Could a nine-day working fortnight help schools recruit and retain teachers?

Recruiting and retaining teachers is one of the biggest challenges for schools. In 2024/25, Dixons Academies Trust took an innovative step, introducing a nine-day working fortnight for teaching staff. This has sparked new conversations about how schools organise their workforce.

Ambition Institute is supporting the independent evaluation of this initiative, in partnership with IFF Research and funded by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF).

About the nine-day working fortnight 

The nine-day working fortnight means making changes to teachers’ contracted working hours so they have one extra day off per fortnight without affecting the time they spend teaching or their pay. This is in addition to their usual planning, preparation and assessment time. Early career teachers also retain their protected time.

Most staff use this as a genuine day off, while a small number use it to complete work they might otherwise do in the evenings or at weekends. For a full-time teacher, this has meant an extra 19 days off each year, offering a level of flexibility not often seen in schools.

Early findings

The initiative is being studied as part of the EEF’s School Choices evaluations. The first stage of the evaluation was the scoping phase which aimed to explore how viable the project is. IFF researchers spoke with teachers and leaders across seven Dixons schools, covering a range of phases, regions and backgrounds. The early findings are promising:

• Morale, wellbeing and job satisfaction improved: Many teachers and leaders reported feeling more positive about their roles.
• Work-life balance got better: Many staff valued the chance to rest, spend time with family or meet personal commitments, and some noted savings on commuting and childcare.
• No negative impact on pupils: Evidence so far suggests that the change has not harmed outcomes for pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities or from disadvantaged backgrounds. In some primary schools, specialist teachers covered classes on teachers’ days off, which was seen as a benefit for pupils, as it provided subject expertise in areas where class teachers felt less confident.

Key lessons for schools considering similar policies

The scoping phase also highlighted some key things to consider:

• Careful timetabling is essential to make the policy work in practice. Dixons supported school leaders to plan timetables, making sure that pupils’ learning time was not reduced.
• Early career teachers still need regular access to professional development. In this initiative, the nine-day working fortnight was in addition to, not instead of, protected time for early career teachers.
• Working patterns for part-time staff need careful thought and planning.

This approach is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Schools and trusts considering similar policies will need to think carefully about their own context, and how flexibility might support retention and recruitment for their staff.

What’s next

This is the start of a longer journey. Following the completion of a successful scoping phase, IFF Research and Ambition are conducting a full impact evaluation of the initiative, funded by the EEF.

As part of this impact evaluation, Ambition’s research team are evaluating the benefits and impacts on schools participating in this initiative. For example, on teaching staff capacity, staff absence, pupil attainment, and teacher recruitment and retention. The impact evaluation also involves an implementation and process evaluation conducted by IFF Research to see how the approach is delivered in schools and the experiences of staff.

As this work develops, we look forward to seeing how flexible approaches can support teachers, leaders and pupils in more schools.

Read the report:
Read the summary of initial findings in full.

Find out more on the EEF's website.

Cite the early findings:
Higton, J., Whittaker, S., Gallagher, M., & Renken, S. (2025). Evaluating a nine-day working fortnight. Summary of initial findings. Education Endowment Foundation.