The Importance of Teachers: a collection of essays on teacher recruitment and retention A very detailed report from the Policy Exchange on the causes of the teacher retention crisis, including the link between teacher shortages and maternity leave.

Student Achievement and Teacher Turnover: What is the Link? Short report from the University of Bristol focusing on the negative impact of high teacher turnover on student outcomes based on a study completed in New York City.

How Teacher Turnover Harms Student Achievement The long form of the above report, summarised by Bristol University investigating the impact of teacher turnover on student outcomes in New York City (2012).

Supply teacher spend exceeds £800m BBC article on the costs associated with employing supply teachers to cover staff absence and vacancies in different regions.

Government career break returner scheme launched  BBC article outlining plans for training and job placements intended to support returners to civil servant industries, including teaching.

Highest teacher leaving rate in a decade A 2016 Schools Week article summarising the findings regarding teacher retention in the Schools Workforce Census.

Schools Workforce Census, 2016 The full 2016 Schools Workforce Census detailing the make up of the education workforce across the UK, including numbers entering, leaving and returning to the profession.

Hello baby, goodbye teaching: how to get mums back in the classroom A concise Guardian article outlining good practice to retain teachers returning from maternity leave.

Maternity and Paternity Rights and Women Returners Survey 2009/10 A cross-industry report about mothers returning to work after maternity leave.

Engaging Teachers: NFER Analysis of Teacher Retention A National Foundation for Educational Research article exploring the links between teacher engagement and teacher retention.

Ofsted judging schools negatively for teacher shortages A SchoolsWeek article reporting on links between poor Ofsted gradings, teacher retention, low levels of recruitment and excessive use of supply teachers.

Teacher Turnover, Wastage and Destinations A 2002 report from The University of Liverpool exploring the reasons for teachers leaving the profession, or leaving their current schools.  Lots of handy tables for data comparisons!

Flexible working could help solve teacher shortage, think tank argues A BBC article on the link between part time contracts for teaching mothers and the teacher retention crisis.

Should I Stay or Should I Go? A 2015 NFER report on teachers leaving and returning to the profession, and their reasons for doing so.

Managing Your Maternity Leave “10 best practices for managing maternity leave for line managers”.  A really helpful document for middle and senior leaders from CIPR and The Talent Keepers regarding practical and cultural ways to manage parents on leave, and increase the chance of their return to work.

Almost a third of teachers quit state sector within five years of qualifying A 2016 Guardian article summarising the headline statistics regarding teacher retention and recruitment from the Schools Workforce Census.

Pupil Attainment How stress passes from teachers to pupils ‘like a contagion’ A TES article summarising research from the University of British Columbia and Leeds Beckett University regarding the impact of poor teacher wellbeing on students.

Pupil Attainment Linked to Teachers’ Wellbeing A SecEd article summarising the findings of Healthy Teachers, Higher Marks including an interview with Dr. Zofia Bajorek and Dame Carol Black.

Middlesborough Mum A blog from the National Literacy Trust about the positive impact of early literacy on parent-child relationships, with a specific focus on parent wellbeing and premature babies.

Teacher Workload Survey

The DfE’s 2019 Workload survey, which includes information about working hours and working patterns amongst teachers and school leaders.

Healthy Teachers, Higher Marks? A very thorough literature review focusing on the link between teacher wellbeing and student outcomes.

The Yellow Wallpaper Audiobook of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s classic 19th century short story, exploring the connection between intellectual activity, (assumed) post-natal depression and the Victorian gender roles.

No Job for a Woman? Research conducted by NASUWT in 2010 exploring experiences of women in school leadership positions.

Women Secondary Headteachers: Pass it On A summary of Dr. Kay Fuller’s research into the disproportional representation of female secondary headteachers, completed in partnership with the University of Nottingham, the Economic and Social Research Council and WomenEd.

Where are all the female headteachers? Guardian article exploring the lack of proportional representation amongst educational leaders.

Schools Must Not Miss Out on Women Leaders SchoolsWeek article from Carol Jones on the impact of the ‘motherhood penalty’ on women in leadership positions in education.

Recent report from the DfE teasing out the information relevant to school leadership from the 2016 School Workforce Census.

Co-Headship: The Future Solution to School Leadership An article by Jayshree Thakore & Natalie Tyndall, aspiring Headteachers at Barham Primary School, exploring the practicalities of co-headship positions.

Seven Strong Claims About Succesful School Leadership A National College for School Leadership report (2006) about the impact of effective school leaders on student outcomes.

A woman can lead our nation, but not a schools? TES opinion piece from Teach First’s Ndidi Okezie on the disparity between the number of female teaching staff and the number of female leaders in schools.

Shared Parental Leave: Nuts and Bolts and Top Tips Practical advice from #SPLash – an advice sharing network set up by Maternity Action, YESSLaw, Working Families and Cloisters.

Balancing Parenting and Career A Womanthology interview with Kirstie Axtens of Working Families about how family friendly working practices can benefit both parents’ careers.

Stop congratulating stay-at-home dads for doing their job as parents Opinion piece by Jessica Valenti in the Guardian on society’s attitudes to stay-at-home fathers.

A lighthearted video with a serious message from MTV Catfish’s host, Nev Schulman and partner, Laura Perlongo.

Grandpas are the new gender equity warriors

Article from Better Life Lab about grandfather’s roles in supporting their daughters return to work by providing childcare, featuring on Slate.com.  USA and global focus.

Number of Stay at Home Dads Falls

Telegraph article tracking the number of stay at home fathers since 2014.

Is maternity and paternity leave up for debate?  How to negotiate more time with baby. Cafe Quill article advising on parental leave rights and ensuring you get your proper entitlements during parental leave.

Only 5 per cent of new fathers opt for shared parental leave CIPD article summarising statistics related to shared parental leave and the reasons for relatively low uptake in the first year that it has been offered.

Shared Parental Leave and Pay Information and examples from the UK government regarding shared parental leave entitlements.

Tiny proportion of men are option for shared parental leave Guardian article summarising the complexities of the uptake of shared parental leave in its first year of availability.

Why doesn’t society take stay-at-home dads seriously? Article in the Telegraph commenting on the social status of stay-at-home fathers.

A detailed report from the University of Oslo on the benefits of paternity leave.

Managing pregnancy and maternity in the workplace

Detailed legal guidance and best practice on pregnancy, maternity leave and the return to work from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, including downloadable resources.

Flexible working: Putting our pupils at the heart of our flexible working policy

Fairly thorough outline of the flexible working practices implemented by the Hearts Academy Trust with concrete examples.  This DfE blog makes the case for flexible working having a positive impact on student outcomes.

Flexible Teacher Retention and Turnover Research

A 2017 report from the NFER exploring patterns behind teacher retention and turnover, including factors linked to part time and flexible working.

Flexible Working: The Experiences of Teachers

A 2016 report from NASUWT exploring the current attitudes to flexible working in schools, and the consequences of such attitudes.

Fathers ‘afraid to ask for flexible working’

A BBC article on research from the Women and Equality Committee into cultural attitudes to requests for flexible working from fathers.

Shifting Identities: A mixed-methods study of teachers who are also parents The 2016 doctorate thesis of Dr. Emma Kell (@thosethatcan) which ‘explores the influence of parenthood on teacher identity; the challenges involved in combining the roles of teacher and parent, and the benefits of being a teacher-parent’.

Babies at Work: will onsite childcare become standard in offices? Guardian article reporting on the introduction of onsite childcare by big private firms such as Goldman Sachs and gNappies.

NUT Parental Leave

Helpful guidance documents for schools and teachers from the NUT regarding legalities, policies and best practice surrounding parental leave.

 

Top Employers for Working Families

A list of the 2017 winners of the Working Families UK awards, including descriptions of different policies and practices that make these companies such family-friendly places to work.

Flexible Working Policy

Example of a school Flexible Working Policy from Holy Trinity CofE Primary School, Richmond.  Did you know that it has been a legal requirement for schools to have a flexible working policy since 2014?

Flexible Working and Work Life Balance

Detailed guidance from ACAS regarding ways to implement flexible and part time working in your organisation, including the potential benefits and challenges of different arrangements.

It’s time to change your strategy on hiring women

Article from Strategy Business about working conditions that attract more women back into the workplace after becoming parents.

Job sharing in the teaching profession

1994 MPhil thesis from June Smedley.

What is the difference between Part-time and Jobshare?

Blog from Sara Horsfall, founder and CEO of Ginibee, an organisation that supports businesses in finding jobshare solutions.

Flexible working in schools

Official government guidance and case studies on how to make flexible working an option for you and your school.

Unequal pay: the life cycle of a woman’s earning power A Guardian article on the 12 milestones in a woman’s life that result in the gender pay gap.

The 23% Robbery

Key facts on the global gender pay gap from UN Women.

Department for Education Reports Gender Pay Gap The 2017 DfE findings on the gender pay gap in education and governmental initiatives designed to support its continued reduction.

Gender Pay Gap Calculator

A ‘fun’ tool from the Financial Times calculating the gender pay gap for your role in your industry.

The Fatherhood Bonus and The Motherhood Penalty: Parenthood and the Gender Gap in Pay

A 2014 American PhD study by Michelle J. Budig exploring the links between the gender pay gap, fatherhood and motherhood, coining the term ‘the fatherhood bonus’.

The Gender Pay Gap

An NEU blog summarising a number of pieces of research into the gender pay gap in education.

The Gender Pay Gap

Full 2016 IFS report on the gender pay gap available for download.

The Motherhood Pay Penalty

2016 report from the Trades Union Council and the Institute for Public Policy Research regarding the ‘motherhood penalty’ across all sectors.

How a mum on maternity leave started a coding school for mums! Article from The Talented Ladies Club on June Angelides, founder of Mums in Technology.

Is the Power Maternity Leave Trend Good or Bad for Women? Forbes article exploring the pros and cons of the ‘power maternity leave’.

Power Maternity Leave Stylist Magazine showcases the stories of four mothers who started their own businesses whilst on maternity leave.

The Power Maternity Leave – Good or Bad? Career Addicts article on the advantages and disadvantages of the ‘power maternity leave’.

Working mothers benefit daughters A brief BBC article on the benefits of mothers returning to work after maternity leave.

Blogger Aby ditches her ‘Mummy Guilt’ when she decides to return to work.

Career Lessons: what I learned from my maternity leave Tips on maximising on time and energy whilst on parental leave from networking organisation, Every Woman.

Maternity Action: KIT Days Advice on requesting and using KIT days from Maternity Action.

Power maternity leave: Is this really how you should be spending your year ‘off’? Advice on navigating parental leave from the Telegraph.

Equality and Human Rights Commission A 2016 report into mothers’ and employers’ experiences of maternity leave.

#WomenEd: A Movement for Women Leaders in Education

A 2019 research report from Dr. Jill Berry and Dr. Kay Fuller about the impact of the #WomenEd network with significant findings regarding pregnancy and maternity discrimination in the education system.