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Written question asked by Matthew Offord (Conservative) on Friday, 19 February 2021, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 23 February 2021. It was answered by Nick Gibb (Conservative) on Monday, 1 March 2021 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Teachers: Leave

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress his Department has made on establishing pilot schemes for teacher sabbaticals.

Answer

The Department has a longstanding programme of work in place through the Recruitment and Retention Strategy to ensure that teaching remains an attractive profession, where people feel supported to stay and develop their careers. This includes encouraging schools to develop a supportive culture for staff and to work flexibly.

As part of this, the Department explored a pilot on sabbaticals during the 2018-19 academic year. In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, it has been vital that we prioritise the immediate support teachers need at this time, such as work to support staff mental health through the Education Support charity and our Wellbeing for Education Return initiative.

We are also maintaining a focus on innovative approaches, including establishing eight Flexible Working Ambassador Schools to champion flexible working practices from Spring 2021. These schools will share their experiences, resources and expertise to create change in their local networks. We will continue to work with the teaching sector to review approaches such as sabbaticals.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
154997
Session
2019-21
Subjects
Leave Pilot schemes Teachers
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk