dates and lengths of days and weeks (Saturdays included), always with a view to prioritising the education of the children. Adjusting or extending school days, for instance to facilitate teenage sleep, could improve educational outcomes for all, as well as help to provide a greater range of educational opportunity. At the same time, staggering holidays would not only enable this change to happen in the first place, but also provide choice to parents and teachers. It would at the same time help to regulate demand on utilities like transport and improve access to popular holiday activities like visiting museums (the London Transport Museum was packed this half-term week).
Controlling time might be an elixir, but this simple adjustment might benefit children, parents, teachers and wider society time and time again.
Scholey.com 