Who We Are
Charles Dickens Primary School is a flexible working, best-practice school and one of eight DfE regionally commissioned Flexible Working Ambassador Schools. In collaboration with the London South Teaching School Hub, we want to share how we make flexible working work.
How we work
With 70 staff, half of whom are teachers, Charles Dickens Primary School has over 70% of its colleagues working or having worked flexibly during their career with us. We have flexible working role models throughout all levels of the organisation, showing it can work.
Watch below to hear Michael Eggleton, Headteacher at Charles Dickens Primary School talk about what a whole-school flexible working offer looks like in practice.
Want to find out more?
Get in touch with Emily Crow, Deputy Director at London South Teaching School Hub.
Emily has experience in coaching schools and MATS to review existing flexible working practices and identify where the work needs to happen. She has also spoken on DfE flexible working and teacher recruitment panels as well as delivering training and developing toolkits to support schools.
Why flexible working?
Quite simply, we are losing colleagues due to the lack of flexible working options and not attracting enough talent into the profession. Therefore, we need to hold on to the expertise we have and support each other to make our professional and personal lives work in better harmony.
Our offer
Our mission is to champion flexible working. We achieve this through two important strands of work:
1. Coaching schools to embed a more sustainable and inclusive offer
2. Harnessing networks and speaker opportunities to promote the benefits of flexible working
Want to find out more get in touch with our Emily Crow, Deputy Director at London South Teaching School Hub.
Emily has experience in coaching schools and MATS to review existing flexible working practices and identify where the work needs to happen. She has also spoken on DfE flexible working and teacher recruitment panels as well as delivering training and developing toolkits to support schools.
Testimonials
'One of the great things about working with Emily on the Flexible Working Ambassador Schools Project was getting an accurate picture of how staff actually perceive our offer. All staff are now far clearer on what flexible working means and how it can benefit their working and personal lives. We are now proactively encouraging flexible working, not only through recruitment but in our interactions with staff.'
Tom Turham, Headteacher, Lyndhurst Primary School.